Aloha Browser Update Promises End to Endless Cookie Prompts

[MacRumors]

Privacy-focused Aloha Browser has announced a new Cookie Consent Management feature that aims to eliminate repetitive cookie permission pop-ups while maintaining user privacy controls.

Released today for its iOS app, the new feature allows people to set their cookie preferences once at the browser level rather than responding to prompts on every website.

The new system is designed to address the common frustration with cookie consent banners, which studies show approximately 70% of users either ignore or dismiss without reading. But instead of simply blocking pop-ups, Aloha says its solution actively communicates user preferences to websites through a standardized API.

"How the industry manages cookie consent is backward and has actually backfired," said Andrew Frost Moroz, Founder of Aloha Browser. "It's time to give users the ability to manage their privacy preferences across the web without being constantly interrupted by cookie pop-ups."

The feature offers several preference options, including allowing or rejecting all cookies, creating custom settings for different cookie categories, or setting specific preferences for individual websites. Aloha says these choices are stored securely in the browser and automatically applied across all sites visited. The new feature can be found in Aloha's settings menu under AdBlock ➝ GDPR Consent.

The company presented its new approach to cookie management at the W3C's TPAC 2024 conference, where it reportedly received industry support. Aloha Browser can be found on the App Store [Direct Link], and includes a built-in VPN, ad blocker, privacy reporting, background audio playing support, advanced file management options, and more.

Article Link: Aloha Browser Update Promises End to Endless Cookie Prompts

 

[Flamingdeathbolts]

Why did it take so long for someone to create this. I’m downloading their browser asap.

 

[nottorp]

Aloha says its solution actively communicates user preferences to websites through a standardized API.

Seriously? And who's going to obey this "standardized API"? About ... drumroll ... no one.

 

[mac-imperator]

Nice try Diddy...

 

[Stuartglossop]

Aren’t there extensions in safari that already do this?

 

[philosopherdog]

You already control this with extensions. Brave also can block all this out of the box

 

[Aoligei]

Well. This is what I got

 

[Plutonius]

Well. This is what I got

View attachment 2458670

Doesn't "Aloha" mean goodbye ?

I suppose it's better than deciding to call it "Siesta" .

 

[cicalinarrot]

I find it incredible both for good and for bad how cookie disclosure was enforced.
They managed to force the whole web to have it. They did it with random criteria.
The solution was, of course, to have a standard section handled by browsers like alerts and notifications, with global settings (always allow functional, ask, allow all, and so on). This would have killed predatory data brokers.
Instead, you can make the sneakiest buttons, hide or put in a second page the "refuse all" button and so on. The internet experience has never been this bad.

 

[andrewxgx]

there wont be any standarized way to ged rid of those until there is law in place which enforces those.
theres zero reason for website owners to provide this. they want you to click that "agree" button.

 

[CharlesShaw]

Private Browsing mode [add: no extensions] Safari loyalist here, so agreeing to cookies comes with the territory.

 

[peneaux]

It’s a shame that Mobile Safari is so constrained for ad blockers.

In a Mac, you can use AdGuard app that blocks everything, even YouTube ads, pop-up injectors behind links…

Or use uBlock Origins in Firefox or Ungoogled Chromium.

 

[infinitejest]

Isn't this the browser that sends your bookmarks and open tabs to their servers unencrypted, even if you don't have the sync option turned on?

And a free VPN seems super suspicious too. To offer something like that, they have to sell your data.

I would stay away from this browser.

 

[InsideApple]

Aren’t there extensions in safari that already do this?

Yes, Superagent

 

[jlc1978]

there wont be any standarized way to ged rid of those until there is law in place which enforces those.
theres zero reason for website owners to provide this. they want you to click that "agree" button.

In addition, due to EU rules, we get popups.

 

[Skyscraperfan]

Tracking cookies that do not benefit the user at all should simply be illegal. It is very intrusive if you look up something at Amazon and then then ads for that product follow you everywhere around the internet.

 

[Ctrlos]

Before this thread turns political, I'd just like to remind everyone that the spirit of the EU law was to stop cookies and browser tracking altogether. Scummy websites (nearly every website it seems) got around this by purposefully, of their own accord putting up a prompt asking users if they were ok being tracked.

The reason the cookie prompts exist is due to the website you are visiting and not some mandate by the EU. Aim your blame accordingly.

 

[randomgeeza]

WIPR-2 is a go to for this...

 

[Trusteft]

The internet experience has never been this bad.

You are kidding, right? Perhaps you were not an internet user in say 20+ years ago.

 

[Trusteft]

NEver heard of this Aloha browser before and it apparently also runs on PC.
Anyone here knows it? Safe? Compatible?

 

[alexe]

Wow! Now that‘s a reason to switch browsers!

I can‘t believe it took until now for someone to make this. Also wonder why Apple hasn‘t already done this in Safari. Seems like an obvious idea for a privacy-focused company.

 

[cicalinarrot]

You are kidding, right? Perhaps you were not an internet user in say 20+ years ago.

First modem was 56k
Well... except for someone making a phone call sometimes, it felt incredible back then!
I call this worse because it's really frustrating, impacts all use of new sites and could technically be fixed in a very easy way, it's broken because of stupid choices and not some tech limitations (like waiting 2 minutes for a bad jpeg of a lady used to be loaded when I was a teenager...)

 

[AstonSmith]

Seriously? And who's going to obey this "standardized API"? About ... drumroll ... no one.

Agreed. This reminds me of Do Not Track - when it was set at browser level, many websites ignored it.

 

[xaanaax]

Cookie pop-ups and caps attached to the bottles are two most annoying and useless inventions.

 

[Abazigal]

Before this thread turns political, I'd just like to remind everyone that the spirit of the EU law was to stop cookies and browser tracking altogether. Scummy websites (nearly every website it seems) got around this by purposefully, of their own accord putting up a prompt asking users if they were ok being tracked.

The reason the cookie prompts exist is due to the website you are visiting and not some mandate by the EU. Aim your blame accordingly.

Well, what does it say when the solution appears to be worse than the problem?

And since this was brought up, does the EU consider their job done? They rolled out a ruling which for all intents and purposes, should have applied only to users in the EU, yet everyone around the entire world is subject to endless popups for cookie permissions, and at the end of the day, what has changed exactly?

Is there no one in the EU looking at the current state of popups today and going “You know, the law we passed years ago doesn’t seem to be working so well. Perhaps we should look at further refining it?”

It’s just another annoyance we are going to have to deal with till the end of time, apparently.