IBM applied for a new patent application for a blockchain-based web browser.It was filed on August 6 by the United States Patents and Trademark Office,for developing a web browser which is powered by a peer-to-peer network.

The browser retains pre-specified data from the browsing sessions, as per the patent. The data is further transferred to a network of nodes that are peer-to-peer for storage and collection. This information collected depends on the kind of chosen browsing experience. For instance, browsing on a personal computer and on a work computer each would demand variable settings.

 Website visits, bookmarks, geolocation, security patches, plug-in installation,and task performance are all included in the kinds of potentially storable data from a browsing session.

As the company states, a blockchain-based browser “affords a system for storing browsing information such that privacy is preserved and places privacy in the ‘hands of a user’ rather than a third party.”

An attack on a computer’s browser is one of the many potential use cases which, if secured by blockchain technology, will be a secure backup available for all the user data. 

Interestinglyenough, IBM also includeda token in thismodel. IBM saysthat thetokens will verify a user’s browsingactivities,as they are combined and storedinthe form ofblocks for the peer-to-peer network. 

However, IBM’s blockchain web browser concept is only one among the many in the field. Norwegian web browser, Opera company, released itsiOS Opera Touch browser not long ago in June. Built for Web 3.0, Opera Touch purportedly has a built-in digital wallet and connects effectivelytotheWeb 3.0 applications which include ERC-20 tokens.