Open-source privacy oriented browser

Many popular browsers pose security threats by default. By implementing cookies and serving ads, companies and governments track your online searches. Secure browsers use a different approach; these browsers implement several measures like third-party ad-blocking, encryption, and URL filtering to ensure safer browsing. In this review, we will look at an open-source privacy oriented browser with many built-in security features.

Chromium-based with many extensions

Brave is a Chromium-based browser released in 2016. While it is by far not the most popular one, with over 30 million downloads at this time of writing (latest update: start of July 2021), its popularity is increasing rapidly. Built upon the core of Google Chrome, most of the Chromium extensions will function, adding a load of extra features. But Brave stripped the underlying code to eliminate all specific references to Google Web services, and the browser will notify you whenever you install an unreliable extension.

Ad blocker built-in

As a privacy-oriented browser, Brave comes with a built-in ad blocker. As such, this releases you from installing any other third-party extension to block ads. The defaults configured in the Shields panel adequately ensure your online privacy protection already. But you can further adjust them by blocking all cookies and scripts, for example. Of course, when you fine-tune too much, some websites will stop functioning. Unless you have a good reason and know what you will be changing, better stick with the preset parameters.

Forcing to use secure connections

If a site supports secure HTTPS connections, Brave will automatically force to use this to ensure any information sent to a server is encrypted. And whenever a website has not enabled HTTPS, a clear message stating the connection is not secure will be shown. On mobile devices, fingerprinting is also standard disabled; this stops third parties from cross-tracking your online activity.

Option to block social media content

Worth mentioning is that you can block social media content as well. You can allow or disallow Facebook and Google login buttons and also embedded posts from Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. And on desktop or laptop, though you can add any search engine you like, the default one is DuckDuckGo`s private search engine. On mobile versions, you will only have a choice between DuckDuckGo, StartPage, Qwant, Bing, and Google.

Own private search engine

While still in Beta but very promising from a privacy protection perspective, Brave recently released their own search engine. It uses an independent index instead of relying upon popular search indexes and ensures anonymous searching. There is no tracking or profiling of users and no algorithms running in the background leading to biased results. Brave Search is already integrated into the Brave privacy oriented browser, and other browsers can make use of search.brave.com.

Fast page loading through blocking ads and trackers

By blocking ads and third-party trackers, Brave`s privacy oriented browser uses far less memory than other Chromium-based browsers. As pop-ups, cross-site cookies, ad banners are disabled by default, websites load noticeably faster in Brave. And because of fewer resources usage, the battery life of your device profits as well.

Option to join the Brave Rewards program

To compensate for the loss of ad-based revenue to protect your online privacy, Brave works with the Brave Ads network. The approach is the following; users support content creators by donating through the Basic Attention Token (BAT) cryptocurrency. Only by opting into the Brave Rewards program users can earn BAT. Participants can then tip or give to content creators of their choice. These ads do not show on the site you are visiting; instead, they show up in the system notifications tray of your device. The revenue of viewing these ads is divided between the advertiser, the user, and Brave.

Ads turned off unless you join

To some people, this will sound like an intrusion of Brave`s zero ad policy. The significant difference with ads served on other browsers though is that in this case, there are no tracking cookies.  And most importantly, you will explicitly need to join the Brave Rewards program to receive them. By default, all ads to users are turned off in Brave, allowing you to surf the web ad-free.

Fast navigation in Brave`s privacy oriented browser

Brave is easy to set up and use; it works on Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS. After installing this privacy oriented browser, a wizard guides you in importing your bookmarks and your browsing history. Syncing your bookmarks across devices is possible too. And after choosing your default search engine, you are ready to go.  The user interface (UI) resembles any other Chromium-based browser, and navigating is fast, responsive, and intuitive. Furthermore, it takes no effort to customize the look.

No personal data collection

With its focus on your online privacy and security, Brave, in comparison to other standard browsers, offers outstanding performance. Protection from trackers and third-party cookies is by default. As explained in its privacy statement, Brave does not collect any personal data. And when you choose to join the Brave Rewards program, all ad personalization happens on your local device.