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[question] Netlfix not working

Added by Philip Oberfichtner about 1 year ago

Hi,

I stumbled upon Privacy Browser when trying to watch Netflix videos on my phone. Normally Netflix would want to force me into using their App when they detect I'm using Android. So I started tweaking the user agent header ...

Trying different user agents and enabling cookies, js, dom as well as disabling all lists, Netflix keeps telling me my browser is not supported.

Please find two example configurations and error messages in the attachment. Do you have any hints how to get this working? Can you give me a pointer where to start looking?

Best regards,
Philip

Download all files
pb-useragent-error.png (181 KB) pb-useragent-error.png
pb-useragent-settings.png (151 KB) pb-useragent-settings.png
Chromium-settings.png (183 KB) Chromium-settings.png
Chromium-error.png (1.94 MB) Chromium-error.png

Replies (5)

RE: [question] Netlfix not working - Added by Soren Stoutner about 1 year ago

I doubt there is anything you can do to get Netflix working in a browser on Android, because Netflix really wants you to use their app, and once you enable JavaScript they can use it to detect that you are running a browser on Android.

For example, look at the output of the following two pages with JavaScript enabled.

https://webkay.robinlinus.com/

https://browserleaks.com/javascript

RE: [question] Netlfix not working - Added by Philip Oberfichtner about 1 year ago

Oh well that's a shame. Thanks for the clarification.

RE: [question] Netlfix not working - Added by ask low about 1 year ago

DRM Content will not just work on PB, but on any non-standalone browser. The browser should be webview certified in order to authenticate WideVine L1.

Try Firefox, Brave, or Kiwi. They all bundle with WebEngine, hence work properly. Or you know what's better ? Netflix App !

RE: [question] Netlfix not working - Added by Soren Stoutner about 1 year ago

In my opinion, DRM doesn't have any place in a browser. It is part of the effort to turn a browser into a general OS, fighting against which is part of the reason why I started Privacy Browser.

https://www.stoutner.com/privacy-browser-android/core-privacy-principles/

WideVine is part of the Android Open Source Project and should probably work correctly in Android System WebView, but I haven't tested it out myself.

https://developers.google.com/widevine/drm/overview

Currently I don't do anything to prevent DRM from working in Privacy Browser, but at some future point I might. Beyond my strong feeling that DRM has no place in the browser (I was severely disappointed when Tim Berners-Lee pushed for the inclusion of DRM in web standards) my feelings about DRM in general align with those of the Free Software Foundation.

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/02/future-of-the-www-timbl-drm/

https://www.techdirt.com/2017/03/01/tim-berners-lee-endorses-drm-html5-offers-depressingly-weak-defense-his-decision/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2013/mar/12/tim-berners-lee-drm-cory-doctorow

https://www.defectivebydesign.org/

RE: [question] Netlfix not working - Added by ask low about 1 year ago

I actually hate DRM. It's a concept of managing "digital rights", which is a copyright hold, but for media/content. We know all public licenses are mostly copyleft such as GPL, MIT, etc. Hence they do not have any Management systems. But media/content are susceptible to this.

Imagine if DRM is a law, then DMCA is a court. Here, that content/media is a crime. Anyone who distributes this without rights, does crime, which is against law (DRM), where court (DMCA) steps in to put you behind bars.

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