The Brave browser introduced a new feature called De-AMP, which allows users to bypass Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) technology so they can load websites directly, DuckDuckGo followed suit.
AMP is a technology that is now several years old. Launched in 2015, it helped Google accelerate the transition of websites around the world to mobile. Specifically, it’s a technology that makes it possible to offer a mobile-friendly experience with an interface designed for the small screens of our smartphones, as well as web pages that load much faster for small connections.
This technology has spread very quickly and massively because Google has highlighted AMP-compatible websites in its search engine (which is no longer necessarily the case). You can easily test AMP on Frandroid by simply adding /amp behind the web addresses of our articles. You will see that the presentation of the pages is different: it is simplified and advertising is integrated differently. Google’s main interest is to be able to display advertising in a better environment.
Brave chose to disable AMP by default, with the publisher claiming in an article that this technology is “damaging to privacy” and “helps Google monopolize and have more control over the direction of the web.” DuckDuckGo has also made the decision to disable AMP in its browser in all versions. This means that the web pages you load in these alternative web browsers will no longer load in AMP.
AMP technology is bad for privacy as it allows Google to track users even more (which is already a lot).
And Google uses AMP to further consolidate its monopoly by forcing the technology on publishers by prioritizing AMP links in search and favoring Google ads on AMP pages.
— DuckDuckGo (@DuckDuckGo) April 19, 2022
Why is AMP criticized?
One of the problems with Accelerated Mobile Pages technology is that content created with AMP is usually served via a cache on Google’s server instead of actually being linked to the publisher’s server. For example, by loading an article from a media site, you are loading the site from Google’s servers. It also means you are more likely to see Google ads, AMP was a way to boost Google’s advertising technologies.
Another problem: since AMP is a stripped down version of your original content, you are at the mercy of Google as to how your content is actually displayed. Generally, you’re giving up the overall design of your site in exchange for a very fast download. Why ? Quite simply because AMP tools explicitly limit the ability of developers to precisely reduce the size of web pages and thus their loading process.
“An ethical web should be a user-centric web, where users control their browsing and know who they are communicating with. AMP is not compatible with a user-centric web. De-AMP adds to Brave’s long list of features that put users first on the web,” Brave said in its release.
For now, the impact on Google’s revenue will be very limited. Brave and DuckDuckGo are two browsers that are far from having a significant market share, and these web browsers already block ads by default.
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