As a Web-Monetization enthusiast and Coil member, I've made my move and switched the default browser in my mobile from Chrome to Puma. I must say, I'm quite happy I've done so not only because I get to browse the web from a Web-Monetization powerhouse, but because of many other reasons I've come to discover along the way. Let's get to it!

Its Look & Feel

The main reason I like Puma is its overall look and feel. Its startup page -and more specifically its Collections feature- has quickly become my web surfing's best friend. It took me no time to get used to it. I just set up a number of collections based on my daily browsing, et voilá, my browsing in my mobile drastically improved. In fact, I find the Collections feature so genius I think legacy browsers should also have such a way of organizing my most visited websites, or those I want to keep easily reachable.

In Puma's startup page, the Collections are conveniently displayed just below the open tabs and the Top Sites, which you can also customize for easy access from the browser's settings.

Here's a screenshot of the startup page of Puma browser, and how I have arranged my Collections for quick access.

Also on the startup page, there are two additional groups of websites displayed. First, just below the Collections, there is a featured web monetization sites compilation which showcases some of the top websites that are web-monetized that you may or may not be aware of. And right below, at the bottom of the page, there is a set of resources to help you keep up with the latest about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its Privacy Focus

“I love being bombarded with ads and to be tracked while surfing the web” said no one ever. Featuring the possibility of choosing your search engine among different options, including privacy friendly Duck Duck Go and my absolute favorite, Runnaroo (ICYMI, Runnaroo is a Coil enabled privacy focused search engine, how cool is that !?!?!). By enabling these options Puma Browser places privacy at the forefront for a better user experience.

https://twitter.com/runnaroo/status/1298629413140144130?s=20

Charity Mode ON

Another of my favorite features of Puma is that as a Coil member I can stream payments to charitable efforts when visiting websites that are not Web-Monetized, or as Puma described it in their Charity Mode overview in their Devpost profile:

Stream money to charity of your choice while browsing addictive sites like FB and Reddit so you don't feel as bad.

This is an awesome and unique feature, (actually was awarded as a winner during the Xpring DeFi Hackathon) that currently allows you to select the charity out of three options, to which you wish to stream donations to, which you can change at any time in the settings.

Current choices for Charity Mode are The Good Souls Group, Internet Archive and Visiting Researchers.

Getting Involved

Sure enough as a fairly new browser still in BETA, things may not run perfectly from day one. But how can things get improved if these are not widely tested out? Contributing to the development of Puma by using it every chance I get was a very rewarding reason to set it up as my default browser.

With Puma Browser, in the XRP Community we have the luxury of having a tailor-made web browser that supports web-monetization and adds value to the ecosystem by showcasing another use case for XRP. From my experience the folks at Puma are really appreciative and very open to feedback.

For those of us who may not have the technical background, but still want to help build a better internet via Web.Monetization, I believe we can do so fulfilling different roles: as advocates, content creators or in this case as BETA users of Web-Monetization focused applications. I can’t help but invite you to join me in becoming part of this fascinating story.

Photo by Hal Gatewood on Unsplash

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