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Bypassing Google's big anti-adblock update

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1034 points deryilz | 8 comments | 12 Jul 25 19:06 UTC | HN request time: 1.052s | source | bottom
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al_borland ◴[12 Jul 25 20:51 UTC] No.44545060[source]▶
Even if bigs exists to work around what Google is doing, that isn’t the right way forward. If people don’t agree with Google move, the only correct course of action is to ditch Chrome (and all Chromium browsers). Hit them where it hurts and take away their monopoly over the future direction of the web.
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phendrenad2 ◴[12 Jul 25 21:09 UTC] No.44545185[source]▶
A lot of people seem to believe that switching to a de-Googled Chromium-based browser isn't good enough. I think that's a psyop promoted by Google themselves. Firefox is different enough from Chrome that it's a big jump for people who are used to Chrome. Brave, custom Chromium builds, Vivaldi, etc. are all very similar to Google Chrome, they just don't have Google spy features.

The argument that "Google still controls Chromium so it's not good enough" is exactly the kind of FUD I'd expect to back up this kind of psyop, too.

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1. poly2it ◴[12 Jul 25 21:25 UTC] No.44545316[source]▶
Isn't that the exact argument behind the Serenity project? I legitimately feel there is a grave issue with the internet if one wallet controls all of the actual development of our browsers. Control over virtually all media consumption mustn't be in the hands of a corporation.
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2. phendrenad2 ◴[12 Jul 25 22:22 UTC] No.44545685[source]▶
The argument just doesn't hold water, though. That's like saying Y Combinator shouldn't be the only company paying for our tech forum. It's perfectly fine unless Y Combinator decides to ruin HN it somehow. And, if they did, wouldn't people just switch to one of the many HN clones overnight? That's what's known as FUD - "Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt". FUD is often spread about the present, but it's often just as useful to spread it about the future. "Don't use product X, the company that owns it could make it unusable someday". Part of me thinks Google keeps threatening to disable adblocking (but never actually does it) as part of a grand strategy. But part of me thinks it's just a coincidence that Google isn't capable of pulling off such a tricky psychological operation.
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3. nicoburns ◴[12 Jul 25 23:04 UTC] No.44545959[source]▶
> I legitimately feel there is a grave issue with the internet if one wallet controls all of the actual development of our browsers.

Aside from Ladybird and Servo, it mostly is one wallet. Chrome and Firefox are both funded by Google, and Apple also receives significant funding from Google for being the default search engine in Safari.

Btw, some informal estimates at team sizes (full-time employees) of the various browsers (by people who have worked on them / are otherwise familiar):

Chrome: 1300

Firefox: 500

Safari: 100-150

Ladybird/Servo: 7-8 (each)

Which gives you an idea of why Chrome has been so hard to compete with.

4. al_borland ◴[12 Jul 25 23:10 UTC] No.44546004[source]▶
The HN comparison doesn’t really hold water. There are a lot of options for tech news and forums. Lots of platforms, self-hosting options, with many business models, or simply self-funded.

That is very different than a world where every browser relies on Google for the core of their browser… and those who don’t rely on Google for funding (as they pay a lot of money to be the default search option in major browsers). Even Microsoft gave up on making their own browser, and now depends on Google. They used to own the entire market not so long ago.

People are saying this is a psyop, but I’m not sure what Google stands to gain from giving off the impression that they are seeking to control the entire market so they can steer the direction of the web for their own profit. That doesn’t make them look like the good guy, and should keep them neck deep in anti-trust filing from various governments. Where’s the upside? People feeling like they don’t have an option, so they give up and settle like Microsoft? Is that the angle?

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5. 3eb7988a1663 ◴[13 Jul 25 00:17 UTC] No.44546375{3}[source]▶
Somewhat related - is Microsoft Edge a set of patches on top of the latest Chromium release or is Microsoft running a hard fork from a X years old version?
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6. homebrewer ◴[13 Jul 25 01:02 UTC] No.44546582[source]▶
Users were supposedly massively exiting Reddit when that cesspool imploded, but if you find one of those threads through any search engine and click around on usernames who were leaving their "last messages ever, fuck reddit, I'm out", I'd estimate about 95% of them never left.

Do it if you have 10 minutes to waste, it's easy to check and changes your opinion about how much people are willing to endure to avoid actually doing anything.

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7. homebrewer ◴[13 Jul 25 01:26 UTC] No.44546708{4}[source]▶
It's just a set of patches on top of Chromium, as any other Chromium rebuild.

They use the same numbering scheme and go in lockstep:

> The trigger for Beta and Stable major releases is an equivalent Chromium release.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-...

8. phendrenad2 ◴[15 Jul 25 05:12 UTC] No.44568008{3}[source]▶
> Users were supposedly massively exiting Reddit when that cesspool imploded

According to who? Tech journalists?

> 95% of them never left

Probably 95% of a VERY small number.

> it's easy to check and changes your opinion

Actually, I'd encourage you to take into account my theory that an incredibly, INCREDIBLY small percentage of Reddit users were making a LOT of noise about leaving Reddit, and it made a lot of people believe that there was a mas exodus, when most people didn't care at all. (What was the mass exodus supposed to be over, anyway? Blocking 3rd party apps? I know that HN is a tech worker echo chamber, but really, how many people out in the wild even trust 3rd party apps at all?)