Google monopoly killing open web & ad blockers!!! ❌

Engineers at Google recently introduced a new API namely "Web Environment Integrity API" in their chromium project which is used by major browsers like Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave etc as their base.

How it works? ⚙️

The WEI API can detect any changes made by a user to the website code received by their browser and report it to the website owner. This makes it possible for the owner to deny service to that particular user. It’s like having someone constantly monitoring your activity and reporting any wrongdoing.

How it affect our privacy? 🛡

Many of us use extensions, such as ad blockers, to block online ads and trackers. These extensions modify the website code received by our browser to remove unwanted ads, scripts, and trackers. However, with the introduction of the WEI API, website owners can now detect and block these changes caused by extensions, forcing users to either allow tracking & ads or leave the site.

Why it is even worse than it sounds? 👎

The WEI API gives Google and website owners the power to block any browser or extension that they don’t like or that harms their business model, such as the Brave browser and extensions like AdGuard. They can even block users from using developer tools or other methods provided by their browser to make changes to the website code. This also affects users using translators, as these tools also require changes to the website code to function.

You can learn more about the WEI API in a detailed post by AdGuard, available here.

Have a nice day :)