Everyone who went online has ever seen the pop-up cookie consent notifications. Whether shopping online, browsing social media, or reading the latest headlines, these annoying pop-ups seem to be in one place -- everywhere. While most users mindlessly click "accept" without much thought, the recent upgrade of Aloha Browser may just provide the solution to this.
This week, Aloha Browser debuted an exciting new feature aimed at tackling this pervasive problem right on its head.
Cookie Consent Management saves your cookie preferences automatically and applies them across sites you visit to dispense with the most annoying pop-up prompts. No more tedious clicking here, according to Jason Keil of Lifehacker.
This feature is part of a broader drive by Aloha to strengthen user privacy, including a built-in VPN, an ad blocker, and privacy reporting tools.
Curious to see how effective Aloha's new feature was, he tested it out on his iPhone 15 Pro. It was quite simple: after downloading the app, he went to the settings menu, enabled the Cookie Consent Management feature under the AdBlock tab, selected the GDPR Consent option, and clicked "Allow All."
After this, Keil browsed several websites with the help of Aloha. He opened sites like LEGO, Barnes and Noble, Starbucks, and the NFL, browsing in both Aloha's private mode and Safari's private browsing.
Now the results were eye-openers. On Safari, the cookies' consent pop-ups appeared immediately on every website. But in Aloha, such interruptions never occurred; in fact, the cookie pop-ups were completely missing. It made browsing very smooth and less interruptive.
Aloha also focuses on user privacy and has come up with a feature called Cookie Consent Management. The browser also has a VPN that encrypts your internet traffic, keeping third parties from monitoring your online activities.
Aloha also includes an ad blocker that enhances privacy while lowering clutter and privacy reporting tools that give you a snapshot of the sites you're visiting and the trackers attempting to access your data.
The beauty of Aloha lies in its ease and efficiency with regard to privacy features. It is free and allows the user to take care of their data easily, without constantly having to adjust their cookie preferences.
While the new feature is a significant step in improving online privacy, it is important to note some limitations.
Currently, the Cookie Consent Management setting is only available in the iOS version of the app. This means that users on other platforms, including desktops and Android devices, are not yet able to take advantage of the feature. However, Aloha has announced plans to release a version for Android in early 2025.
Another point to consider is that whereas Aloha offers premium features that enhance privacy even further, this particular tool is a free application, which would make it an attractive choice for those interested in streamlining their browsing experience without having to pay extra for these features.
So, at the moment, it is still Safari due to the stable and identical desktop and mobile performance and default blocking of third-party cookies. Cookie Consent Management from Aloha Browser is a positive aspect of an increasingly numerous series of privacy-related instruments.
If you want not to get distracted by pop-ups requesting consent over and over again while clicking "accept," that might be a solution; especially for iOS users, it might be just that.
With more features rolling out and Android compatibility coming, Aloha Browser will become a much more attractive choice for privacy-conscious internet users. But for now, the feature is a convenient free option for those who want a smoother and more private browsing experience on their iPhones.