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Patch System

Cromite applies 332 patches to the Chromium source code to enhance privacy, security, and user control. These patches are maintained in the build/patches/ directory and must be applied in a specific order.

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Overview

The patch system is the core of what makes Cromite different from vanilla Chromium. Each patch modifies specific aspects of the browser to:
  • Remove tracking and telemetry
  • Enhance privacy protections
  • Add user-facing features
  • Improve security hardening
  • Disable unwanted integrations
All patches are listed in build/cromite_patches_list.txt and must be applied in the exact order specified.

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Patch Categories

Cromite’s 332 patches can be organized into several major categories:
Patches that enhance user privacy and limit data collection:
  • webRTC-do-not-expose-local-IP-addresses.patch - Prevents WebRTC IP address leaks
  • Multiple-fingerprinting-mitigations.patch - Reduces browser fingerprinting
  • Battery-API-return-nothing.patch - Blocks battery status API tracking
  • Disable-various-metrics.patch - Removes telemetry and metrics collection
  • Fonts-fingerprinting-mitigation.patch - Prevents font enumeration fingerprinting
  • Media-fingerprinting-mitigations.patch - Protects against media device fingerprinting
  • AudioBuffer-AnalyserNode-fp-mitigations.patch - Audio fingerprinting protection
  • PublicKeyCredential-fingerprinting-mitigations.patch - WebAuthn fingerprinting mitigation
  • High-Resolution-Timing-Mitigation.patch - Prevents timing-based fingerprinting
  • Override-Navigator-Language.patch - Language fingerprinting protection
These mitigations are not comprehensive. For journalists or users in restrictive countries, use Tor Browser instead.
Built-in ad-blocking functionality integrated from Eyeo (AdBlock Plus):
  • eyeo-133.0.6943.49-base.patch - Core ad-blocking engine
  • eyeo-133.0.6943.49-chrome_integration.patch - Chrome integration layer
  • eyeo-133.0.6943.49-android_api.patch - Android API bindings
  • eyeo-133.0.6943.49-android_settings.patch - Settings UI for Android
  • eyeo-133.0.6943.49-extension_api.patch - Extension API support
  • Eyeo-Adblock-for-Cromite.patch - Cromite-specific ad-blocking integration
  • Bromite-subresource-adblocker.patch - Additional subresource blocking
  • disable-AdsBlockedInfoBar.patch - Remove ads blocked notification
Patches that remove or disable Google service integrations:
  • ungoogled-chromium-Disable-translate-integration.patch - Remove Google Translate
  • ungoogled-chromium-Disable-untraceable-URLs.patch - Block Google tracking URLs
  • ungoogled-chromium-Disable-webRTC-log-uploader.patch - Disable WebRTC log uploads
  • ungoogled-chromium-Disable-intranet-detector.patch - Remove intranet detection
  • ungoogled-chromium-Disable-Network-Time-Tracker.patch - Disable Google time sync
  • Disable-references-to-fonts.googleapis.com.patch - Block Google Fonts CDN
  • Disable-GSA-by-default.patch - Disable Google Search App integration
  • Disable-Feeback-Collector.patch - Remove feedback submission
  • Disable-integration-with-Gemini.patch - Block Gemini AI integration
  • Remove-binary-blob-integrations.patch - Remove proprietary blobs
  • Disable-privacy-sandbox.patch - Disable Google Privacy Sandbox/Topics API
  • Disable-FedCm.patch - Disable Federated Credential Management
Patches that enhance network-level privacy:
  • Partition-HSTS-cache-by-NAK.patch - Isolate HSTS cache per network
  • Enable-third-party-storage-partitioning.patch - Partition storage by site
  • Partitioning-all-cookies-by-top-frame-domain.patch - First-party cookie isolation
  • Partition-blobs-by-top-frame-URL.patch - Blob storage partitioning
  • Partition-Blink-memory-cache.patch - Memory cache isolation
  • Partition-MediaDeviceId-by-default.patch - Media device ID partitioning
  • DoH-improvements.patch - DNS-over-HTTPS enhancements
  • Replace-DoH-probe-domain-with-RIPE-domain.patch - Use neutral probe domain
  • Reduce-HTTP-headers-in-DoH-requests-to-bare-minimum.patch - Minimize DoH headers
  • Never-use-HTTP-probes-for-connection-detection.patch - Disable connectivity checks
  • Remove-detection-of-captive-portals.patch - Disable captive portal detection
  • Remove-HTTP-referrals-in-cross-origin-navigation.patch - Strip cross-origin referrers
  • Remove-auth-header-upon-cross-origin-redirect.patch - Clear auth on redirects
  • Clear-CORS-Preflight-Cache-on-clearing-data.patch - CORS cache clearing
  • Close-Sessions-On-Ip-Change.patch - Reset sessions on IP change
  • Enable-Global-Privacy-Control.patch - Enable GPC signal
  • Enable-Do-Not-Track-by-default.patch - Enable DNT header
Patches that improve browser security:
  • Switch-to-fstack-protector-strong.patch - Enable stack protection
  • Enable-fwrapv-in-Clang-for-non-UBSan-builds.patch - Integer overflow protection
  • enable-ftrivial-auto-var-init-zero.patch - Zero-initialize variables
  • Improve-the-browser-sandbox.patch - Enhanced sandboxing
  • Enable-StrictOriginIsolation-and-SitePerProcess.patch - Process isolation
  • Use-64-bit-WebView-processes.patch - 64-bit process enforcement
  • Enable-Certificate-Transparency.patch - CT log validation
  • Invalidate-components-public-key.patch - Disable component verification
  • Disable-TLS-resumption.patch - Force fresh TLS sessions
  • Supporting-Dangling-Ptr-Detection-via-BackupRefPtr.patch - Memory safety
  • Enable-gwp-asan-on-Android.patch - Hardware-assisted memory safety
  • Enable-ClientHello-Segmentation.patch - TLS fingerprinting protection
  • Enable-Socket-Pool-Limit-Randomization.patch - Connection pool randomization
  • Block-gateway-attacks-via-websockets.patch - WebSocket security
  • Hardening-against-incognito-mode-detection.patch - Prevent incognito detection
  • Lock-Profile-Cookie-Database.patch - Database security
Patches that add or modify user-facing functionality:
  • Add-an-always-incognito-mode.patch - Always-incognito option
  • Add-exit-menu-item.patch - Exit button in menu
  • Add-menu-item-to-view-source.patch - View source menu item
  • Add-menu-item-to-bookmark-all-tabs.patch - Bookmark all tabs
  • Add-bookmark-import-export-actions.patch - Import/export bookmarks
  • Bookmarks-select-all-menu-entry.patch - Select all bookmarks
  • Add-option-to-not-persist-tabs-across-sessions.patch - Ephemeral tabs
  • Add-setting-to-clear-data-on-exit.patch - Clear on exit
  • Add-a-proxy-configuration-page.patch - Proxy settings UI
  • Add-custom-tab-intents-privacy-option.patch - Custom tabs control
  • History-number-of-days-privacy-setting.patch - History retention setting
  • Add-option-to-use-home-page-as-NTP.patch - Custom homepage as NTP
  • Add-option-to-force-tablet-UI.patch - Tablet mode toggle
  • Add-Alt-D-hotkey-to-focus-address-bar.patch - Alt+D keyboard shortcut
  • User-agent-customization.patch - Custom user agent strings
  • Add-lifetime-options-for-permissions.patch - Temporary permissions
  • Add-setting-to-invert-tap-and-long-tap.patch - Touch gesture customization
  • Add-option-to-disable-snapshots.patch - Disable UI snapshots
  • Customize-selection-popup.patch - Custom text selection menu
  • Enable-menu-on-reload-button.patch - Reload button menu
  • Android-Toolbar-Scroll-Ablation-setting.patch - Toolbar scroll behavior
  • Enable-snackbar-swipe.patch - Swipeable notifications
Content settings infrastructure and per-site controls:
  • Content-settings-infrastructure.patch - Core content settings system
  • Add-autoplay-site-setting.patch - Per-site autoplay control
  • Site-setting-for-images.patch - Per-site image blocking
  • JIT-site-settings.patch - Per-site JavaScript JIT control
  • Add-webGL-site-setting.patch - Per-site WebGL control
  • Add-webRTC-site-settings.patch - Per-site WebRTC control
  • Show-site-settings-for-cookies-javascript-and-ads.patch - Enhanced site settings UI
  • Change-popup-site-setting.patch - Popup blocking improvements
  • Private-network-access-content-settings.patch - Local network access control
  • Viewport-Protection-flag.patch - Viewport fingerprinting protection
  • Keyboard-protection-flag.patch - Keyboard API protection
  • Add-a-flag-to-disable-GamePad-API.patch - Gamepad API toggle
  • Block-Intents-While-Locked.patch - Lock screen protection
Patches that disable or restrict web APIs:
  • Disable-WebGPU.patch - Disable WebGPU API
  • Disable-GetInstalledRelatedApps-API.patch - Block app detection
  • Disallowing-MIDI-permission-by-default.patch - Restrict MIDI API
  • Disable-idle-detection.patch - Block Idle Detection API
  • Disable-speechSynthesis-getVoices-API.patch - Block speech synthesis
  • Disable-support-for-pointer-device-id.patch - Pointer fingerprinting protection
  • Disable-CSS-blink-feature-support.patch - Disable CSS blink features
  • Disable-Posture-API.patch - Block device posture API
  • Disable-Device-Attributes-API.patch - Disable device attributes
  • Disable-Viewport-Segments.patch - Disable viewport segments
  • Disable-prefers-reduced-motion.patch - Block motion preference detection
  • Disable-prefers-reduced-transparency-media-query.patch - Block transparency detection
  • Disable-css-preferred-text-scale.patch - Disable text scale detection
  • Disable-Compression-Dictionary-Transport.patch - Disable compression dictionary
  • Keep-disabled-FetchLaterAPI.patch - Disable FetchLater
  • Keep-disabled-CpuPerformance.patch - Disable CPU performance API
  • Keep-ComputePressure-disabled.patch - Disable Compute Pressure API
  • Disable-conversion-measurement-api.patch - Disable attribution API
  • Keep-disabled-cache-sharing-for-pervasive-scripts.patch - Disable cache sharing
User interface and Cromite branding:
  • Cromite-Branding.patch - Cromite branding and icons
  • Cromite-Branding—improve-settings-ui.patch - Enhanced settings UI
  • Restore-classic-new-tab-page.patch - Classic NTP design
  • Always-use-new-tab-page-for-default-home-page.patch - NTP as default
  • Show-NTP-at-startup.patch - Show NTP on startup
  • Restore-Simplified-NTP-launch.patch - Simplified NTP
  • Welcome-screen.patch - Custom welcome screen
  • Move-navigation-bar-to-bottom.patch - Bottom navigation bar
  • Use-list-mode-for-tab-switcher.patch - List view for tabs
  • Restore-adaptive-button-in-top-toolbar-customization.patch - Adaptive toolbar
  • Enable-search-engine-settings-desktop-ui.patch - Desktop search settings UI
  • Enable-ImprovedBookmarks-by-default.patch - Enhanced bookmarks
  • Improve-plain-text-rendering-on-mobile.patch - Better text rendering
  • Enable-darken-websites-checkbox-in-themes.patch - Dark mode toggle
Performance improvements and optimizations:
  • Enable-HighEfficiencyMode-by-default.patch - Memory optimization
  • Enable-Android-Dynamic-Performance-Framework.patch - Android performance
  • Add-PartialLowEndModeOnMidRangeDevices-flag.patch - Mid-range device optimization
  • Android-Pixel-Perfect-Mode.patch - Pixel-perfect rendering
  • Set-the-screen-frame-rate-to-60-Hz.patch - Fixed 60Hz refresh rate
  • Set-caret-blink-interval-to-default.patch - Default caret timing
  • Compress-libchrome-to-free-up-some-space.patch - APK size reduction
  • Disable-offline-autofetch-flag.patch - Disable offline prefetch
  • Disable-Paint-Preview-by-default.patch - Disable paint preview
  • Immediately-destroy-shared-workers-when-closing-the-page.patch - Worker cleanup
  • Disable-minikin-hyphenation.patch - Disable hyphenation
Patches specific to Windows builds:
  • WIN-enable-pdf-plugin.patch - Enable PDF viewer
  • WIN-disable-annotate-downloads.patch - Disable download annotation
  • WIN-Disable-TabHoverCard-images.patch - Disable tab hover cards
  • WIN-Fix-log-to-file.patch - Fix logging
  • WIN-Disable-updater.patch - Disable auto-updater
  • WIN-Disable-first-run.patch - Disable first run experience
  • WIN-Add-some-prefs-to-secure-preferences.patch - Secure preferences
  • WIN-Disable-search-for-image.patch - Disable image search
  • Prevent-mouse-wheel-fingerprinting-on-Windows.patch - Mouse wheel protection
  • Do-not-use-Windows-ClearType-Text-Tuner-setting.patch - ClearType protection
Extension support and experimental features:
  • Experimental-support-for-extensions-on-Android.patch - Android extension support
  • Enable-extension-in-incognito.patch - Extensions in incognito mode
  • Override-the-MV2-deprecation.patch - Manifest V2 support
  • Experimental-user-scripts-support.patch - User script support
  • Chrome-web-store-protection.patch - Web Store compatibility
Build configuration and utility patches:
  • bromite-build-utils.patch - Cromite build utilities
  • Add-cromite-flags-support.patch - Cromite flags infrastructure
  • Add-cromite-test-support.patch - Testing infrastructure
  • Force-use-vpython3-for-all-scripts.patch - Python 3 enforcement
  • Permit-PGO-for-debug-builds.patch - PGO in debug builds
  • Fix-chromium-vanilla.patch - Vanilla Chromium fixes
  • Final-patch-for-chromium-vanilla.patch - Final vanilla fixes
  • Allow-building-without-enable_reporting.patch - Build without reporting
  • Allow-building-without-supervised-users.patch - Build without supervised users
  • Add-a-GN-flag-to-disable-trybot-verification.patch - Disable trybot checks
  • do-not-hide-.orig-files.patch - Keep .orig files
  • do-not-block-build-incompatible-profiles.patch - Profile compatibility
  • Never-treat-Proguard-warnings-as-errors.patch - Proguard handling
Temporary fixes and work-in-progress patches:
  • Temp-disable-predictive-back-gesture.patch - Disable back gesture
  • TEMP-Add-a-log-to-track-strange-behavior.patch - Debug logging
  • Temp-guard-FileSystemAccessPersistentPermissions.patch - File system guard
  • Temp-disable-experimental-web-platform-features.patch - Disable experimental features
  • Temp-use-PREVIEW-for-IDCompositionDevice5.patch - Windows composition fix
  • Temp-disable-UseContextSnapshot.patch - V8 snapshot fix
  • Try-to-fix-2082.patch - Specific bug fix
  • Fix-chromium-build-bugs.patch - Build fixes
  • Block-leakage-of-urls-in-sandbox-iframes.patch - Sandbox URL leak fix
Temporary patches may be removed or modified in future releases once proper solutions are implemented.

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Applying Patches

Patches must be applied using git am in the exact order listed in cromite_patches_list.txt:
1

Navigate to Chromium Source

cd chromium/src/
2

Apply Patches in Order

while read patch; do
  echo "Applying $patch..."
  git am < "../../cromite/build/patches/$patch"
done < ../../cromite/build/cromite_patches_list.txt
The patch list contains 332 patches that must be applied sequentially. Each patch builds upon the previous ones.
3

Verify Patches Applied

git log --oneline | head -n 332
You should see all Cromite patches in the git history.

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Patch Structure

Each patch file follows standard unified diff format: 
From abc123... Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Author <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2024 12:00:00 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Patch description

---
 src/chrome/browser/example.cc | 10 ++++------
 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/chrome/browser/example.cc b/src/chrome/browser/example.cc
index abc123..def456 100644
--- a/src/chrome/browser/example.cc
+++ b/src/chrome/browser/example.cc
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
 // Patch changes here

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Patch Licensing

License Information

  • Bromite patches: GNU GPL v3
  • Cromite-specific patches: GNU GPL-2+
  • Each patch contains specific license information in the header

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Viewing Patch Details

To examine a specific patch: 
cat build/patches/Multiple-fingerprinting-mitigations.patch

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Contributing Patches

When contributing new patches to Cromite:
  1. Create patch against Chromium base: Your patch should apply cleanly to the Chromium version in build/RELEASE
  2. Follow naming conventions: Use descriptive names that indicate the patch purpose
  3. Add to patch list: Insert your patch in the appropriate position in cromite_patches_list.txt
  4. Test thoroughly: Ensure patches don’t break existing functionality
  5. Document changes: Add comments explaining why the patch is needed
See the Contributing Guide for detailed information on submitting patches.

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Patch Maintenance

Patches must be rebased for each new Chromium version:
  1. Rebase to new Chromium tag: git rebase <new-version-tag>
  2. Resolve conflicts: Fix any merge conflicts that arise
  3. Test build: Ensure all patches apply cleanly
  4. Update RELEASE file: Update to new Chromium version
  5. Update Docker images: Rebuild with new version

Build Guide

Learn how to build Cromite with these patches

Patch List (GitHub)

View the complete patch list on GitHub

Patches Directory

Browse all patch files on GitHub

Contributing

Submit your own patches to Cromite

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