Hello guys, today I wanted to talk about a project I deeply care about and I’m actively contributing to, as I believe its good for everyone, including privacy concerned users

Ladybird Browser

This browser comes from the project “SerenityOS”, and has since evolved and separated from it. The founders are Andreas Kling, and Chris Wanstrath. The main goal of this project is to create a browser from scratch, avoiding chromium, gecko, etc. The main keypoints that should be of interest for Privacy Oriented Users are the following:

  • Ladybird lead (Andreas Kling) states “We’re not monetizing users, in any way. This is uncharted territory for browsers. So we’re not going to do any default search deals. We’re not going to do cryptocurrencies or try to monetize user data, just sponsorships and donations”

  • While** Ladybird will implement current web standards including cookie handling and tracking mechanisms for compatibility**, the browser’s philosophy puts the user in control of these decisions, not the company. The browser won’t have built-in incentives to encourage data collection since it doesn’t profit from it.

  • It aims to be “free from advertising’s influence” Ladybird, representing a shift away from the current web ecosystem where users like us are the product. This allows the project to implement privacy features without worrying about harming advertising partners or revenue streams.

As of now, the project has hired several developers with money coming from donations, from partners such as FUTO, Shopify, Cloudflare, among many, and is also seeing lots of volunteer activity on github. So well, if you like the web having more diversity and us having another alternative to google, check them out https://ladybird.org/

  • scytale@piefed.zipEnglish
    471·
    12 days ago

    I hope they come out with extension support immediately and uBO follows up with compatibility after.

    • d-RLY?@lemmy.ml
      20·
      12 days ago

      Extension support is basically a minimum requirement for me (especially uBO, but also some others like Bypass Paywalls Clean, FastStream, and SponsorBlock). They can add overhead to the browser, but if the browser itself is solid and as efficient as they are pushing for. Then I can handle knowing that any extra RAM or processes are my fault. I imagine that if they truly keep all the data collection and telemetry we see in other browsers. Then the overhead of extensions might just make resources only about as bad as a clean install of the others without extensions. Which would still be a win in my book. Even if they don’t have extensions, it will still be fun to have around and see how it evolves over time. Might even inspire folks to try doing the hardest part of making new browsers instead of endless forks that are at the whim of the base they came from.

    • shaytan@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPM
      131·
      12 days ago

      I’m sure they’ll get extension support at some point. They also said they intend to add a built in adblocker

      • Pup Biru@aussie.zoneEnglish
        27·
        12 days ago

        i wish they wouldn’t add a built in adblocker… i just want it to be the most minimal browser engine, and i want to be able to choose the adblocker

        • shaytan@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPM
          7·
          12 days ago

          I believe they are building it to have it as long as they don’t have extension support and market

          I doubt they’ll force it on release

      • 18107@aussie.zoneEnglish
        18·
        12 days ago

        I don’t mind an adblocker extension installed by default (for non tech-minded users), but a built in adblocker is just irritating. I want to have control over which extensions I use. Building an adblocker into the browser just takes more development time, and reduces freedom for everyone.