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Epic (web browser)

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This article is about a web browser developed by Hidden Reflex. For the American video game company, see Epic Games. For the civil liberties group, see Electronic Privacy Information Center.
Epic
Developer(s)Hidden Reflex
Initial releaseJuly 15, 2010; 14 years ago (2010-07-15)
Stable release
104.0.5112.81[1] /
August 14, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-08-14)
EngineBlink
Operating systemWindows, macOS, Android, iOS
LicenseProprietary[2]
Websitewww.epicbrowser.com

Epic is a proprietary privacy-centric web browser. It was developed by Hidden Reflex, a software product company founded by Alok Bhardwaj, using Chromium source code.[3] Epic is always in private browsing mode, and exiting the browser deletes all browser data. The browser's developers claim that Google's tracking code has been removed, and that blocks other companies from tracking the user.[4][5]

History

Epic was released on August 29, 2013, with some features for Indian users specifically. The browser integrates widgets such as social networking, chat clients, and email facilities.[6][7][8][9]

Features

Epic's default configuration removes session data (such as cookies, history, and cache) upon closing the browser. The browser includes a proxy service that can be enabled by the user, and is automatically enabled when using a search engine. The browser also prefers SSL connections and always sends a Do Not Track header.[10]

AD and user activity trackers (e.g. cookies) are blocked by default by the Epic browser. The browser also blocks cryptocurrency miners from running on the user's system. The browsers' fingerprinting protection blocks access to image canvas, font canvas, and audio context data.[11] WebRTC IP Address Leaking is also blocked by default.

The Epic Proxy service can relay connections through the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Netherlands, India, and Singapore. The company claims it to be encrypted, and runs DNS through it.

Supplementary services found in the Chromium browser that send data to external servers, such as address bar suggestion and installation tracking, are removed in Epic to reduce the scope of potential data leakage.[10]

Critical reception

Computer World published an article on Epic in the month of July 2020. The article describes many of the features claimed by Epic, such as blocking of ads, tracking, referrer header data, and "fingerprint", proxy/VPN. As Google's servers are not used, functions such as auto-suggest in the address box and language translation are either handled by Epic locally or not available. The article says that the Epic FAQ warns users not to sign into their Gmail account: "if you're logged into Gmail, then Google can track your searches". Very few Chrome add-ons are supported due to privacy risk. Some sites do not work with Epic; in those cases the IE Tab add-on will open the page in Internet Explorer. According to owner Hidden Reflex, the company was working on a way to sustain itself, perhaps offering premium privacy services, sponsors on the new tab page, and private search sponsors.[12]

While Epic is not open source software, the company states that it will release files to be audited.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Download Epic Privacy Browser for PC". epic-browser.en.softonic.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
  2. ^ "Epic Browser Terms & Conditions". Hidden Reflex. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
  3. ^ "Epic Privacy Browser". Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  4. ^ "Epic Privacy Browser Features. Epic is a secure chromium-based web browser that protects your privacy online". www.epicbrowser.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  5. ^ "Custom Chrome Browser Promises More Privacy, No Tracking". August 30, 2013. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  6. ^ Sharma, Ojas (July 15, 2010). "Indian Startup Launches Epic Web Browser". PC World. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved July 15, 2010.
  7. ^ PRWeb/Hidden Reflex. "Hidden Reflex Launches New Epic Privacy Browser To Confront Growing Anxieties About Online Privacy". Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2013.
  8. ^ PTI (July 15, 2010). "Epic: first web browser for India launched". The Hindu. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
  9. ^ "First Browser with an Indian Origin – Epic". Techtree.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2010. Retrieved July 16, 2010.
  10. ^ a b "How Epic Protects You". Epic Privacy Browser. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  11. ^ "Epic Privacy Browser Features. Epic is a secure chromium-based web browser that protects your privacy online". epicbrowser.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  12. ^ Gregg Keizer (July 3, 2018). "What is the Epic browser (and what makes it different)?". Computer World. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  13. ^ "Epic Privacy Browser FAQ. Epic is a secure chromium-based web browser that protects your privacy online". Epic Browser. Archived from the original on July 7, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
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