Brave Browser is a free and open-source web browser developed by Brave Software, Inc. based on the Chromium web browser. It blocks ads and website trackers, and provides a way for users to send cryptocurrency contributions in the form of Basic Attention Tokens to websites and content creators. Brave is built by a team of privacy focused, performance oriented pioneers of the web. Help us fix browsing together.
As of 2020, Brave has been released for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. As of 2017 Brave supported five search engines by default, including their partner, DuckDuckGo. Why should you use Brave over Chrome? A helpful “Explain It Like I’m Five” series to show why over 19 million people are using Brave today.
Brave vs Chrome
A Browser Built to Perform
3x faster. 1 hour more of battery life. 33% less memory usage. Speed past Chrome today.
What You Do Online Is Your Business, Not Ours
You are not a product. Your browser should not spy on your online behavior. Read how Brave respects your privacy by shielding you from the surveillance economy.
Get Rewarded For Paying Attention
Pay attention, get rewarded. Brave is making the Internet economy fairer for creators and users.
The Best Features of Brave Browser
Load pages 3x to 6x faster
- Watch Brave in action, head-to-head-to-head against Chrome and Firefox. Brave loads pages three times as fast out of the box with nothing to install, learn or manage.
Import and continue where you left off
- It’s easy to import your settings from your old browser. You can do it during the welcome tour or later through the menus.
- All of your old browser profiles will appear in a list. You can import other browser data through the main menu item called “Import Bookmarks and Settings.”
Support your favorite sites with Brave Rewards
- Turn on Brave Rewards and give a little back to the sites you frequent most. Earn frequent flyer-like tokens (BAT) for viewing privacy-respecting ads through Brave and help fund the content you love.
- Browsing the web with Brave is free: with Brave Rewards activated, you can support the content creators you love at the amount that works for you.
Experience unparalleled privacy and security
- Brave fights malware and prevents tracking, keeping your information safe and secure. It’s our top priority.
Shields
- Ad blocking
- Fingerprinting prevention
- Cookie control
- HTTPS upgrading
- Block scripts
- Per-site shield settings
- Configurable global shield defaults
Security
- Clear browsing data
- Built-in password manager
- Form autofill
- Control content access to full-screen presentation
- Control site access to autoplay media
- Send “Do not track” with browsing requests
Search
- Choose default search engine
- Use keyboard shortcuts for alternate search engines
- Option to use DuckDuckGo for private window search
Brave Rewards
- Earn by viewing private ads
- Tip your favorite creators
- Contribute monthly to sites
- Auto-contribute to sites
- Verify with Uphold and move funds in and out of your wallet
- Become a verified creator and start earning BAT from tips, contributions and referrals
Tabs & Windows
- Private Windows
- Pinned Tabs
- Auto-unload
- Drag and drop
- Duplicate
- Close Options
- Find on page
- Print page
Address Bar
- Add Bookmark
- Autosuggest URLs
- Search from address bar
- Autosuggest search terms
- Show/hide bookmarks toolbar
- Show secure or insecure site
Extensions/Plugins
- Brave Desktop now supports most of the Chrome extensions in the chrome web store
Brave Firewall + VPN (paid feature, iOS only)
- Unlike many browsers that offer VPNs which mask a user’s IP address, Brave’s Firewall + VPN, powered by Guardian, offers enhanced security and privacy by encrypting and protecting anything users do while connected to the Internet.
- Block trackers across all apps
- Protects all connections
- We never share or sell you info
- VPN server does not know who you are
F.A.Q. of Brave Browser
Do I have to pay Brave to go ad-free?
No, Brave will always be free to use — you don’t need to pay to block ads and tracking.
Will Brave sell user data to advertisers?
We do not have access to identifiable user data. The anonymized aggregated ad campaign related data we do collect is used for accounting and reporting, but this data cannot be mapped back to devices or user identities of any kind.
Why build a browser and not extensions for top browsers?
Extensions face API and performance limits. Additionally, popular extension stores often host malicious counterfeit extensions, which have lead to millions of infected users.
Will Brave standardize its intent-casting protocol?
We intend to when multiple partners in different regions have helped shake it out. It’s a capital mistake to standardize prematurely, so we must first innovate, deploy, and learn.
How are ads targeted based on browser-side intent signals?
As mentioned above, the browser knows almost everything you do. It knows what sites you visit, how much time you spend on them, what you look at, what is visible “above the fold” and not occluded by opaque layers, what searches you make, what groups of tabs you open while researching major purchases, etc.