[APP][6.0+] Fishpowered browser - less bull, more cat

[fishpoweredbrowser]

After using this browser for some time, I find that the swipe center to switch tab to be a double edge sword. Sometimes, I have a hard time swiping through a carousel control or something similar. Browser ends up switching to the next tab.

Ahhhh I've spent so much time faffing about with this. Originally in early versions of Fishpowered you changed tabs by swiping from the edge, this was always my plan and worked great until Google released edge navigation gestures which forced me to get into full page gestures as I didn't want to have different gesture defaults for different users.

The problem with the full-page gestures is that webview has no hooks for in-page scrolling so it's very hard to know if the user is moving something in the page or trying to switch tabs. In current versions I am using javascript to listen for in-page scrolling but this doesn't work in iframes, is slow to hear back from the page, and some sites (e.g. swiping through images on twitter) have hardcoded things to move based on touch position which is impossible for the browser to detect by listening for scrolling.

For 1.6.0 I'm trialing a new method of taking snapshots where you touch down and moments after dragging your finger along the screen, if the screenshots are different then I can know something has probably moved in the page and block the user from changing tabs (or triggering pull down/up gestures). The problems with this new method are I can only take the snapshots quickly enough in Android 8.0+ (due to available API's), and it can be interfered with when anything moves on the page e.g. gifs, videos. It does work a lot better for sites with faked scrolling like twitter though and allows me to add the pull down/up gestures back in (along with some icons so it works much like Chrome now).

 

[zo10000]

You can do this by going to the history list, and long pressing the domain you want to clear. I think it's not perfect at clearing everything related with the site though (like web storage, caches etc) as it's not possible to be that granular with certain webview caches.

I tried that, but it only clears the history for that specific domain, not the cookies and cache. The thing that works is the last option in the list that clears everything, but that clears the whole history also.
I was thinking if you can implement an option similar to that one but only for a specific domain. Like, clear cookies and cache only for the website that you select by long pressing on it in history list.
Regards!

 

[chiwawa10]

There's one thing I noticed. In an empty tab, I can't pull up from the bottom bar to close the tab. This behavior happens only when a page is loaded on the tab.

 

[Twotems]

The reason that tool shows so few blocked results is because of how I am "blocking" most request types. I decided it would be a better approach to return empty responses to the requests rather than using conventional HTTP error response codes as a lot of sites sniff for blocked requests and then block you using the site, so maybe this approach helps with that (at least that tool couldn't sniff the majority of the ads I blocked ).

But yes the 1hosts does seem like a more comprehensive list. It does come with the risk of more sites being negatively affected but I'll trial it while working on 1.6.0 and see how it goes. I would rather have a smooth browsing experience with the odd ad than block all ads but break a load of websites. I'm gonna use the wildcard version as that's only 2.15MB. For reference the block lists I am using currently I obtain from https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts

Thanks for the reply and the new blocklist. I'll wait and try it but stick with my present browser for now since it gives the option of adding as many custom lists as I want.

 

[chiwawa10]

The top two features that I'd like to see added is as below. I understand the author has his own priority/to-do list but this is just my wish list.

1. better ads block (e.g. 1host, EasyList, allow customization of subscription list by adding own list)
2. Add better scrolling (refer to image below)

As always, thanks for the great work! Looking forward to v1.6.0 to be released soon.

[edit]
adding to my wish list.

1. resource sniffer (for video downloading)
2. better tab management (maybe a bigger card view?) for better one-handed operation. I find that the current card view is a little small

 

[fishpoweredbrowser]

I've created a beta channel through play store, this is new to me so not sure how it works yet but I think you can download it from here: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/fishpowered.best.browser (or maybe here)

Changelog:
## 1.6.0 BETA 1 (2021-05-??)

- [Feature] "Responsible browsing" mode
- [Feature] Added link gestures
- [Feature] Pull up at bottom of page gesture
- [Feature] Scroll to page top/bottom button/gesture bindings
- [Feature] All open tabs can now be saved to "save for later" list
- [Feature] New theme "GME"
- [Enhancement] Screenshot based scroll detection when detecting in-page gestures for Android 8.0+
- [Enhancement] Icons/animations for certain gestures
- [Enhancement] All nav button actions are now available on top/bottom pull gestures
- [Enhancement] Videos are now picked up in tab overview thumbnail snapshots + should be a bit faster also
- [Enhancement] Switched to more comprehensive adblock list and supported wildcard blocking rules
- [Enhancement] Unpinned faves will now disappear from fave homepage
- [Enhancement] Default gestures changed, edges now map to navigate back/forward, top and bottom drag now map to refresh
- [Bug] Fixed pinch zooming triggering edge gestures
- [Bug] Fixed clicking history link from the tab thumb list not clearing the address input
- [Bug] Fixed battery saver mode interrupting full screen video
- [Bug] Fixed bug where nav bar would be fully hidden except for 1px

Known new issues:
- Animated arrows on Fishpowered install/welcome page is problematic for the screenshot based gesture navigation it's trying to teach the user.
- Link gesture icon hints can be messed up on first gesture
- Tracking of time per session/day is buggy
- Translations not finalised

Known existing issues:
- Google translate doesn't always fire (refreshing the page is workaround that seems to fix it)
- IP addresses treated like searches
- Incognito mode only switches keyboard to incognito mode on the address input, can't get it to work in the browser itself
- Downloads from certain sites don't work properly
- Cookie handling switching between incognito and normal mode occasionally causes problems
- More..

 

[zo10000]

Hi
Only the stable version is accessible via playstore. The beta link returns the error that:

"App not available for this account​

Your account isn't currently eligible for this app's testing program."​

By the way, wouldn't be easier to upload the app here or on your website?

 

[chiwawa10]

I've created a beta channel through play store, this is new to me so not sure how it works yet but I think you can download it from here: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/fishpowered.best.browser (or maybe here)

Changelog:
## 1.6.0 BETA 1 (2021-05-??)

- [Feature] "Responsible browsing" mode
- [Feature] Added link gestures
- [Feature] Pull up at bottom of page gesture
- [Feature] Scroll to page top/bottom button/gesture bindings
- [Feature] All open tabs can now be saved to "save for later" list
- [Feature] New theme "GME"
- [Enhancement] Screenshot based scroll detection when detecting in-page gestures for Android 8.0+
- [Enhancement] Icons/animations for certain gestures
- [Enhancement] All nav button actions are now available on top/bottom pull gestures
- [Enhancement] Videos are now picked up in tab overview thumbnail snapshots + should be a bit faster also
- [Enhancement] Switched to more comprehensive adblock list and supported wildcard blocking rules
- [Enhancement] Unpinned faves will now disappear from fave homepage
- [Enhancement] Default gestures changed, edges now map to navigate back/forward, top and bottom drag now map to refresh
- [Bug] Fixed pinch zooming triggering edge gestures
- [Bug] Fixed clicking history link from the tab thumb list not clearing the address input
- [Bug] Fixed battery saver mode interrupting full screen video
- [Bug] Fixed bug where nav bar would be fully hidden except for 1px

Known new issues:
- Animated arrows on Fishpowered install/welcome page is problematic for the screenshot based gesture navigation it's trying to teach the user.
- Link gesture icon hints can be messed up on first gesture
- Tracking of time per session/day is buggy
- Translations not finalised

Known existing issues:
- Google translate doesn't always fire (refreshing the page is workaround that seems to fix it)
- IP addresses treated like searches
- Incognito mode only switches keyboard to incognito mode on the address input, can't get it to work in the browser itself
- Downloads from certain sites don't work properly
- Cookie handling switching between incognito and normal mode occasionally causes problems
- More..

The link doesn't work. Not able to find the beta version in play store too. Anyway, great to see that there's so many things coming up in the next release hope we'll see it pushed to the stable channel soon.

 

[zo10000]

The beta channel is working. I've installed the beta version and I like it a lot. Nice work!

 

[chiwawa10]

Yes, beta channel is working now. But the swipe at centre to switch tab is not smooth as before. Probably due to the new method. Other functions/features are good. Ad block sometimes are too restrictive. It'll be good if we can customize the filter list/rule.

 

[Twotems]

I've created a beta channel through play store, this is new to me so not sure how it works yet but I think you can download it from here: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/fishpowered.best.browser (or maybe here)

Changelog:
## 1.6.0 BETA 1 (2021-05-??)

- [Feature] "Responsible browsing" mode
- [Feature] Added link gestures
- [Feature] Pull up at bottom of page gesture
- [Feature] Scroll to page top/bottom button/gesture bindings
- [Feature] All open tabs can now be saved to "save for later" list
- [Feature] New theme "GME"
- [Enhancement] Screenshot based scroll detection when detecting in-page gestures for Android 8.0+
- [Enhancement] Icons/animations for certain gestures
- [Enhancement] All nav button actions are now available on top/bottom pull gestures
- [Enhancement] Videos are now picked up in tab overview thumbnail snapshots + should be a bit faster also
- [Enhancement] Switched to more comprehensive adblock list and supported wildcard blocking rules
- [Enhancement] Unpinned faves will now disappear from fave homepage
- [Enhancement] Default gestures changed, edges now map to navigate back/forward, top and bottom drag now map to refresh
- [Bug] Fixed pinch zooming triggering edge gestures
- [Bug] Fixed clicking history link from the tab thumb list not clearing the address input
- [Bug] Fixed battery saver mode interrupting full screen video
- [Bug] Fixed bug where nav bar would be fully hidden except for 1px

Known new issues:
- Animated arrows on Fishpowered install/welcome page is problematic for the screenshot based gesture navigation it's trying to teach the user.
- Link gesture icon hints can be messed up on first gesture
- Tracking of time per session/day is buggy
- Translations not finalised

Known existing issues:
- Google translate doesn't always fire (refreshing the page is workaround that seems to fix it)
- IP addresses treated like searches
- Incognito mode only switches keyboard to incognito mode on the address input, can't get it to work in the browser itself
- Downloads from certain sites don't work properly
- Cookie handling switching between incognito and normal mode occasionally causes problems
- More..

Nice to see the enhanced adblock. Unfortunately you need to add an anti-adblock list like Adguard Anti-adblock or f*ckf*ckadblock as some websites like phonearena.com give an adblock warning. The ability to add custom host lists would be the ideal solution.

 

[zo10000]

You can disable the adblock from the settings or use a 3rd party app like blokada to filter out ads and not see the adblock warning. But, I agree, it would be useful to have a whitelist in the adblock settings.

 

[zo10000]

Feedback for @fishpoweredbrowser, beta version.
1. The tags are not updating after editing. I. E. If you rename a tag in the favorites tab, it's not showing the new name only after restarting the app. Same thing with delete.
2. While changing from landscape to portrait the text size becomes very small.

 

[zo10000]

Recently I noticed that the history is going back only a few days. Is this the intended behavior or a bug?

 

[chiwawa10]

I'm wondering is this app still being actively developed? The beta version has been there for a few months now, and no update or pushed to stable channel. Author also not active in this thread anymore.

 

[Giocarro]

Ditto as above. Definitely a lovely app, but it has to be updated to stay alive.

 

[fishpoweredbrowser]

Hi all, yep sorry, as you may have guessed I've stopped active development on Fishpowered.

Main reasons for this are:

• I've run into so many serious limitations with Android webview (which Fishpowered uses to display web pages) which is why things like incognito mode, state restoration, downloads, popup blocking either don't work at all or are basic/buggy/compromised.
• User retention rates were REALLY bad (at least according to Google play) and short of rewriting large parts of the software I don't see any easy way to remedy that
• This was my first android app, mistakes were made which are inevitable when using any new tech. These would be costly for me to fix
• Day job of web development plus side project of app development meant I was spending 6 days a week sat at a desk starting at a screen.

That said, I am still using Fishpowered as my primary browser on my phone so I will try to fix any serious bugs that arise and occasionally I may find the motivation to add some feature I fancy but don't expect a lot

Thanks
M

 

[Vicalvi]

@fishpoweredbrowser ,

Hi all, yep sorry, as you may have guessed I've stopped active development on Fishpowered.

Main reasons for this are:

• I've run into so many serious limitations with Android webview (which Fishpowered uses to display web pages) which is why things like incognito mode, state restoration, downloads, popup blocking either don't work at all or are basic/buggy/compromised.
• User retention rates were REALLY bad (at least according to Google play) and short of rewriting large parts of the software I don't see any easy way to remedy that
• This was my first android app, mistakes were made which are inevitable when using any new tech. These would be costly for me to fix
• Day job of web development plus side project of app development meant I was spending 6 days a week sat at a desk starting at a screen.

That said, I am still using Fishpowered as my primary browser on my phone so I will try to fix any serious bugs that arise and occasionally I may find the motivation to add some feature I fancy but don't expect a lot

Thanks
M

What's up buddy? First thanks for your browser, I've been using it for a while and it's my main browser. Could you upload the latest beta version and put the APK link here? Because by Play Store I'm not able to download, thank you.

 

[fishpoweredbrowser]

@fishpoweredbrowser ,

What's up buddy? First thanks for your browser, I've been using it for a while and it's my main browser. Could you upload the latest beta version and put the APK link here? Because by Play Store I'm not able to download, thank you.

Beta 2 APK can be downloaded from here
I've also pushed it to the Play store beta channel.

Don't remember exactly what was new with beta 2 as I haven't worked on it in months, but I think I added some icons for back/forward edge navigation, I fixed a tag rename bug someone mentioned above, and updated the adblock list.

 

[fishpoweredbrowser]

Nice to see the enhanced adblock. Unfortunately you need to add an anti-adblock list like Adguard Anti-adblock or f*ckf*ckadblock as some websites like phonearena.com give an adblock warning. The ability to add custom host lists would be the ideal solution.

This is why I created the "Hide spam" tool so you can hide elements like cookie/adblock warnings. It's not perfect though because due to how people build websites these days, the structure is less static than it used to be and the rules can easily get broken when they update the site.