The number of Brave browser users has exceeded 20 million, and it has begun to support the local IPFS protocol, allowing people to use distributed networks more easily and simply. This realization marks an important step in the development of a more flexible 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 interruptions or 404s, filtering of important information (such as COVID-19 news), high networking costs, and sharing and collaboration functions in offline environments during daily Internet access.
These are not problems that everyone faces, and those who are not aware of these problems at all may not understand why IPFS is so important. But for those who desperately need a flexible and open Internet so that they can autonomously control their online experience, IPFS can now be installed on Brave's browser with just one click.
IPFS in Brave browser
Brave has integrated IPFS into its desktop web browser for Windows, macOS and Linux. When Brave detects that an address is an HTTP gateway URL for IPFS content, or a native IPFS address (for example, the user will be prompted to install and enable a native IPFS node or use an HTTP gateway), the default gateway used is dweb.link, which is tested by the protocol Room is running.
Users can also specify the gateway of their choice in the browser settings. You can access the IPFS management UI, or enable IPFS Assistant and select the "My Node" button in the main menu.
Why choose a web browser?
Modern web browsers support experimentation, innovation and new collaboration and value exchange models on the Internet. The ubiquity of the Web runtime and the low barriers and low barriers to content creation make it an ideal choice for simplifying content and application access for creators and users.
However, the basic protocol of the current Web is HTTP, which enables publishers to fully control service availability and data access, and enables end users to receive passively. IPFS changes this dynamic by realizing direct communication and sharing between users through collaborative public networks.
Today's Web does not allow this type of architecture, and changes are very slow. Brave's joining IPFS is to redefine the power dynamics of today's Internet architecture, allowing each independent individual to take an important step.
Long road
Changing the network is not only difficult, it also takes a long time.
The goal of making IPFS easy to use as a native web protocol is ambitious, but we are always making progress. This release of Brave is the culmination of years of trying to understand how IPFS works in a browser, what the security model requires, experimenting with different embedding methods, and working with browser vendors to make it possible.
The use case originated from the AreWeDistributedYet project, where many distributed web applications contribute to these alternative protocols and are supported by browsers. The latest version of the source code library can access the file content of our continuous optimization of IPFS. In 2019, we reviewed the progress, Brave added support for IPFS Companion, Opera also announced a 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, which is the first of the protocol. This is a big step, but still uses HTTP to connect to the IPFS network, so it does not provide all the benefits that IPFS can bring when used natively.
In 2020, we began to work with Igalia to fix problems in the browser itself-identifying compatibility issues, interoperability gaps, security model ambiguities, and lack of APIs that prevent progress on the distributed Web. Their expertise has provided Chromium, Webkit, and Gecko open source projects with numerous repair functions, which not only help IPFS and dweb projects, but also make the Web better for all developers.
The future is worth looking forward to
The initial version of the native support for IPFS in Brave provides basic node functions. 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 that I want to try:
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Improve performance and stability, reduce memory, CPU and bandwidth usage
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Simplify publishing and sharing of IPFS content in the browser UI
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Add features for revisiting, co-hosting, and offline/local collaboration
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Define the application model of the IPFS web application
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Try to integrate the functions and economic models of the basic attention token and the file library
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Develop the security and privacy user interface and visual language of IPFS in the browser address bar
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Add IPFS support to Brave's Android browser
If all the above tasks are successfully implemented, the user experience will be significantly improved, which will make the encryption world even more exciting.
Investors who want to learn more about IPFS and Filecoin can follow the official website of the IPFS China Community: http://ipfs.cn