Allow users to disable APIs that intentionally identify the browser as Brave

[pes10k]

Currently brave allows sites to determine if its brave by querying a Brave-specific API (navigator.brave.*). This was done in #8216 to:

1. make easy whats already possible for sites (by looking for Brave unique modifications), and
2. make explicit that keeping brave indistinguishable from chrome is not part of brave's privacy threat model

However, it would be nice to have a way for users to disable this if needed, either per site in shields, or globally through a flag.

[Johann999]

The whole thing is paradoxical, unclear and contradictory.
On the one hand, Brave does not appear in the user agent, supposedly because of fingerprinting.
On the other hand, Brave can query using the DuckDuckGo API and more recently using navigator.brave.

[pes10k]

On the one hand, Brave does not appear in the user agent, supposedly because of fingerprinting.

This is not correct. Brave doesn't appear in the UA for web compat reasons. Brave makes many changes in the browser that it already looks / behaves very different from chromium, so reporting brave in the UA would not have any change in the browser's fingerprintability (e.g. the other changes brave makes are consistent across all brave instances per platform, so changing the UA in a way that was also consistent across all brave instances per platform would not affect the anonymity sets at all).

[arpitjindal97]

You should have implement previous backlog by giving an option to change it. The whole purpose of using Brave seems worthless now. Some websites have started blocking Brave intentionally.

[dlecan]

Some websites have started blocking Brave intentionally.

Which ones?

[arpitjindal97]

KodeKloud Labs

[pes10k]

@ryanbr can you add a fix for the above, with another remove isBrave for the above?

[ryanbr]

KodeKloud Labs

Does this error message come from kodekloud.com domain? @arpitjindal97

[arpitjindal97]

When you try open Labs session on kodekloud.com then you will see this error

[ryanbr]

If you add kodekloud.com##+js(aopw, navigator.brave) into brave://adblock, clear the cookies and relogin.

Does that help? @arpitjindal97

[ryanbr]

Apologies for the delay, managed to recreate the issue, @arpitjindal97 give it 24-48hrs the update will fix this issue with shields up.

[arpitjindal97]

Thanks @ryanbr , new update fixed the kodekloud issue. Waiting for a full fledged solution.

[ryanbr]

Yeah, tried reaching out to them via twitter, got no response @arpitjindal97