"Element does not support this browser" message on Brave

[Neurone]

Steps to reproduce

I used Element Web for many years without issues, but today I received a pop-up message saying that my browser (Brave) is not supported. No more details are provided.

Element does not support this browser
If you continue, some features may stop working and there is a risk that you may lose data in the future. Update your browser to continue using Element.

This is also happens when trying to submit a bug via /rageshake command:

Submit debug logs
Reminder: Your browser is unsupported, so your experience may be unpredictable.

This is my configuration:

Brave: Version 1.68.141 Chromium: 127.0.6533.120 (Official Build) (arm64)
Element version: 1.11.75
Crypto version: Rust SDK 0.7.1 (c8c9d15), Vodozemac 0.6.0

Outcome

What did you expect?

Full support for Brave Browser

What happened instead?

Pop-up message saying "Element does not support this browser".

Operating system

macOS Sonoma 14.5

Browser information

Brave Version 1.68.141 Chromium: 127.0.6533.120 (Official Build) (arm64)

URL for webapp

https://one.element.io/

Application version

Element version: 1.11.75 Crypto version: Rust SDK 0.7.1 (c8c9d15), Vodozemac 0.6.0

Homeserver

one.ems.host

Will you send logs?

No

[shadow-absorber]

this bug is even weirder as get the same message in element-desktop from the arch linux extra repo

[dbkr]

https://github.com/element-hq/element-web?tab=readme-ov-file#supported-environments are our supported browsers. We recently added this warning, but it doesn't mean anything will necessarily stop working: just that everything it isn't guaranteed to work.

[Neurone]

Hi @dbkr , thanks for the info.

I love Element and would love to use it in my favorite browser without using a dedicated one just for it 😄

Do you have any plans to add Brave to the list of supported browsers?

Side feedback.

As a user, I find the message to be misleading. May I suggest a different way to look at compatibility and the related message?

To me, this page (https://github.com/element-hq/element-web?tab=readme-ov-file#supported-environments) provides the list of environments that you (Element/New Vector Ltd) support, not the list of environments that Element (the application) supports.

In particular, you are actively triaging bugs that occur on the Last 2 major versions of Chrome, Firefox, and Edge on desktop OSes. This means that regardless of what environment Element (the application) supports, you provide support for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, and you test only on those browsers.

If you continue, some features may stop working and there is a risk that you may lose data in the future.

This is a very scary message and I'd like to know more. Why would this happen? What missing feature would cause this? Is there a workaround? Etc.

I think we should have a list of all the features that a browser must provide for Element to work. In that sense, Element supports any environment that can provide those features/pass all the tests associated with them.

Having this feature list allows us to check if our preferred browser can support Element, and we can verify.

On top of this feature list, you apply your develop/build process and support activities that you feel are necessary/good for the product.

What do you think?

[why-not-try-calmer]

https://github.com/element-hq/element-web?tab=readme-ov-file#supported-environments are our supported browsers. We recently added this warning, but it doesn't mean anything will necessarily stop working: just that everything it isn't guaranteed to work.

Honestly this is a bit of a cheap answer, because Chrome, Edge and Brave are so similar that one would expect them to be treated on a par -- at least by front-end clients such as element. The tension between this assumption and the warning message creates uncertainty.

Thus if they are not treated on a par, what difference is there to Brave that goes against element's supporting it?

[StefanTT]

To be honest this message let me loose a fair part of my sympathy for Element.

[Dr-Bone]

given Matrix is "An open network for secure, decentralised communication" privacy is highly regarded for most Matrix users. The decision to not support a privacy focused browser like Brave feels weird, doesn't it?

[t3chguy]

Matrix != Element, Element is an open source project but ultimately led by stakeholders for a for-profit company, otherwise the devs wouldn't get paid to work on the project which many other projects and companies benefit from for free. We have a very small team and widening browser support is more expensive than one realises in terms of time especially around testing and agility of shipping new features. Our Support Policy was recently reviewed and updated by the management team and as it stands is what they settled on, so it won't be being updated further at this time.

More than likely Brave will just work, but it may break when we ship new features that depend on support which Brave lacks and as per the support policy no testing or fixes would land because of that. You are always of course welcome to maintain a fork with wider compatibility if that is something which you are passionate about.

As told before, the warning you are seeing is shown before anything stops working, but either way your browser is not supported and it working is a best effort and it may stop after an update of either Element or your browser. This warning was added by demand from our userbase which were unfamiliar with our support policy and found themselves on an outdated browser after we had started relying on a web feature which they did not have and the app would crash at launch.

This is a very scary message and I'd like to know more. Why would this happen? What missing feature would cause this? Is there a workaround? Etc.

I think we should have a list of all the features that a browser must provide for Element to work. In that sense, Element supports any environment that can provide those features/pass all the tests associated with them.

This list would change with every update and is borderline impossible to ensure is always up to date as transitive dependencies will require certain browser features also, which is almost never clear in the changelogs of our actual dependencies. You can see a high level list in https://github.com/element-hq/element-web/blob/develop/.modernizr.json

Thus if they are not treated on a par, what difference is there to Brave that goes against element's supporting it?

Lack of bandwidth to test against it and the management team not being interested in that browser due to lack of customer interest.