Brave is an open-source web browser built on the Chrome web browser with a focus on user privacy.
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How Is Brave different from other browsers?
Brave’s anti-ad stance is the major distinguishing factor of the browser compared to other browsers. Brave’s architecture was built with the major objective of blocking ads and website tracking. While Brave’s extra security features can result in somewhat slower loading time for websites, users who value privacy will benefit the most by using Brave browsers.
Some third-party extensions, such as Google Translate, are reported to have issues with Brave. While Brave’s default settings automatically block website trackers and online ads, the settings of Brave can be changed to allow website trackers and online ads.
Developed by Brave Software, Inc., and headquartered in San Francisco, CA, the application was initially released in November 2019, with the latest update released in March 2022. It currently has over 50 million active users, an installed base that has doubled every year for the last five years. Brave is currently available on Windows, Mac OS, Linux, iOS, and Android.
Key Features
Brave is loaded with features including privacy and security features such as private browsing, anti-website tracker measures, and online ad blockers.
The browser also offers a wallet feature that can be used for cryptocurrency transactions, and a search feature that can be used as a search engine platform. Another cryptocurrency feature is Brave Swap, which can be used to swap Ethereum tokens for other cryptocurrency tokens within the browser.
How Safe is Brave?
As a browser that is built for extreme privacy and security, Brave is safer than most internet browsers. It blocks trackers and privacy-invasive online ads. It also prevents browser fingerprinting, which is used to collect data that can be used to identify the users.
Brave’s Pricing
The Brave browser is free. Users don’t have to pay for blocking website tracking and ads. Also, the browser does not sell user data to advertisers as the browser does not have access to identifiable user data. There is one feature for which users have to pay. That is the VPN + Firewall feature, which is a premium feature and is currently only available on the iOS platform. Users can get access to this feature for $99.99 for an annual subscription or pay $9.99 for a monthly subscription.
