Blockchain-based web browser coming from IBM

Tech behemoth IBM has filed a patent for a blockchain-powered web browser, which has peer-to-peer network support. This patent was filed on August 6th at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The browser could possibly store information like visited websites, bookmarks, search terms, cookies, geo-locations and security patch records on the blockchain.

In the patent it’s being explained that IBM’s system “records and maintains a record of browser events in a blockchain using a peer-to-peer network”. The idea is that the privacy of users is completely in the hands of users instead of a third party like Google, which obtains user data from the usage of Google Chrome.

While browsing users will be able to set two settings: personal use and business use. Each browsing mode collects a different set of data. User data can always be obtained with the correct login, which would make IBM’s browser less vulnerable to cyber attacks.

IBM’s system will also include a token. This token should verify the activities of a user, including generated queries, service execution results, risk assessments etc. This data would be packaged into blocks for the peer-to-peer network. It’s not yet known how and if the browser by IBM will also award users for using their browser in the same way that Brave Attention Token is integrated into Brave, and internet users can earn TUBE for browsing.

Even though IBM is promising to deliver a token, it remains to be seen whether they will finally make the jump to the cryptocurrency market. With Hyperledger they already have their own DLT blockchain project, but it’s a closed system created by IBM itself and provided to its partners. IBM is a great company and they are doing lots of work in the blockchain space, but it doesn’t seem likely that IBM’s web browser is going to move away from the philosophy that the company has been keeping since it made its first jump into blockchain years ago.

Originally published at NEDEROB.