The Interplanetary File System(IPFS) is basically a peer-to-peer protocol designed for decentralized access to content -- files, applications, data and websites. This is somewhat like BitTorrent.
Unlike the HTTP's URL addressing system which is based on the specific location of a file on a server, in the IPFS the addressing system is based on the content itself. The content identifier is a cryptographic hash unique to that content. This makes it easier to access content from multiple locations.
IPFS allows users to download webpages and content stored across multiple servers and provides “historical versioning” that shows how documents have been manipulated.
If a content is available in the IPFS, users may access it even if access to the "regular" version has been blocked. For example, if big tech or a nation state blocks access to GabTV, an IPFS version could still be accessed, in this case using Brave browser which has become the first browser to support the protocol.
Brave released an update for the company's web browser on January 19, 2021. The privacy-focused company in collaboration with Protocol Labs, have integrated support for IPFS in the new version, Brave 1.19.
To enable and configure IPFS in Brave browser, go to Setting > Extensions.
There are three configurable options:
Method to resolve IPFS resources;
IPFS public gateway fallback;
IPFS companion.
Once enabled, users may access IPFS content directly by typing in the /ipfs/ address, for example,
Brave displays a notification when the first IPFS page is opened in the browser: "IPFS resources detected. Would you like Brave to load them using a local IPFS node?"
The browser is configured to load IPFS content via public HTTP gateways. The address bar shows the "redirected URL on the gateway server, and not the IPFS address. Brave notes that users may want this if they don't want to load an IPFS node on the local computer, e.g. when the system has limited resources.
Selecting "Enable IPFS" will configure Brave to use a local node when it comes to IPFS content. If the option is selected, IPFS will be displayed in the address bar and that improves trust and removes the public middleman. Enabling IPFS will make the system a "temporary host for that content" according to Brave. Users who don't want that can keep the default configuration that uses public gateways.
IPFS is still in development. And content creators and developers will have to make their contents available on the IPFS for the protocol to be widely adopted. There are currently over 4,000 contributors.
“We’re thrilled to be the first browser to offer a native IPFS integration with today’s Brave desktop browser release," Brave CTO and co-founder Brian Bondy said in a statement. "Providing Brave’s 1 million+ verified content creators with the power to seamlessly serve content to millions of new users across the globe via a new and secure protocol, IPFS gives users a solution to the problem of centralized servers creating a central point of failure for content access. IPFS’s innovative content addressing uses Content Identifiers (CIDs) to form an address based on the content itself as opposed to locating data based on the address of a server. Integrating the IPFS open-source network is a key milestone in making the Web more transparent, decentralized, and resilient.”
Molly Mackinlay, Project Lead at IPFS, said in a statement: “Bringing the benefits of the dWeb to Brave users, IPFS’ efforts to remove systemic data censorship by corporations and nation-states are now strengthened through the integration with Brave. Today, Web users across the world are unable to access restricted content, including, for example, parts of Wikipedia in Thailand, over 100,000 blocked websites in Turkey, and critical access to COVID-19 information in China. Now anyone with an internet connection can access this critical information through IPFS on the Brave browser.”
Free speech and internet decentralization advocates welcome the development of the Interplanetary File System as a possible solution in the future as big tech and nation states resort to even more intrusive and aggressive censorship of the internet. IPFS is also important in the blockchain and crypto space.