Brave is a Chromium-based browser that blocks ads, fingerprinting, and ad-trackers by default.
Brave has millions of users worldwide. The company’s business model relies on privacy-protecting ads that pay publishers and users when users pay attention to ads. Brave is transparent about this revenue stream, wherein users are rewarded in crypto tokens only if they opt into ad viewing.
The company removed Google code from its Chromium version to improve user privacy, including some account integration, background sync, and inline extensions. Brave also has several privacy-enhancing settings, including blocking third-party ad trackers, upgrading unsecured HTTPS connections, and blocking cookies and fingerprinting. The company says disabling invasive ads and trackers improves loading times on desktop and mobile.
Also: 10 common dangers VPNs won’t protect you from online – and how to avoid them
Brave also has a “Tor mode” that provides anonymized onion network routing. The browser developer offers a VPN and firewall service that protects sessions, even outside the browser, and an AI-based search engine.
As of version 1.68, Brave became the first iOS browser to automatically attempt to upgrade all sites to HTTPS by default. In version 1.75 on desktop, users can add their own scriptlets to a page, which Brave says, “allows for better control over [their] browsing experience.”
In recent news, Brave has open sourced Cookiecrumbler, a tool that automatically detects cookie consent notices on websites using open source large language models (LLMs). It will also publish significant crawler issues on GitHub.
Brave also offers a feature called “Off the Record” (OTR) for users who may be victims of intimate partner violence. The browser developer says the feature “aims to help people who need to hide their browsing behavior from others who have access to their computer or phone.”
Many users say the browser exceeds their expectations, although others find some functionality, such as VPN connectivity, could be improved. I enjoy using Brave, and while it takes some time to get used to — especially if you’re using Chrome or Edge — it’s one of the better browser options on the market.
As Brave has recently updated its VPN with more device support and server selections, it will be interesting to see if users report a more positive experience.
Brave features: Chromium-based | Blocks third-party ad trackers | Private search | Blocks cookies | Incognito windows | Onion routing | VPN | Off the Record browsing | AI assistant | iOS HTTPS by default | Google Play rating: 4.7 | App Store rating: 4.8
