Brave Browser Adding Affiliate Codes to Cryptocurrency Sites. This has come to surface when some users noticed the browser automatically adding referral codes in Cryptocurrency Sites.
Brave Browser Adding Affiliate Codes to Cryptocurrency Sites
Brave Browser, A browser that had privacy as its strong point has now been caught adding affiliate codes to some Cryptocurrency Sites. The question came to widespread attention yesterday when Twitter user @Cryptonator1337 found out that when “binance.us” is typed into the address bar, Brave Browser auto-filled a referral code to the end of the web address. Binance is a website for cryptocurrency trading, and with that reference code, Brave Software could earn 20 percent of trading fees for each account created using the link.
So when you are using the @brave browser and type in "binance[.]us" you end up getting redirected to "binance[.]us/en?ref=35089877" – I see what you did there mates 😂
— CR1337 (@cryptonator1337) June 6, 2020
Brave’s CEO has said he doesn’t believe this practice is wrong. He points out in his tweet that the code identifies the browser and not the user. That’s true but that’s not the problem anyway. Brave clearly adds its referral codes to those websites that people visit organically and earn money. In addition, affiliate programs sometimes allow companies to view certain data about people using them.
The GitHub repository of the browser reveals the functionality was first added on March 25th and the current site list includes Binance, Coinbase, Ledger, and Trezor. Brave Software gets a kickback on purchases/accounts made with other sites — for example, Coinbase claims you can receive 50 percent of their fees for the first three months when you refer potential customers to the company.
However, the outcry seems to have worked, as developers from Brave are introducing a toggle for suggestions, and the functionality will be deactivated by default starting with the next stable release.