The Brave team has announced upcoming features in their privacy-centric browser, aiming to enhance user control over site access to local network resources.
These resources encompass locally hosted files and images utilized by web programs on users’ devices. Additionally, access to devices within the user’s network, including NAS instances, locally hosted servers, shared network printer files, and computer data, falls under these local resources.
Currently, many websites and web applications request access to these local resources, potentially for fingerprinting users or gathering information about installed software.
Despite the surprising revelation, most browsers, including popular ones, allow such access to local resources, as highlighted by Brave. This practice has been identified since at least 2020, with notable websites like eBay, Citibank, and Chick-fil-A implementing it as part of anti-fraud scripts.
The upcoming changes in Brave’s browser will introduce restriction controls, enabling users to specify the duration for which sites can access their local network resources.
This move aligns with Brave’s commitment to user privacy and aims to address the potential misuse of access to local resources by websites. Users will have greater autonomy in managing their online privacy and security as they navigate through web applications and interact with various websites.
