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My two cents on this topic is: In this thread, we're currently discussing a law that, if passed, would make it forbidden to even discuss whether or not that law is fair. This thread itself would be in violation.
You don't have to be on any "side" to see how that's using government to restrict free speech. While the bill says that sites can filter certain problematic content for Michigan users, most website owners won't take that risk, as it would open us up to potential fines and lawsuits.
@lane_r2018 It's not worth discussing further, but that point isn't exactly a slam dunk. Many Christians (especially in America) choose to circumcise their children: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_and_circumcision#Christianity
With your same reasoning, religious circumcision would also be considered "mutilation of children". The reality is that decisions made around a child's health and their body should be between the parents and their doctors, and in accordance with local laws.
We've added a bunch of new search engines to the landing page now, let me know which ones work best.
Full list of URLs:
Here's the full text of the proposed law: https://legislature.mi.gov/documents/2025-2026/billintroduced/House/htm/2025-HIB-4938.htm
And here's an article going over it: https://reason.com/2025/09/22/michigan-anti-[censored]-bill-would-criminalize-asmr-written-erotica-and-even-nonsexual-depictions-of-trans-people/
As far as this site is concerned, we will follow all applicable laws for the states that our users reside in. Likely, if my understanding is correct, that would look like preventing Michigan users from accessing the website in order to comply with the bill if it passes.
Thank you for making this comprehensive list of resources! I've added a link to it on the DNS landing page ( http://45.55.142.122 )
I'm looking into workarounds to get Google working on the home page again. We'll also add links for Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines. As @Raven suggested, for now using DuckDuckGo is the best alternative.
I can confirm that the notice reads:
Update your browser.
Your browser isn't supported anymore. To continue your search, upgrade to a recent version. Learn more.
It does not appear to be specifically targeting the Switch, as here are two recent reddit threads showing it also is happening for users on PS3:
It's possible that a future Switch OS update might address this issue, if Google is blocking it in response to the browser genuinely being outdated.
@Yanderemenhera Thanks for thinking of me-- I do generally view running the DNS and this site as "giving back" / "paying it forward" to others that hosted similar services that i used to use way back in the DS and Wii web browser days.
In the future, we plan on monetizing the site and service better via (opt-out) advertising, or in-app subscriptions, but right now there's no way to support it directly.
That being said, if you are interested in supporting me personally, I have a Ko-fi page here: https://ko-fi.com/vgmoose
No one is under no obligation to do so though! What Nared and Raven said is right: support can be provided in other ways, such as spreading the petition or the "good word" about browsers and Internet access.
Also, I'll use this post to say that if any other admins or mods want to create similar profiles (ko-fi, paypal, buymeacoffee, patreon, crypto, etc) to accept tips, that's totally fine by me as well. Taking care of this community is important work and worth rewarding financially.
Here's the browser petition to Nintendo (which is still getting signatures every day!): https://www.change.org/p/nintendo-nintendo-expose-the-fully-functional-internet-browser-built-into-the-switch
But I've also started a separate project to make a Switch (and other consoles) browser: https://browsedns.net/topic/9561/broccolini-open-source-web-browser-for-consoles-proof-of-concept
It's a homebrew app, but if it works well and there's interest, we might be able to get a version of it on the eShop one day. After all, the eShop has other web apps like YouTube or Hulu, and tools/utilities (it's not all games).
Hey 👋 I'm good, typically I poke my head in here every so often to make sure it's not on fire. The moderation team has been doing a great job! A resource team initiative sounds like a good idea as well.
We're working on a Switch-compatible IDE still, and you can see the preview of the progress here: https://sailboat2.bdns.dev (This is just the UI only, it doesn't build any files yet). This would be for Javascript and HTML/CSS page editing though, not python. I'm also having trouble getting the Switch to use monospaced fonts in code areas.
That being said, there are some projects to run python via javascript, which could be interesting: https://pyscript.net
To add on to what Raven said, we have a few other DNS related tools for verifying Switch browser user identities to determine their device/request without needing to trust them directly. That being said, it's still a sensitive area, and it'd be great if users can provide a reliable email account to us. If that's not an option, and we aren't able to verify them another way, then creating an alternate (or new) account is really the only option.
And of course, if there's evidence of widespread account reset related issues, we'll act quickly on it. If someone messaged you pretending to be a staff member, please flag the user, and report it to moderators or admins immediately.
List of legitimate staff accounts: https://browsedns.net/topic/10407/browsedns-staff-list
Sharing a video from RB77 that goes through the browsers and their support on the DS, Wii, DSi, 3DS, Wii U, and even Switch / Switch 2:
My favorite one was definitely the Wii's! Youtube even had a special version of their site optimized for it (called Youtube XL).
@benwatts223 Totally agree! I just wrote a post about this recently: https://www.change.org/p/nintendo-nintendo-expose-the-fully-functional-internet-browser-built-into-the-switch/u/33770559
@jainacore is right. Wikipedia has a good article on this subject if you want to read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust
Works well on Switch! https://chromedino.com
Posted a new 2025 update to the petition: https://www.change.org/p/nintendo-nintendo-expose-the-fully-functional-internet-browser-built-into-the-switch/u/33770559
It talks about the Switch 2, and how it's still important to keep asking Nintendo for a browser! The above update was emailed out to all signers.
These numbers have now been added to the DNS landing pages in the upper right corner.
Here they are as of right now. Again, these represent "active unique users in the last 20 minutes":
The three landing pages:
Are you open to co-developing clearer guidance or even tweaks to the GDPR plugin to accommodate things like ex-user content purges?
Definitely. A first step will be to make easier tools for bulk purging before account deletion or via global mod / admin intervention. Also, it should be pointed out that this kind of tool would help permanently banned users as well, who are unable to log back in and do it themselves.
I'm still not sure where to draw the line for something like chat messages though. There could be an automatic clean up if all users leave a chat, for instance, as that data could no longer be accessed.
We would also need a way to verify authenticity of the deletion requests, as we don't want users to be able to social engineer and wipe data of different accounts. Maybe on deletion, an email, IP, or other secret phrase could be left to allow managing the data without an account.
Regarding a roadmap, that's something we should also have. @Raven does occasionally post a thread with what we're working on / upcoming features, but we should also have something like a Github board with priorities and visibility to the public for the implementation progress or feedback.
Hi, there's a lot to unpack here, and I'm going to try my best to respond as best as I can to the concerns raised. This is off the top of my head, and not an AI reply!
@Mozuku-Kun I appreciate your enthusiasm, but that answer does not accurately represent the way the platform works. It looks like it's lacking substance as well.
BrowseDNS forums are based on NodeBB, and as such, we inherit a lot of their account and data practices. Here is the main nodebb website: https://nodebb.org/
And here's the specific plugin that is used for most data "right to erasure" language: https://github.com/NodeBB/nodebb-plugin-gdpr
Firstly, regarding your first statement, it is news to me that user account uploads are not removed upon account deletion, and I will look into that directly. Please DM me with any information regarding specific content that you may have expected to have been removed in the past, and we can sort it out.
For the questions:
A1: That line is referring to collecting user data for advertising purposes. Specifically, this would be by using cookies and Google Adsense. As of today, we are not running any ads due to it being too intrusive for Switch users, but we're actively looking into this still, as the platform has costs associated with running it. Here's a thread from the last time that ads were enabled.
Calling it 'for personalization purposes' isn't referring to algorithmic feeds, but instead is digital marketing lingo for: We will show you ads for products that you are probably interested in (by using cookies across the web), thus creating a "personalized" experience.
A2: Deleted with respect to user account data means fully deleted and gone, which is done to comply with GDPR. Individual posts and chats do have a deletion that is a flag in the database, and then can be further "purged" by moderators or admins. But when an account is removed, it's irrevocably removed.
There may be server logs associated with the account that persist up to a few weeks, but these are also regularly automatically purged and not stored longer than needed for basic site maintenance. We could more clearly define these potential loose ends. But for personal data that is requested to be deleted, it is a true hard delete (purge) with intentionally no ability to recover.
A3: Regarding chats and posts, this content is "published" and is not considered personal user data. This is the built-in behavior of NodeBB, but as I understand it, it's because data you share with others (in a chat for instance) is owned by both of you. It's not necessarily fair to the other person in the chat if you are able to revoke all records of your interactions.
I found the following resource online regarding specifically chat messages and GDPR: https://law.stackexchange.com/a/31028
To me, that suggests that if the chat message contains personal data that there is grounds for allowing us to allow the user to delete/purge it. As of this time however, we do not have a way to do this. You would have to go one by one through your posts/chats/uploads, or contact a mod or admin.
Combined with the fact that account deletion is permanent, that does leave an ex-user in a corner, as they're unable to log back in and delete the data yourself. If someone is reading this, and finds themselves in this scenario, please email gdpr@browsedns.net or message an administrator directly. We can absolutely help purge old content and are not trying to be in the business of unknowingly holding onto your published content.
A4: I'll look at those terms specifically and try to add clarity for them, but in general they're mostly going to be bound by whatever wording enables advertising (again, despite the site not having any at this moment). The specific user consent flow though mostly dictated by NodeBB GDPR defaults.
As the hosters of this service, we are ultimately the ones who hold the responsibility, but NodeBB is open source software, and if there are specific complaints beyond that, it might be helpful to sign up for an account on their site, and suggest potential changes from that direction: https://community.nodebb.org (or alternatively, let us/the administrative team here know if their site provides additional guarantees that we may be able to include on our end)
I hope this response addresses some concerns. Most of the BrowseDNS backend is open source, and it's not our intention to be misleading or mince words in this area. Besides hosting open-source projects, I also have professional work experience with GDPR, user data deletion, and user rights, but I'm not an expert. I do welcome you keeping us honest in this regard, for future improvements for the entire site and the rest of the user base.