Important Update: Privacy Browser Brave Integrates IPFS
In the latest news, the privacy browser Brave has added support for the Interstellar File System IPFS, integrating IPFS into desktop web browsers for Windows, macOS and Linux.
The privacy browser Brave has more than 20 million users and has begun to support the native IPFS protocol, allowing people to use the distributed network more easily and simply. This realization marks an important step in the development of a more resilient and user-oriented Internet .
The IPFS protocol is still under development and improvement. I believe that many people often encounter practical problems such as network interruption or 404, important information (such as COVID-19 news) being filtered, high networking costs, and sharing and collaboration functions in disconnected and offline environments during their daily online surfing.
These are not problems for everyone, and those who are not at all aware of them may not understand why IPFS is so important. But for those who desperately need a resilient and open internet that puts them in control of their online experience, IPFS can now be installed on Brave's browser with just one click.
IPFS features in Brave
Brave has integrated IPFS into its desktop web browser for Windows, macOS and Linux. When Brave detects an address that is an HTTP gateway URL for IPFS content, or a native IPFS address (for example will prompt the user to install and enable a native IPFS node or use an HTTP gateway), the default gateway used is dweb.link, determined by the protocol experiment room operation.
Users can also specify a gateway of their choice in the browser settings. You can access the IPFS Admin UI, or enable the IPFS Assistant and select in the main menu"my node"secondary title
Why choose a web browser?
Modern web browsers enable experimentation, innovation, and new models of collaboration and value exchange on the Internet. The ubiquity of the web runtime and the low barriers to entry for content creation make it ideal for simplifying access to content and applications for both creators and consumers.
However, the current basic protocol of the Web is HTTP, which enables publishers to fully control service availability and data access, and end users to receive passively. IPFS changes this dynamic by enabling direct communication and sharing between users through a collaborative public network.
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a long road
Changing networks is not only difficult, but takes a long time.
The goal of making IPFS accessible as a native web protocol is ambitious, but we've been making progress. This release from Brave is the culmination of years of hard work understanding how IPFS works in the browser, what the security model requires, experimenting with different embedding methods, and working with browser vendors to make it possible.
The earliest understanding of use cases and challenges stems from the AreWeDistributedYet project (link: https://arewedistributedyet.com/), where many distributed web applications contribute to these alternative protocols and are supported by browsers. The latest version of the source library (https://github.com/ipfs/in-web-browsers) can access the file content of our continuous optimization of IPFS.
In 2019, we summarized the progress. Brave added support for IPFS Companion, Opera also announced its support plan for IPFS, and announced other experimental projects and browsers of interest.
In March 2020, Opera released IPFS native addressing in their Android browser, a first for the protocol. It's a big step, but still uses HTTP to connect to the IPFS network, so it doesn't provide all the benefits that IPFS can bring when used natively.
In 2020, we began working with Igalia to fix problems in the browser itself—identifying compatibility issues, interoperability gaps, security model ambiguities, and missing APIs that prevent progress on the distributed web.
The future is worth looking forward to
The future is worth looking forward to
The initial release of native support for IPFS in Brave provides basic node functionality. There is still a lot of work to be done, the following are some of the work planned by IPFS this year, and the areas you want to try:
1. Improve performance and stability, reduce memory, CPU and bandwidth usage
2. Simplify the publishing and sharing of IPFS content in the browser UI
3. Add features for revisiting, co-hosting and offline/local collaboration
4. Define the application model of the IPFS web application
5. Attempt to integrate the functionality and economic model of Basic Attention Token and Filebase
6. Develop the security and privacy user interface and visual language of IPFS in the browser address bar
7. Add IPFS support to Brave's Android browser
Full of 7 step-by-step plans, listening to it makes the encryption world full of expectations. If you want to experience it for yourself, you may wish to install Brave immediately, try the IPFS function, and feel how it works.
