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The following [[Google Chrome]] features are removed or disabled on Iron<ref name="faq" />:
The following [[Google Chrome]] features are removed or disabled on Iron<ref name="faq" />:
* RLZ identifier, an encoded string sent together with all queries to Google <ref>{{cite web |http://blog.chromium.org/2008/10/google-chrome-chromium-and-google.html |title= Google Chrome, Chromium, and Google |accessdate=2010-01-28}} ''See Which Google Domain''</ref> or once ''every 24 hours'' when the browser is being used{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}.
* RLZ identifier, an encoded string sent together with all queries to Google <ref>{{cite web |http://blog.chromium.org/2008/10/google-chrome-chromium-and-google.html |title= Google Chrome, Chromium, and Google |accessdate=2010-01-28}} ''See Which Google Domain''</ref> or once ''every 24 hours'' when the browser is being used{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}.
* Does not access [[Google search]] on startup {{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} for users with Google as default search <ref>{{cite web |http://blog.chromium.org/2008/10/google-chrome-chromium-and-google.html |title= Google Chrome, Chromium, and Google |accessdate=2010-01-28}} ''See Which Google Domain''</ref>, thus decreasing performance{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}.
* Does not access [[Google search]] on startup for users with Google as default search<ref>{{cite web |url=http://src.chromium.org/viewvc/chrome/trunk/src/chrome/browser/google_url_tracker.cc?annotate=16699#l31 |title= View of /trunk/src/chrome/browser/google_url_tracker.cc |accessdate=2009-07-12}} ''Source code comment on line 31''</ref><ref>{{cite web |http://blog.chromium.org/2008/10/google-chrome-chromium-and-google.html |title= Google Chrome, Chromium, and Google |accessdate=2010-01-28}} ''See Which Google Domain''</ref>
* A unique ID ("clientID") for identifying the user in logs.<ref name="chrome-privacy">{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/support/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=107684 |title=Privacy, unique IDs, and RLZ - Google Chrome}}</ref>
* A unique ID ("clientID") for identifying the user in logs.<ref name="chrome-privacy">{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/support/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=107684 |title=Privacy, unique IDs, and RLZ - Google Chrome}}</ref>
* A [[timestamp]] of when the browser was installed.<ref name="chrome-privacy" />
* A [[timestamp]] of when the browser was installed.<ref name="chrome-privacy" />

Revision as of 12:16, 30 January 2010

SRWare Iron
Developer(s)SRWare
Initial releaseSeptember 18, 2008 (2008-09-18)[1]
Stable release
3.0.197.0 / August 9, 2009 (2009-08-09)[2]
Preview release
4.0.275 Beta / December 30, 2009 (2009-12-30)[1]
EngineWebKit
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows, Linux, MacOS X
Size10.3MB (Iron 3.0.197.0 for Windows)
TypeWeb browser
LicenseBSD (source code and Chromium executable)
WebsiteOfficial website Template:En icon

SRWare Iron, or simply Iron, is a free and open-source web browser implementation of Chromium[2] which primarily aims to eliminate usage tracking and other privacy compromising functionality that the Google Chrome browser includes.

Iron includes other notable unique features. In contrast to Chrome, it implements the latest version of the WebKit rendering engine, and includes built-in ad blocking.[1] A common speculation is that Chrome's future ad blocking feature will not work properly because it might exclude Google-affliated ads.[3]

Development history

Iron was first released on September 18, 2008, 16 days after Chrome's initial release. According to Iron's developers, Chromium's source code was extensively modified in order to remove any tracking-related functionality.[4] On January 22, 2009 a developer preview was released.[5]

More recent versions of Iron have since been released, which have gained the features of the underlying Chromium codebase, including theme support, a user agent switcher, an extension system, and improved support for Linux.[1]

On January 7, 2010 an initial version for Mac OS X was released.[6]

Differences from Chrome

The following Google Chrome features are removed or disabled on Iron[4]:

  • RLZ identifier, an encoded string sent together with all queries to Google [7] or once every 24 hours when the browser is being used[citation needed].
  • Does not access Google search on startup for users with Google as default search[8][9]
  • A unique ID ("clientID") for identifying the user in logs.[10]
  • A timestamp of when the browser was installed.[10]
  • Google-hosted error pages when a server isn't found.[citation needed]
  • Google Updater automatic installation.[4]
  • DNS pre-fetching.
  • Automatic address bar search suggestions.
  • Bug tracking system, sends information about crashes or errors.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Iron news page Cite error: The named reference "news" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Iron stable news and download
  3. ^ "Google Chrome extensions: Not yet, but later". Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  4. ^ a b c Iron FAQ page
  5. ^ Iron beta news and download
  6. ^ Iron for MacOS X
  7. ^ "Google Chrome, Chromium, and Google". {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://blog.chromium.org/2008/10/google-chrome-chromium-and-google.html" ignored (help) See Which Google Domain
  8. ^ "View of /trunk/src/chrome/browser/google_url_tracker.cc". Retrieved 2009-07-12. Source code comment on line 31
  9. ^ "Google Chrome, Chromium, and Google". {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://blog.chromium.org/2008/10/google-chrome-chromium-and-google.html" ignored (help) See Which Google Domain
  10. ^ a b "Privacy, unique IDs, and RLZ - Google Chrome".