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Product Overview: Ungoogled Chromium
Ungoogled Chromium is a free and open-source variant of the Chromium web browser, designed to eliminate all dependencies on Google-specific web services. This browser is developed by a collective of hobbyists known as “Ungoogled Software,” led by Eloston, and is available for various operating systems including Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Android, and BSD.
Key Features
- Removal of Google-Specific Functionality: Ungoogled Chromium disables all features that require Google domains, such as Google Safe Browsing, Google URL Tracker, Google Cloud Messaging, and Google Hotwording. This ensures that the browser does not send any data to Google servers.
- Domain Substitution: The browser replaces Google web domains with non-existent domains (ending in `qjz9zk`) and blocks internal requests to these domains. This is a fail-safe measure to prevent any unintended connections to Google services.
- Binary Pruning: Ungoogled Chromium removes pre-made binaries from the source code and replaces them with user-provided alternatives when possible. This step enhances transparency and control over the browser’s inner operations.
- Enhanced Privacy and Control: The browser includes several tweaks to enhance privacy, control, and transparency. These include adding numerous command-line switches and `chrome://flags` entries to configure new features, many of which are disabled by default and require manual activation. Other enhancements include the ability to customize search engine suggestions, force all pop-ups into tabs, and disable automatic URL formatting in the Omnibox.
- Platform Support: Ungoogled Chromium supports a wide range of platforms, including x86-64, AArch64, ARMv7, and IA-32 architectures, making it versatile across different devices and operating systems.
Additional Functionality
- Custom Configuration Options: The browser offers a custom cross-platform build configuration and packaging wrapper, allowing for extensive customization. It also includes features like preventing URLs with the `trk:` scheme from connecting to the Internet and disabling intranet redirect detectors, which breaks captive portal detection but still allows captive portals to function.
- Extension Compatibility: While some features of regular Chromium may not work identically, Ungoogled Chromium can still install extensions from the Chrome Web Store using a special browser extension called chromium-web-store.
Philosophy and Motivation
Ungoogled Chromium aims to retain the default Chromium experience as closely as possible while addressing the privacy and transparency concerns associated with Google’s services. By removing all dependencies on Google web services and binaries, the browser provides users with greater control over their browsing experience and enhances overall privacy.
In summary, Ungoogled Chromium is a robust, privacy-focused alternative to the standard Chromium browser, offering a range of features and configurations that promote user control and transparency.
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