Puffin Browser
Puffin Browser is a remote browser using cloud servers for content processing.[8][9] Developed by CloudMosa, an American mobile technology company founded in 2009 by Shioupyn Shen,[10] Puffin Browser was initially released in 2010.[citation needed][11] It relays the network identity of its users to the websites they visit by adding an extra XFF (X-Forwarded-For) header in each HTTP request[12] containing the user's mobile device's IP address. For websites not supporting the XFF header, Puffin Browser is treated as a proxy server.[13] Puffin Browser was compatible with Adobe Flash Player, enabling it to play Adobe Flash content, including on mobile devices, where Flash was discontinued due to security issues.[14] Adobe Flash Player eventually cut support in 2020, resulting in Puffin Browser also shutting down Adobe Flash Player Support. The browser also features a virtual trackpad, gamepad and on-screen keyboard functions.[15] Puffin Browser can be used on Android (and formerly iOS), Puffin Secure Browser on Windows and macOS, Puffin Internet Terminal[16] on Linux, Puffin TV Browser[17] on Android TVs and Puffin OS on mainstream smartphones. Puffin Browser is also known to run on resource-limited hardware like Raspberry Pi[16] and set-top boxes.[18] In May 2019, CloudMosa announced that they would discontinue the Puffin Web Browser app on iOS devices due to Apple's App Store policies.[19] However, CloudMosa released Puffin Web Browser Lite for iOS devices, which does not support Adobe Flash Player.[20] HistoryIn November 2010 and December 2010 respectively, Puffin Browser released its paid version, Puffin Web Browser Pro, with an increased download limit, on Google Play and the Apple App Store. In 2013, CloudMosa introduced Puffin Academy, a free mobile browser with built-in Adobe Flash for K-12 students, teachers and parents. However, the iOS version of Puffin Academy was discontinued on July 1, 2019.[19] In 2015, Puffin for Facebook was released.[21][22][23] In 2017, the Puffin Browser was the top utility application in the App Store across 58 countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Italy and South Korea.[24] In May 2018, ad blocking features were added to the Pro version.[25] In June 2018, CloudMosa announced the release of an independent lightweight browser app for iOS devices called Puffin Browser Lite, in response to Apple having rejected Puffin Web Browser updates. The lightweight browser app is based on iOS WebKit and does not support Adobe Flash Player.[20] CloudMosa later announced that they would discontinue the original Puffin Web Browser apps on all iOS devices on July 1, 2019, because of the block on updates citing Apple's app review guideline 2.5.6. The shutdown was later pushed back to October 1, 2019,[19] and the free version of the original browser app was finally discontinued on November 20, 2019. CloudMosa announced on Facebook that the paid version on iOS, Puffin Browser Pro would remain available but would no longer be updated.[11] Puffin TV Browser is an edition of Puffin Browser optimized for Android TV users. It has been ranked the best browser for Android TV by MakeUseOf.[26] Thailand's largest GSM mobile phone operator, Advanced Info Service (AIS), ships a customized version of Puffin TV Browser in their set-top box—AIS Playbox.[18] Before 2018, the Puffin Browser product family was only available on mobile devices. From 2018, Puffin Browser released a desktop version, Puffin Secure Browser for Windows. In May 2019, Puffin Secure Browser for macOS was released. By October 2018, it had reached over 50 million users on Android.[27] As of November 2018, Puffin browser has reached 100 million accumulated users worldwide.[28][29] In 2019, CloudMosa announced a new Puffin Browser product family member, Puffin Internet Terminal, a desktop virtualization app running on Raspbian for Internet surfing designed for Raspberry Pi. Puffin Internet Terminal was selected as a CES 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree in the Computer Hardware and Components product category.[30] Later in August 2021, Puffin Internet Terminal was rebranded as Puffin Cloud Learning and released as a demo version that did not require a subscription to support students learning at home during the COVID-19 shelter-in-place.[31][32] In May 2019, CloudMosa introduced the Puffin OS, drawing skepticism from the independent review website GSM Arena.[33][34] In 2020, the Puffin Android TV browser became a subscription service. ProductsPuffin Web BrowserPuffin Web Browser is the standard Puffin Browser application for Android and formerly iOS. The Android Puffin web browser supported Adobe Flash content and features such as mouse cursor emulation and a virtual gamepad before being discontinued.[35][36] Users can choose where to save a downloaded file - either to users' devices or directly to their storage drive. The web browser also allows users to reduce the amount of data from sources such as Flash games that often consume a lot of data.[37] Puffin Web Browser LitePuffin Browser Lite is the standard Puffin application for iOS devices.[20] It is similar to the Puffin Web Browser for Android devices but does not support Adobe Flash Player. It has workspaces and password protection. ConcernsBecause web pages render through the remote browser on Puffin servers, user data is passed through them.[citation needed] Some[which?] users have concerns regarding the risk of Puffin logging this data.[citation needed] However, Puffin's privacy policy states that they log no web page content and that they do not have access to users' passwords, and are in compliance with GDPR and CCPA.[38] References
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