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> Brave have said from the beginning that this is how their business model works. This sounded like a pretty surprising claim. I looked at the terms of use (ht

by Shank 6y ago

> Brave have said from the beginning that this is how their business model works. This sounded like a pretty surprising claim. I looked at the terms of use (https://brave.com/terms-of-use/ https://brave.com/terms-of-use/) and the privacy policy for the browser (https://brave.com/privacy/ https://brave.com/privacy/) and I wasn't able to find any reference to the notion of automatically inserting affiliate or referral links. Do you have a more specific source on this? I'm really curious about when and how this has been communicated. I'm not trying to accuse you of anything, I just want to make sure I'm understanding the situation correctly.

toyg 6y ago
The substance of their business model has always been "we fight advertisers because money should flow to websites through us". They changed actual terms a few times when called up on their tactics being shady, but that's always been the end goal. In that framework, hijacking referral links is par for the course. I don't blame them - a man's gotta eat, and they're not doing anything illegal or dangerous - but I've always found very curious that some people actually believe using Brave might be an "ethical" choice. It just isn't, it's simply a better mousetrap.
- SahAssar 6y ago
  > they're not doing anything illegal or dangerous The words "dishonest" and "rent-seeking" come to mind. Also, it seems that using affiliate links without disclosure might actually be illegal.
  - ashtonkem 6y ago
    That’s exactly how I feel about it. I’ve never doubted the legality, some pretty shocking things can be defended in TOS, but it just feels dishonest and scammy.
  - bootlooped 6y ago
    I would be surprised if inserting affiliate links in this manner wasn't against the TOS of the site. It's not adding value for the site if Brave is just front-running people who have already decided to go there.
    - plerpin 6y ago
      Brave and Binance have a preexisting business relationship. Brave uses its own crypto funny-money and I think they even integrated a Binance-monitoring widget into the browser.
      - davidgerard 6y ago
        This is how much Binance stuff is already built into Brave: https://github.com/brave/brave-core/search?q=binance&unscoped_q=binance https://github.com/brave/brave-core/search?q=binance&unscope...
        plerpin 6y ago
        Yikessssssssssssssssssssssssssss
  - onyva 6y ago
    Brave is really not solving any problem. People that truly want ads removed so they don’t get tracked or bothered, should simply install Firefox. It’s a brilliant browser regardless, and being developed and supported by a non for profit with a proven track record is what makes it trustworthy. Brave can’t compete with that and Eich is not somebody anyone should rally behind in respect to ethical choices, or moral example. His personal choices to support legislation that will deny basic human rights from the LGBTQ community is a BIG clue.
    - noisem4ker 6y ago
      >His personal choices to support legislation that will deny basic human rights from the LGBTQ community is a BIG clue. Personal views legitimately expressed in totally distinct political matters should absolutely not be factored in.
      - nnf 6y ago
        Attempting to deny rights to an entire class of human beings should not be classified as simply “personal views legitimately expressed.”
        gruez 6y ago
        I still fail to see how it's any different than any other moral disagreement. eg. If I were a evangelical christian, and he supported abortion rights for women, I can claim that he's literally trying to kill babies.
        onyva 6y ago
        Right to happiness is not a moral question that needs to be debated every time someone on Fox News needs to generate mass hysteria for profit. I think the average person can differentiate between what’s moral and what’s immoral and where are the boundaries between the two. The USA is in a complete meltdown because some still insist on staying blind.
        6y ago
- _eht 6y ago
  You can believe it, they are really good at advertising and marketing. They know the arena very well. Ad Ops is their biggest dept, if I had to guess. Everything they do is intentional with an end goal of getting a market share of the ad industry. It’s huge. They want a piece of it, and you’re right, who can blame them.
  - fredsanford 6y ago
    Vivaldi works too... https://vivaldi.com/download/ https://vivaldi.com/download/

by Shank 6y ago

toyg 6y ago

The substance of their business model has always been "we fight advertisers because money should flow to websites through us". They changed actual terms a few times when called up on their tactics being shady, but that's always been the end goal. In that framework, hijacking referral links is par for the course. I don't blame them - a man's gotta eat, and they're not doing anything illegal or dangerous - but I've always found very curious that some people actually believe using Brave might be an "ethical" choice. It just isn't, it's simply a better mousetrap.

SahAssar 6y ago
> they're not doing anything illegal or dangerous The words "dishonest" and "rent-seeking" come to mind. Also, it seems that using affiliate links without disclosure might actually be illegal.
- ashtonkem 6y ago
  That’s exactly how I feel about it. I’ve never doubted the legality, some pretty shocking things can be defended in TOS, but it just feels dishonest and scammy.
- bootlooped 6y ago
  I would be surprised if inserting affiliate links in this manner wasn't against the TOS of the site. It's not adding value for the site if Brave is just front-running people who have already decided to go there.
  - plerpin 6y ago
    Brave and Binance have a preexisting business relationship. Brave uses its own crypto funny-money and I think they even integrated a Binance-monitoring widget into the browser.
    - davidgerard 6y ago
      This is how much Binance stuff is already built into Brave: https://github.com/brave/brave-core/search?q=binance&unscoped_q=binance https://github.com/brave/brave-core/search?q=binance&unscope...
      - plerpin 6y ago
        Yikessssssssssssssssssssssssssss
- onyva 6y ago
  Brave is really not solving any problem. People that truly want ads removed so they don’t get tracked or bothered, should simply install Firefox. It’s a brilliant browser regardless, and being developed and supported by a non for profit with a proven track record is what makes it trustworthy. Brave can’t compete with that and Eich is not somebody anyone should rally behind in respect to ethical choices, or moral example. His personal choices to support legislation that will deny basic human rights from the LGBTQ community is a BIG clue.
  - noisem4ker 6y ago
    >His personal choices to support legislation that will deny basic human rights from the LGBTQ community is a BIG clue. Personal views legitimately expressed in totally distinct political matters should absolutely not be factored in.
    - nnf 6y ago
      Attempting to deny rights to an entire class of human beings should not be classified as simply “personal views legitimately expressed.”
      - gruez 6y ago
        I still fail to see how it's any different than any other moral disagreement. eg. If I were a evangelical christian, and he supported abortion rights for women, I can claim that he's literally trying to kill babies.
        onyva 6y ago
        Right to happiness is not a moral question that needs to be debated every time someone on Fox News needs to generate mass hysteria for profit. I think the average person can differentiate between what’s moral and what’s immoral and where are the boundaries between the two. The USA is in a complete meltdown because some still insist on staying blind.
        6y ago
_eht 6y ago
You can believe it, they are really good at advertising and marketing. They know the arena very well. Ad Ops is their biggest dept, if I had to guess. Everything they do is intentional with an end goal of getting a market share of the ad industry. It’s huge. They want a piece of it, and you’re right, who can blame them.
- fredsanford 6y ago
  Vivaldi works too... https://vivaldi.com/download/ https://vivaldi.com/download/