The official launch of Brave 1.0 browser was on 13th November, 2019. While the beta version of the browser has been around for some time and has more than 8 million users on a monthly basis, the full release happened just now. The browser is supported by all popular desktop and mobile operating systems including: iOS, Android, Linux, Windows and macOS.
Brave is an open-source free browser, which promises to provide its users with maximum security that they don’t get with browsers such as Firefox, Google Chrome etc. The browser promises to users that security is its main focus and it blocks any third-party ads, trackers and auto-play videos so that the users can enjoy ad-free and stress-free online time.
“The company was founded by the ex-Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich, after he was ousted from the company in 2014.”
Easy user interface
As both Chrome and Brave are built on Chromium, they have vast similarities. Users who have switched from Chrome to Brave for lesser ads and safer browsing do not find it difficult to use. Moreover, Brave lets you use the extensions and themes you had on Chrome on your Brave browser.
Browsing Modes
The privacy options of Brave go much deeper than simply blocking ads and trackers. The browser has two types of modes: Private Window and Private Window with Tor.
- Private Window is similar to the incognito mode of any browser available in the market. It does not save any of the streaming or visited data on your device but can still be viewed by ISP, network administrator, and websites that are visited.
- Private Window with Tor is a mode that uses Tor. This is also known as Onion Router. This browser hides the information of the user by encrypting it and then passing it via three relays. The level of security to your browsing thereof increases manifold. But if a user needs absolute anonymity in the digital world and perfect security, Brave advises users to use Tor’s own browser.
Better speed than other browsers
Another good thing is that compared to Chrome, Brave takes lesser operating power of your systems and runs faster actually. While previously there remained a stark tradeoff of security vs. speed, meaning you could not get both at one time – Brave 1.0 has turned to tables for good. You get to be secured while having the fastest web browsing experience. The company claims to be 3 to 6 times faster browser than others available today.
Brave rewards
Brave rewards is a program by the browser that requires an opt-in from the users and publishers, unlike what the other browsers do. Right now, the program has around 300,000 publishers. The publishers range from individuals with small followings on Twitter/YouTube to gigantic companies such as The Washington Post, Slate, Wikipedia, LA Times etc.
The browser shows a limited number of ads as a notification to the opt-in users in a new private ad tab. The ads shown to a user are based on his/her past browsing habits. 70% of what the advertisers spent are sent to the users while Brave takes the rest of 30% share.
Side note
Numerous web browsers now have started to block ads and trackers from third parties too. Firefox has started to block some of the trackers since January of this year while Safari has taken a step farther and blocked almost all of the third-party trackers from websites that are not frequently visited by the users.
Although Safari does allow trackers from websites that are usually visited by the users but their limit has been restricted to 24 hours too now. Microsoft is also currently testing with a new security feature that block certain trackers by default. This feature will be available from January 15, 2020. Google Chrome made an announcement, earlier this year, that it will be launching tracker-blocking tools but none of them have been launched as of November.