Elementary Developers Introduced Ephemeral Web Browser

ephemeral browser

One of the founders operating system project Elementary OS which is based on Ubuntu, recently introduced a new web browser "Ephemeral", developed by the Elementary OS team, web browser that is specifically for this Linux distribution.

For those who are still unaware of this derivative of Ubuntu we can tell you that Elementary OS is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu LTS that uses a GNOME-based desktop environment with its own shell called Pantheon.

This environment stands out for being lighter than GNOME Shell and for its integration with other Elementary OS applications such as Plank (dock), Epiphany (the web browser), Scratch (simple text editor) or Birdie (Twitter client). As a window manager it uses Gala, based on Mutter.3

Being based on Ubuntu, it is fully compatible with its repositories and packages, as well as incorporating its own software store, AppCenter, based on the “Pay what you want” model.

Its interface is inspired by the functionality and simplicity of Mac OS X, although it should be noted that it is completely designed from scratch, and aims to be intuitive for new users (such as Ubuntu Unity) without consuming excessive resources.

For the development of this new Ephemeral web browser that will be part of the Elementary OS distribution The Vala programming languages ​​were used, as well as the GTK3 + language and the WebKitGTK + engine (the project was written from scratch and is not a branch of Epiphany).

The source code of this new web browser is distributed under the GPLv3 license. Finished builds are prepared for elementary operating systems only, but if desired, the browser can be compiled for other distributions.

About the new Elementary OS web browser «Ephemeral«

The project is being developed with an eye on the functionality of the Firefox Focus mobile web browser, which is adapted for use on desktop systems.

By default, Ephemera web browser starts in incognito mode, in which all external cookies are blocked, set by ad units, social media widgets and any external JavaScript code.

Ephemeral web browser

The content of the local storage and the browsing history set by the current cookie site are saved until the window is closed, after which they are automatically deleted.

The button is also available on the interface for quick clearing of cookies and other site-related information. DuckDuckGo is offered as a search engine.

Each window in Ephemeral is started in a separate process (in fact, a new browser instance is launched for each page).

The different windows are completely isolated from each other and do not overlap at the level of Cookie processing (in different windows you can connect to the same service on different accounts).

The browser interface is extremely simplified and is single-window (tabs are not supported). The address bar is combined with a panel for submitting search queries.

The widget is integrated into the interface to quickly open the link in other browsers installed on the current system.

A web browser that cares about privacy

Per se, web browser idea is not badAs we can see, the main focus of this is user privacy.

Well, as the developers tell us:

The best part of Ephemeral comes when you use it as your default browser - make privacy a habit by opening links in a private browser by default, knowing that you can always jump to a less private browser with a single click.

Remember, Ephemeral and any browser's private or incognito mode can only do so much - they mitigate tracking and don't store data on your device, but they won't stop your ISP, government, or certain websites from tracking you. For the best protection, always use a VPN.

Though being frank if you lack enough features that are demanding today The simple fact that the browser does not accept multiple tabs leaves much to be desired.

If you want to know more, you can visit the following link.  


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