Brave private browser integrates IPFS support to desktop version

Brave Browser, a popular blockchain-enabled web browser, has integrated native support of InterPlanetary File System, or IPFS, to strengthen the access to the decentralized web.

According to a Jan. 19 announcement, Brave has integrated IPFS into its desktop web browser for Windows, macOS and Linux, enabling users to install the protocol in a couple of clicks.

IPFS is a peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol designed to make the web faster, safer, and more open. The protocol aims to supplement or possibly even replace the Hypertext Transfer Protocol, or HTTP, which is a major client-based protocol used to transfer web pages across a network. In the announcement, Brave pinpointed some crucial issues associated with HTTP:

“The underlying protocol of the web today is HTTP, which dictates where power exists in those applications. HTTP puts publishers in complete control of service availability and data access, making end users passive receivers instead of having agency in the relationship.”

As such, the IPFS integration with Brave browser is a big step toward redefining existing internet architecture, putting individuals in control instead of publishers, Brave said. “IPFS changes this dynamic by enabling direct communication and sharing between users over a cooperative public network,” the firm added.

The initial release of native support for IPFS provides basic node functionality, and Brave plans to introduce more IPFS implementations in 2021 including adding IPFS support to Brave’s Android browser. The firm will also experiment with integrating the features and economic models of the Brave network’s utility token, Basic Attention Token (BAT) and Filecoin (FIL).

Brave is not the only company actively experimenting with IPFS. In March 2020, Opera browser officially released IPFS native addressing in their Android browser, introducing default support for IPFS on Android 57.

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