Faster Browsing: Speed Is a Security Feature
Remove the surveillance and the web gets its speed back
Page speed is usually pitched as convenience. In practice, a faster page is a page with fewer third parties on it — and fewer third parties is the whole of the security argument.
Where the seconds go
Loading a page is not one request. It is a cascade: the page requests scripts, those scripts request more scripts, and each round trip adds latency that no amount of bandwidth removes. Tracking and advertising code dominates that cascade.
Filtering those requests at the DNS and network layer stops the cascade at the first step rather than the last. Typical improvement across ordinary news, retail and recipe sites is around two times, and it is most noticeable on older phones and slower connections.
The security dividend
Every third-party script on a page is a party you did not choose to trust. Reducing them shrinks the number of ways a page can be turned against you, which is why speed and safety improve together rather than trading off.
Signs you may already be affected
- Pages that take several seconds to become usable on your phone
- Battery draining noticeably while simply reading
- Video and scrolling stuttering on an otherwise healthy device
What we reverse
- Third-party tracking and advert requests filtered at the network layer
- Around two times faster loading on typical content sites
- Lower data use and better battery life, especially on older devices