Aloha Browser Targets Removal of Cookie Banners While Safeguarding Privacy

Aloha Browser, a Cyprus-based company known for its focus on digital freedom and privacy, has recently announced an ambitious initiative to overhaul the way cookie consent is managed online. Since its establishment in 2015, Aloha has been dedicated to providing a secure and user-friendly browsing experience through its privacy-first web browser and Private AI Assistant. Despite its efforts, the persistent issue of cookie banners—mandated by privacy regulations such as the GDPR—continues to frustrate users and undermine the very privacy protections these regulations aim to enforce.

Cookie banners have become a common but irritating feature on websites, designed to comply with data protection laws by asking users for their consent to collect data through cookies. However, a significant portion of users either ignore these banners or accept all cookies indiscriminately to bypass the repetitive prompts. This widespread behavior results in data collection practices that are counterproductive to the privacy intentions behind these regulations. According to Aloha Browser’s analysis, nearly 70% of consumers either close or disregard cookie banners altogether, which can increase data vulnerability rather than protect it.

Aloha Browser estimates that the average internet user spends around 32 hours per year dealing with cookie pop-ups. When considering the global internet user base, this translates into a staggering 760 lifetimes of wasted time each day. To circumvent these annoying interruptions, many users turn to ad-blockers. While ad-blockers can eliminate cookie prompts, they do not necessarily prevent data collection, leading to a paradox where users might still be exposed to unwanted data tracking.

To address these challenges, Aloha Browser has proposed a transformative solution: shifting cookie consent management from the website level to the browser level. This approach, outlined in an open letter to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), aims to streamline the consent process and enhance user privacy. By implementing a "one-and-done" system, users would be able to set their cookie preferences once at the browser level, and these preferences would be applied automatically across all websites they visit. This change is intended to eliminate the need for repeated cookie consent requests and reduce the overall burden on users.

Aloha’s proposed solution includes a range of consent options. Users will be able to choose to allow all cookies, reject all cookies, or customize their preferences for different categories of cookies. Additionally, they can set specific cookie preferences for individual websites. The browser will securely store these preferences and utilize a standardized API that websites can use to determine the user’s consent status. This standardized approach not only aims to reduce interruptions but also ensures that privacy choices are consistently enforced across the web.

The technical specifications for this new feature have been made open-source and are available on Aloha’s public GitHub repository. This move is designed to promote industry collaboration and encourage other companies to adopt and contribute to this more user-centric approach to cookie management.

Andrew Frost Moroz, Founder of Aloha Browser, emphasized the significance of this initiative: "We’re committed to protecting human privacy and saw an opportunity to make a huge impact by simply shifting cookie consent management to the browser level. This simple shift gives users a consistent, easy-to-use interface to manage their privacy preferences across all websites." Moroz also highlighted the irony of the current GDPR implementation, which, despite aiming to protect privacy, often results in increased data collection due to user overwhelm with constant cookie requests.

With this innovative approach, Aloha Browser seeks to provide a more effective and user-friendly method of managing online privacy. By addressing the inefficiencies of current cookie consent practices, the company aims to set a new standard for privacy management on the web. This initiative reflects Aloha’s ongoing commitment to enhancing digital privacy while improving the overall user experience.