Puffin Browser

Last updated
Puffin Browser
Developer(s) CloudMosa, Inc.
Initial releaseNovember 23, 2010;14 years ago (2010-11-23)
Stable release(s) [±]
Puffin Secure Browser(Windows)

9.0.1.757 (August 20, 2021;3 years ago (2021-08-20) [1] ) [±]

Contents

Puffin Web Browser(iOS)

5.2.6 (March 4, 2021;3 years ago (2021-03-04) [2] ) [±]

Puffin Web Browser(Android)

9.5.1.51115 (December 9, 2021;3 years ago (2021-12-09) [3] ) [±]

Puffin Incognito Browser(Android)

9.4.0.50938 (October 4, 2021;3 years ago (2021-10-04) [4] ) [±]

Puffin Cloud Store(Android)

9.4.0.50997 (October 20, 2021;3 years ago (2021-10-20) [5] ) [±]

Puffin TV Browser(Android TV)

9.2.1.50969 (October 18, 2021;3 years ago (2021-10-18) [6] ) [±]

Puffin Secure Browser(macOS)
9.0.1.617 (September 28, 2021;3 years ago (2021-09-28) [7] ) [±]
Engine Blink
Operating system Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Android TV, Linux
License Proprietary
Website www.puffin.com

Puffin Browser is a remote browser developed by CloudMosa, an American mobile technology company founded by Shioupyn Shen.

Puffin Browser was initially released in 2010. It uses cloud servers for content processing. [8] [9] 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 [10] containing the user's mobile device's IP address. For websites that did not support the XFF header, Puffin Browser is treated as a proxy server. [11]

Puffin Browser was compatible with Adobe Flash Player to play Adobe Flash content, including on mobile devices, where Flash was discontinued due to security issues. [12] The features also include a virtual trackpad, gamepad and on-screen keyboard functions. [13] Adobe Flash Player eventually cut support in 2020, resulting in Puffin Browser also shutting down Adobe Flash Player Support.

Puffin Browser is offered for several different platforms: Puffin Browser on Android (and formerly iOS), Puffin Secure Browser on Windows and macOS, Puffin Internet Terminal [14] on Linux, Puffin TV Browser [15] on Android TVs and Puffin OS on mainstream smartphones. Puffin Browser is also known to run on resource-limited hardware like Raspberry Pi [14] and set-top boxes. [16]

In May 2019, CloudMosa announced that they would discontinue the Puffin Web Browser app on iOS devices due to Apple's App Store policies. [17] However, CloudMosa released Puffin Web Browser Lite for iOS devices, which does not support Adobe Flash Player. [18]

History

In November 2010 and December 2010 respectively, Puffin Browser released its paid version, Puffin Web Browser Pro, 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. [17]

In 2015, they released a new product, Puffin for Facebook. [19] [20] [21]

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. [22]

In May 2018, ad blocking features were added to the Pro version, which does not exist in the free version. Before that, the only difference was a smaller limit on downloading. [23]

In June 2018, CloudMosa announced the release of a separate lightweight browser app for iOS devices called Puffin Browser Lite, given that Apple rejected Puffin Web Browser updates. This lightweight browser app is based on iOS WebKit and does not support Adobe Flash Player. [18] It was later announced that they would discontinue the original Puffin Web Browser apps on July 1, 2019, on all iOS devices 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, [17] 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 no longer be updated. [24]

Puffin TV Browser is an edition of Puffin Browser optimized for Android TV users. It is ranked the best browser for Android TV by MakeUseOf. [25] Thailand's largest GSM mobile phone operator, Advanced Info Service (AIS), ships a customised version of Puffin TV Browser in their set-top box—AIS Playbox. [16]

Before 2018, the Puffin Browser product family was only available on mobile devices. Starting in 2018, Puffin Browser released a desktop version, Puffin Secure Browser for Windows. In May 2019, Puffin Secure Browser for macOS was released.

As of October 24, 2018, it has reached over 50 million users on Android. [26] As of November 2018, Puffin browser has reached 100 million accumulated users worldwide. [27] [28]

Right before the opening of CES 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. [29] 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. [30]

In May 2019, CloudMosa introduced the Puffin OS. However, the independent review website GSM Arena expressed skepticism. [31] [32] [33]

In 2020, the Puffin Android TV browser became a subscription service.

Products

Puffin Web Browser

Puffin 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. [34] [35] 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. [36]

Puffin Web Browser Lite

Puffin Browser Lite is the standard Puffin application for iOS devices. [18] It is similar to the Puffin Web Browser for Android devices but does not support Adobe Flash Player. It has workspaces and password protection.

Concerns

Because web pages render through the remote browser in the cloud, user traffic is passed via the Puffin servers. Some users criticise that Puffin may log their personal data such as passwords. [ 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. [37]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Flash</span> Discontinued multimedia platform used to add animation and interactivity to websites

Adobe Flash is a discontinued multimedia software platform used for production of animations, rich internet applications, desktop applications, mobile apps, mobile games, and embedded web browser video players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Acrobat</span> Set of application software to view, edit and manage files in Portable Document Format (PDF)

Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software and web services developed by Adobe Inc. to view, create, manipulate, print and manage Portable Document Format (PDF) files.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Browser game</span> Video game played in a web browser

A browser game is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer. Alternative names for the browser game genre reference their software platform used, with common examples being Flash games, and HTML5 games.

A Rich Internet Application is a web application that has many of the characteristics of desktop application software. The concept is closely related to a single-page application, and may allow the user interactive features such as drag and drop, background menu, WYSIWYG editing, etc. The concept was first introduced in 2002 by Macromedia to describe Macromedia Flash MX product. Throughout the 2000s, the term was generalized to describe browser-based applications developed with other competing browser plugin technologies including Java applets, Microsoft Silverlight.

Adobe Flash Player is a discontinued computer program for viewing multimedia content, executing rich Internet applications, and streaming audio and video content created on the Adobe Flash platform. It can run from a web browser as a browser plug-in or independently on supported devices. Originally created by FutureWave under the name FutureSplash Player, it was renamed to Macromedia Flash Player after Macromedia acquired FutureWave in 1996. After Adobe acquired Macromedia in 2005, it was developed and distributed by Adobe as Adobe Flash Player. It is currently developed and distributed by Zhongcheng for users in China, and by Harman International for enterprise users outside of China, in collaboration with Adobe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe AIR</span> Cross-platform runtime system for building rich web applications

Adobe AIR is a cross-platform runtime system currently developed by Harman International, in collaboration with Adobe Inc., for building desktop applications and mobile applications, programmed using Adobe Animate, ActionScript, and optionally Apache Flex. It was originally released in 2008. The runtime supports installable applications on Windows, macOS, and mobile operating systems, including Android, iOS, and BlackBerry Tablet OS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UC Browser</span> Chinese web browser developed by UCWeb Inc

UC Browser is a web browser developed by mobile internet company UCWeb, a subsidiary of the Alibaba Group. It was the most popular mobile browser in India, Indonesia, and Mali, as well as the second-most popular one in China as of 2017. Its world-wide browser share as of May 2022 is 0.86% overall according to StatCounter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firefox OS</span> Mobile operating system by Mozilla (2014–2017)

Firefox OS is a discontinued open-source operating system made for smartphones, tablet computers, smart TVs, and dongles designed by Mozilla and external contributors. It is based on the rendering engine of the Firefox web browser, Gecko, and on the Linux kernel. It was first commercially released in 2014.

A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on desktop computers, and web applications which run in mobile web browsers rather than directly on the mobile device.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xbox (app)</span> Software

The Xbox app is an app for Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows 11, Android, iOS and Tizen. It acts as a companion app for Xbox video game consoles, providing access to Xbox network community features, remote control, as well as second screen functionality with selected games, applications, and content.

Adobe Edge is a discontinued suite of web development tools that Adobe Inc. started developing in 2011. The tools enhances the capabilities of other Adobe apps, such as Dreamweaver. The first app in the suite was the eponymous Adobe Edge, released in August 2011 as a multimedia authoring tool designed to succeed the Flash platform. In September 2012, Adobe renamed the app Edge Animate, and announced Edge Reflow, Edge Code, and Edge Inspect. Also packaged with the suite are Edge Web Fonts, the PhoneGap app, and an Adobe Typekit subscription. In October 2015, Adobe announced an end to the development of the Edge family. By the end of September 2019, all Adobe Edge products were removed from the Creative Cloud offering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thoughts on Flash</span> Open letter published by Steve Jobs

"Thoughts on Flash" is an open letter published by Steve Jobs, co-founder and then-chief executive officer of Apple Inc., on April 29, 2010. The letter criticizes Adobe Systems' Flash platform and outlines reasons why the technology would not be allowed on Apple's iOS hardware products. The letter drew accusations of falsehood, hypocrisy, and ulterior motive. In retrospect many publications came to agree with Jobs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opera Coast</span> Web browser for Apple devices

Opera Coast is a discontinued web browser developed for iOS devices by Opera Software. The browser was not based on any former product of Opera and was written from scratch. It was also designed for touch while traditional browser buttons and components such as tabs, history, and bookmarks are eliminated and replaced by gestures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercury Browser</span> Defunct mobile browser

Mercury Browser is a discontinued freeware mobile browser for Android, developed by iLegendSoft. Mercury Browser uses the Webkit engine. It was formerly available for iOS, but in 2017, it was removed from the App Store.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progressive web app</span> Specific form of single page web application

A progressive web application (PWA), or progressive web app, is a type of web app that can be installed on a device as a standalone application. PWAs are installed using the offline cache of the device's web browser.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xbox Cloud Gaming</span> Microsoft cloud gaming service

Xbox Cloud Gaming is a cloud gaming service as part of Xbox offered by Microsoft Gaming. Initially released in beta testing in November 2019, the service later launched for subscribers of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on September 15, 2020. Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming is provided to subscribers of Ultimate at no additional cost. Xbox Cloud Gaming operates by linking the device to a remote server in the cloud.

Meta Horizon OS, previously known informally as Meta Quest Platform or Meta Quest OS, is an extended reality operating system for the Meta Quest line of devices released by Meta Platforms. Initially developed for the embedded operating system on the Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S, the platform has been based on the Android operating system since the release of the Oculus Go in 2018. It first supported augmented reality via grayscale camera passthrough upon the release of the Oculus Quest in 2019, and has supported color passthrough since the release of the Meta Quest Pro in 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "Puffin Secure Browser (Windows)". web site . 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2021-08-20.
  2. ↑ "Puffin Web Browser". iTunes Store. 2021-03-04. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  3. ↑ "Puffin Web Browser". Google Play Store. 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  4. ↑ "Puffin Incognito Browser". Google Play Store. 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  5. ↑ "Puffin Cloud Store". Google Play Store. 2021-10-20. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
  6. ↑ "Puffin TV Browser". Google Play Store. 2021-10-18. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  7. ↑ "Puffin Secure Browser (macOS)". iTunes Store. 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2021-09-28.
  8. ↑ Shen, Shioupyn (2017-10-16). "Puffin Browser is Faster than Other Browsers — Here's Why". Medium. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  9. ↑ Chi (tigercosmos), Liu An (2018-09-08). "How the Puffin Browser Works". Medium. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  10. ↑ "Puffin network security demystified". Facebook .
  11. ↑ Sayer, Peter (2017-10-20). "10 Chrome browser alternatives for Android". Computerworld. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  12. ↑ Klosowski, Thorin (2014-02-12). "Puffin Web Browser Brings Flash to Mobile Phones". Lifehacker.
  13. ↑ "5 awesome web browsers for Android". Digital Trends. August 6, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  14. 1 2 "Puffin Internet Terminal - Turning a tiny Raspberry Pi into a high-end PC". www.puffin.com. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  15. ↑ "Puffin TV Browser - Born for Excellence". www.puffin.com. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  16. 1 2 "Puffin TV Browser is ranked the best browser for Android TV". Medium. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  17. 1 2 3 "Puffin Web Browser and Puffin Academy will be discontinued on the iOS platform on July 1, 2019". Medium. 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  18. 1 2 3 "Introducing Puffin Browser Lite, CloudMosa's Newest Browser". Medium. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  19. ↑ Torres, Ida (2016-01-18). "Puffin for Facebook is faster, consumes less data, battery". Android Community. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  20. ↑ "瀏覽神器！Puffin for Facebook 幫你省下 80% 手機流量". INSIDE (in Chinese). Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  21. ↑ "Puffin for Facebook 最佳化臉書使用體驗！更省電省錢的選擇". 免費資源網路社群 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  22. ↑ Costea Lestoc, Windows Report. "Puffin browser enhances the performance of slower Windows PCs." December 24, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Puffin Browser Pro for Android gets Adblock". The Jucktion. May 23, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  24. ↑ Puffin Browser, Facebook, September 2019.
  25. ↑ "What's the Best Browser for Android TV? 5 Top Apps, Ranked". MakeUseOf. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  26. ↑ Staff, VMBlog. "CloudMosa Celebrates 50 Million Global Users on Android Devices." October 24, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  27. ↑ "Puffin Browser Reaches 100 Million Users Worldwide". www.businesswire.com. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  28. ↑ "Another Milestone Achieved: CloudMosa Reaches 100 Million Users Worldwide". Medium. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2019-05-17.
  29. ↑ Shen, Shioupyn (2018-12-05). "Introducing the Puffin Internet Terminal; Turn a Raspberry Pi Into a high-end PC". Medium. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  30. ↑ "Puffin Cloud Learning Renders Web Pages Up to 14 Times Faster on Raspberry Pi". 24 August 2020.
  31. ↑ ""Puffin OS" for "Smartphone 2.0"". 16 May 2019.
  32. ↑ "Puffin OS Phone for the Next Billion Users".
  33. ↑ "Puffin OS promises to make sub-$100 phones as fast as flagships with the cloud". GSM Arena. July 4, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Puffin Flash Store". www.puffin.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  35. ↑ Andy, The Tech Bulletin. "Use the Puffin Browser to Play Flash Games on Android Archived 2020-08-06 at the Wayback Machine ". August 20, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  36. ↑ Mark Jansen, Digital Trends. "Keep on clicking with the 10 best browsers for Android." November 10, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  37. ↑ "Puffin privacy policy" . Retrieved 19 April 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.