Pasadena Company Patents a Way to Block Online Trackers Beneath the Browser

After major browser makers, led by Google’s Chrome, restricted the privacy extensions that millions of web users had installed to block online trackers, popular tools were removed from Chrome’s extension store or had their capabilities reduced. A Pasadena company says it has patented a way around the problem — by working below the browser entirely.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on April 21 granted RealDefense LLC U.S. Patent No. 12,609,908, titled “Selectively Blocking Connection Requests to Ensure Privacy,” according to a company press release. The patent covers a method that identifies and blocks tracking scripts at the operating system’s kernel level — the deepest layer of a computer’s software — before those scripts ever reach a web browser.

The approach addresses a shift in the browser landscape. Major browser makers, led by Google’s Chrome, have restricted the permissions available to privacy-focused extensions through a framework called Manifest V3. The change replaced a powerful tool that extensions used to intercept and block web requests in real time with a more limited system. Popular privacy tools, including the full version of uBlock Origin, were removed from Chrome’s extension store or had their capabilities reduced.

“Consumer privacy has been quietly eroding for years, and the tools people relied on to protect themselves are being phased out one by one,” Gary Guseinov, Chief Executive Officer of RealDefense, said in the press release.

Rather than relying on browser-based tools, the patented method inspects incoming network traffic at the kernel level and cross-references the origins of connection requests against a database of entities known to engage in identity tracking, according to the company. When a match is found, the connection is blocked. The web page still loads normally — only the silent data transmission back to the tracker is denied, the company said.

The patent also covers blocking tracker access to device resources such as the microphone, camera and physical location, and surfacing consent prompts when a tracker is detected, according to the press release.

The technology works across all applications on a device, not just browsers, the company said, protecting users when programs such as document editors or image viewers connect to the network.

RealDefense, headquartered at 150 South Los Robles Avenue, Suite 400, develops consumer privacy, security, and device optimization software. Its product brands include iolo System Mechanic, SUPERAntiSpyware, RemoveMe, and Support.com. The company says its products are trusted by more than 100 million users worldwide.

The patent strengthens what RealDefense describes as a portfolio of embedded security and privacy technologies that partners — including internet service providers, telecommunications companies, financial technology firms, and consumer software platforms — license to deliver protection inside their own products. The company says those partners collectively reach more than one billion end users globally.

The patent was invented by Grzegorz Jan Wolny and assigned to RealDefense. The application was filed October 19, 2023, and granted April 21, 2026.

RealDefense was named to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 in 2024 after reporting 267 percent revenue growth, according to company announcements.

“It works beneath the browser, can’t be disabled by a browser update, and lets us deliver real privacy protection to the billion-plus consumers reached through our partner ecosystem,” Guseinov said in the press release.