I’m building a dividend-paying browser - looking for beta feedback!
TL;DR - Looking for beta feedback. You’re awesome. Thank you! 😄 TestFlight link: https://testflight.apple.com/join/WwwmLqcB
Hey all 👋,
My name is Noah Amar, and I’m the maker of Pie Browser, a dividend-paying private web browser for iOS and Android.
What is it?
Every year, browsers like Safari and Firefox earn billions of dollars by sending users to search engine results - and they keep all of the profits for themselves.
With Pie Browser, the aim is to partner with search engines and pay out the majority of the profits as dividends to users, much like Andrew Yang’s Data Dividend Project.
The browser itself is built on top of the open-source Brave browser so it comes with great privacy, security, and speed. It was also previously a recipient of an equity-free grant from Y Combinator Startup School.
Beta
The app is now in beta and I’m currently in talks to partner with a major search engine, but I’d like some feedback from my fellow hackers before I make the next steps.
If you’re interested, use the TestFlight link above to install the beta (iOS only for now - let me know if you are interested in the Android beta).
Here are some questions I have while you use the beta:
- How's the general usability?
- Is there anything that's confusing or could use more clarification regarding the whole "dividends" concept?
- Is there anything keeping you from setting Pie Browser as your default browser?
- Any general thoughts/feelings/concerns?
Also, please note that your dividend balance will stay as "pending" for the time being!
Thank you, all! 🙏
Super interesting concept. I'm on android and would be interested in giving it a shot.
Thank you! 🙏 Android is coming soon!
This sounds interesting.
I appreciate that! 🙏
Great idea. I've just joined the TestFlight link and the app looks fantastic.
Wow, thank you! Feel free to let me know if you see anything that needs improvement or clarification! 🙏😄
My first thought was "this sounds like Brave with Brave Rewards!" - but if you're removing the need to withdraw $BAT and register on Uphold then that's good.
My concern for you is that this is an iOS app - Brave themselves has to remove Rewards for the iOS browser because of new App Store rules:
https://brave.com/rewards-ios/
How do you see yourself getting around that?
Yeah, I read about that. Apple as already approved Pie Browser through several releases, so I assume they've deemed it safe (although, you never know with Apple). Here are a few reasons why I think Pie Browser is safe compared to Brave Rewards:
But, you never know with Apple, so fingers crossed that Pie Browser stays safe.
Thanks for your comment! 🙏
It's not a new concept, Microsoft does already reward users for using Bing. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/rewards/search-and-earn
Thanks for your comment. 🙏 Yes, the idea of earning from searching or browsing is not new (there are Microsoft Rewards, Brave Rewards, Ecosia, etc).
With Pie Browser's dividends, you directly receive a share of the total profits made. In regards to Microsoft Rewards, you earn points and redeem them for items, much like credit card rewards. Points are an easy way to obscure the value of what you earn so they can be easily manipulated. Microsoft Rewards is also only "available in the 50 United States and D.C. Not available in Puerto Rico." Pie Browser is intended to be global.
Sounds cool, thanks for clarifying. Wish you good luck!
Of course! And, thank you! 🙏
The first thing I would say is that you need to be able to teach to people what this whole concept is about ,and most important, its benefits. The catch is that you need to do this in a twitter format (280 characters or less).
Thanks for the comment! 🙏 I completely agree. Getting that elevator pitch down is critical.
First thing first, how does the users receive those dividends?
Brave kinda did the same, but then required KYC with a 3rd party provider to receive those tokens, agh.
Second, how does the user earn those tokens? By showing more ads? In what form they have to give away their attention? I ditched google last year, and totally rely on duckduckgo now, so I guess this would require people to use a search engine that's splitting profit with you. Anyone onboard already?
My personal take: Such model doesn't align well with the user's interests. Non-intrusive ads are ok, but they probably earn a lot less, so a lot less sexy to get involved into, let alone share profits with the user. So, this sounds good on theory, but nothing ground breaking really. That being said, the whole industry is not going to go away, so you might have success with it. But conscious people like me, will never use anything but the most private form of browsing with ad blocker.
Thank you for your comment! 🙏 Users will be able to withdraw their dividend balance via PayPal, or eventually, via direct deposits into their bank account.
Yes, Brave has Brave Rewards, which is primarily sold as a way to compensate content creators from your earnings. And yes, they use a complicated way of doing so using tokens and a third-party. No KYC, tokens, or third-parties needed here though. Just browse as you normally do and you'll accrue dividends over time, which you can directly withdraw later.
Revenue is generated as traffic is driven to search engine results, and the dividends are derived from those profits. No intrusive ads like Brave. The search engine partnerships are in the works now, but yes, they will likely be one of the mainstream ones, so Pie Browser may not be the best fit for DDG users.
The bet is that users will likely want to receive a share of the profits, no matter how small, as long as their browsing experience is not changed. Pie Browser is also built on top of Brave, so it literally has the same privacy protections and ad blockers in place.
Alright, do remember to take the nasty stuff out of brave, like hidden affiliate links in address bar's auto suggestions. They were caught with their hands in the cookie jar with Binance's affiliate link. I verified it then as a user and in their codebase, they were guilty.
I heard about that! Much of the Brave-specific functionality has already been taken out, but I will double-check on that. Thanks 🙏
This comment was deleted 4 years ago.
I appreciate the feedback! Android is coming soon. 🙏
This comment was deleted 3 years ago.
I very much appreciate the thoughtful feedback! Yes, there is definitely a catch 22. I've been in talks with partnering with a search engine, and they are looking at it as more of a speculative play and they can choose to bow out if it does not deliver a meaningful amount of traffic over time. That's all still in the works, but it is definitely one of the major hurdles of the journey.
The most immediate thing to work out is the understandability of the whole dividends concept. I would be very curious to know what you think. Putting the mechanics of the partnerships and traffic aside, would you mind giving the beta a once-over and let me know if you see any wrinkles?
This comment was deleted 3 years ago.
Thank you for checking out the beta! I'm glad you at least feel the UX is well put together. As for partnerships with search engines, yes, it's very important to incorporate the top mainstream search engines, and that is the goal.
As for the amount of dividends a user can earn, in absolute terms, it will not be an incredible amount, but that was never the goal. I completely understand that some users won't care enough to switch use a different browser because of that.
But, after a lot of feedback over time, I've learned that the mainstream, non-technical user isn't religious about the browser they use and are more than happy to switch to one that can earn them a piece of the profits that they help generate. But, time will tell! I really appreciate your thoughts. 🙏
This comment was deleted 5 years ago.
Thank you very much! 🙏