A Calm and Humane Web Browser

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I've been thinking about Cal Newport's book Digital Minimalism. In his book he talks about using technology that supports our most deeply held beliefs. I'd also like to limit my technology use in a way that supports the kind of lifestyle I'd like. Technology has mostly made me anxious. I often leave my phone on silent so that I don't jump when I hear my phone ring. I use the Brave browser to get away from ads.

I've recently discovered the Calm Tech website that speaks to my need for simpler technology. Many of the principles listed on the site mirror what I've seen from the Center for Humane Technology. Humane Tech lists as its 6th core tenet:

How can products help people act in alignment with their deepest intentions, rather than optimizing for engagement?

I would love to have my web browsing sessions more fully align with my intentions. So in this post I'll be exploring what a web browser could look like if built to be more calm and more humane.

Principles

First and second principles of calm technology

Technology should require the smallest possible amount of attention
Technology should inform and create calm

Humane Tech also lists various ways of taking control of your digital well-being by turning off notifications and removing harmfual apps.

Requirements

A calm browser by default should not allow ads, popups, alerts, notifications. It is grayscale by default. It should gracefully hide videos and gifs by default. Sound should be disabled by default.

Principles

2b of calm technology

Give people what they need to solve their problem, and nothing more.

7b of calm technology

Slim the feature set down so that the product does what it needs to do and no more.

Requirements

All features should be opt-in. Let people slowly turn on more features as they become more familiar with the browser.

Principles

1c of calm technology

Communicate information without taking the user out of their environment or task.

Requirements

If notifications are enabled they should not distract or disrupt current actions. There should be a choice between soft and hard notifications and notifications should respect a "Do not disturb mode"

Principles

2a of calm technology

A person's primary task should not be computing, but being human.

Requirements
Actions should require as few interactions as possible.

Principles
4a

Design for people first.

Requirements
The application should be extremely accessible

Have a comment? Shoot me an email at jeremy@jeremyrader.com