The Brave browser basics: what it does, how it differs from rivals

Brave is a more-or-less standard browser that lets users navigate to websites, run web apps, and display online content. Like other browsers, it ... CloseAd computerworld UNITEDSTATES UnitedStates Australia India Netherlands NewZealand UnitedKingdom Welcome!HerearethelatestInsiderstories. GoogleWorkspacevs.Microsoft365:Whichhasbettermanagementtools? Download:UEMvendorcomparisonchart2022 Top4mistakestoavoidwhenpurchasingSaaSapps Q&A:QwickCEOdetailshiscompany's4-dayworkweektrial MoreInsider SignOut SignIn Register SignOut SignIn Register NEWInsiderPRO LearnMore LatestInsider Jamfandmore:AppleMDMtoolsforsmallerbusinesses With‘unlistedapps,’Applemakesanotherenterprisemove 8keytechnologiesforthefutureofwork HowtomanuallyupdateMicrosoftDefender NEWFROMIDG LearnMore Welcome!CheckoutthelatestInsiderstorieshere. SignOut SignIn Register MorefromtheFoundryNetwork AboutUs| Contact| RepublicationPermissions| PrivacyPolicy| CookiePolicy| MemberPreferences| Advertising| FoundryCareers| AdChoices| E-commerceLinks| California:DoNotSellMyPersonalInfo| FollowUs × Close Chromevs.Edgevs.Firefox:Whichisthebestbrowserforbusiness? RELATEDSTORIES U.S.newspapersthreatentosueBravebrowsermakeroverad-blockingscheme SPONSOREDBYAdvertiserNameHere Sponsoreditemtitlegoeshereasdesigned Onlineprivacy:Bestbrowsers,settings,andtips Braveisthename,ad-blockingthegameofnewbrowser Brave/TomislavJakupec Boutiquebrowserstrytoscratchoutalivingbyfindinganicheunderservedbytheusualsuspects.Braveisoneofthosebrowsers.Bravehasgottenmoreattentionthanmostalternatebrowsers,partlybecauseaco-founderwasoneofthosewhokick-startedMozilla'sFirefox,partlybecauseofitsveryunusual—somesayparasitical—businessmodel.Thatmodel,whichreliesonstrippingeverysiteofeveryad,thensubstitutingdifferentads,cameunderattackalmostimmediatelyfrompublishersthatdependedononlineadvertisingfortheirlivelihood."Yourplantouseourcontenttosellyouradvertisingisindistinguishablefromaplantostealourcontenttopublishonyourownwebsite((emphasisinoriginal,"lawyersfor17newspaperpublisherswroteinacease-and-desistlettertoBraveSoftwareinApril2016. ComputerworldtookadeepdiveintoBravetofigureoutwhatitis,whatitdoesandhowitdoesit.Here'swhatyouneedtoknowtodecidewhetherBrave'sforyou.(Ifyoudodecidetotryitout,downloadinformationisdetailedbelow.)Brave TheBravebrowsercanshowusershowmanyadtrackers(andads)havebeenblocked. WhatistheBravebrowser?Braveisamore-or-lessstandardbrowserthatletsusersnavigatetowebsites,runwebapps,anddisplayonlinecontent.Likeotherbrowsers,itisfreetodownloadanduse,rememberssiteauthenticationinformation,andcanblockonlineadsfromappearingonsites.Itsmaker,BraveSoftware,isamongthenewerentriesinthebrowserbattles,havingpreviewedthebrowserinJanuary2016.(Bycomparison,Google'sChromelaunchedinSeptember2008andMicrosoft'sEdgetracesitslineagetoJuly2015.)Thefirmwasco-foundedbyBrendanEich,thecreatorofJavaScriptandaco-founderofMozilla,afterheleftthatbrowservendorunderpressureforsupportingCalifornia's2008Proposition8,aballotmeasurethatbannedsame-sexmarriage.DoesBraveblockadswithinsearchresults?No.Bravedoesn'tlayafingeronthose,includingtheubiquitousGoogleAds(formerlyAdWords)advertisementswithinGoogle'sresults.That'snotasurprise:Adblockingextensionsdon'tstymiesearchadseither. What'sunderBrave'shood?Braveisbuiltatop Chromium,theopen-sourceprojectGoogleandothersmaintain.(GoogleusesChromiumtoprovidethesourcecodeforitsChromebrowser.)Theback-endtechnologiesthatpowerChrome—includingtheBlinkrenderingengineandtheV8JavaScriptengine—alsopowerBrave.OniOS,BraveinsteadreliesonWebKit,theopen-sourcefoundationthatalsopowersApple'sSafaribrowser.WebKitisrequiredasthebackboneofanythird-partybrowsersubmittedtoApple'sAppStore.OtherbrowsersthatdependonChromiumincludeEdge,Opera,VivaldiandQihoo360,oneofthemostpopularChinese-madebrowsers.(Inhindsight,Eich'sdecisiontogowithChromium—ratherthanwithFirefox'sGeckorenderingengine—wassmart,eventhoughmostexpectedBravetoleanMozilla'sway,whatwithEich'sconnectiontothelatter.)Brave Brave'sdefaultbrowserbehaviorcanbecustomizedinpreferences. CanBraverunChrome'sextensions?Gladyouasked.Yes,istheanswer.Afterchoosing"Extensions"fromBrave'sWindowmenu,thebrowserheadstotheChromeWebStore,theofficialmarketforadd-onsandthemessuitablefor,well,Chrome(andsome,thoughnotall,Chromium-basedrivals).There,userscanpickandchoose.What'sBrave'spitch?Braveboaststwothings:speedandprivacy.Bothresultfromitsad-strippingstrategy.Onthedesktop,BraveSoftwarecontendsthatitsbrowserloadspagesthreetimesfasterthanGoogle'sChrome,theworld'sNo.1browser. Thespeedincreasesarenotsurprising.Byeliminatingadsandadtrackers,Bravedownloadsmuchlesscontentfromawebsitethananybrowsersansanad-blockingextension.There'snothingtechnologically-specialaboutBrave'sperformance;it'ssimplyretrievinglessdatathanotherbrowsers.Byeliminatingadtrackers,Braveblockseffortsbyadvertiserstofirstidentifyusers,thenfollowthoseusers.ThatmakesBraveusersmoreanonymous,BraveSoftwarehasargued."(Users)especiallydon'tlikeitwhenlargecompaniesmaptogethertheironlinebehaviorandofflinebehavior,"thefirmsaidinaveryearlyblogpost.Thecompanyhasalsoswornthatitdoesnot,andwillnot,storeanyuserdataonitsservers."WekeepuserdataoutofourcloudBraveVaultbydefault,"EichwroteinhisinauguralpostofJan.20,2016."It'sbetterforyouandusthatwedon'tstoreanyofyourdatawithoutyourpermission."WhatmakesBravedifferentfromotherbrowsers?WhatsetsBraveapartisitsaggressiveanti-adattitude.Thebrowserwasbuilttostriponlineadsfromwebsitesanditsmaker'sbusinessmodelreliesnotonlyonadblocking,butonreplacingthescratched-outadswithadvertisementsfromitsownnetwork.It'sasifanewsportscablenetworkannounceditwouldusetechnologytoremoveadsfromanothernetwork'sprograms,say,ESPN's,thenrebroadcastthoseprogramswithadsofitsowndevising,withtherevenuefromthoseadsgoinginitspockets,notESPN's.Bravealsoeliminatesalladtrackers,theoften-minutepagecomponentsadvertisersandsitepublishersdeploytoidentifyuserssothattheyknowwhatothersitesthoseusersvisitorhavevisited.Trackersareusedbyadnetworkstoshowproductssimilartoonespurchased,orjustconsidered,leadingtothememeofpersistentlyseeingthesameadnomatterwhereonenavigates.SinceBrave'sappearance,mainstreambrowsers—Chrome,Edge,Firefox,Safari,andothers—havealsoadopted variouskindsofanti-trackingdefenses.(Infact,whereonceperformancewasthebattlefieldforbrowserskirmishes,withpagerenderingspeedsthegaugeofsuccess,privacyfeaturesnowrepresentthebattleground,andit'strackerblockingonwhichtheappsarejudged.)Brave'sclaimofprivacysuperiority,then,isnotascompellingasitwas,say,threeyearsago.IsBrave'sadvantageblockingadsandtrackers?No,andforthetalkearlyon,itneverwas. Unlikeotherbrowsersthatblockadsandtrackers—whethernativelyorwhenequippedwithanad-blockingadd-on—Bravehascreatedanadecosystemtoreplacewhatitwipesoffwebsites.Bravescrubssitesofadsandadtracking,thenreplacesthoseadswithitsownadvertisements,whicharenotindividuallytargetedbutinsteadaimedatananonymousaggregateofthebrowser'suserbase.Bravehassaiditwentthatrouteratherthanasimplerall-ad-eliminationmodelbecause,whilefewusersrelishads,manyrealizethatwithoutthem,thecommercialwebasitnowexistswouldbenighimpossible.That'swhy,claimedBrave,itnotonlyswappeditsadvertisementsforthoseoriginallydisplayedbyasite,butbuiltacyrpto-currency-basedsystemthatcan,theoreticallyatleast,compensatethosesamewebsites.It'sdefinitelyauser-centricmodel."We'rebuildingasolutiondesignedto...giveusersthefairdealtheydeserveforcomingtothewebtobrowseandcontribute,"Eichmaintainedtwoyearsago.Brave'sadsarequitedifferentthanthetraditionalin-pageadswebusersknow—andinmanyways,hate.Instead,Brave'sadsappearasnotificationsthatpopup—justlikeotherin-browsernotificationsthatsitesrequestfordisplay—infrontoftheuser.Clickingononeofthesenotification-likeadsopensanewtabinBrave,wherethe"real"adcontentappears.HowwillBraveanditsusers'pay'websites?ThefoundationoftheBraveeconomyis"BasicAttentionTokens"orBATs,whichhaveavaluederivedfromacyber-currency.Thosetokenswillbeawardedbasedonuserattention,ormoreplainly,timespentviewingadsandcontent.BraveuserswhoagreetoreceiveadswillberewardedwithBATs;thetokenscanbepassedtopublishersassupportfortheirsites.Alternately,Braveenvisionsuserstradingtheirtokensforpremiumcontentoradvancedsitefeatures.BraveusershavebeenviewingadssinceApril2019andarenowreceivingads,althoughit'sunclearwhenBravewillactuallybeginservingadstoalluserswhooptin,orwhentheexchanging-BATspartoftheprocesswillbeready.AsofApril7,asingleBATwasworthabout$1.20.(Therewereapproximately1.5billionBATsincirculation,foratotalmarketcapofnearly$1.8billion.)InitslatestMonthlyActiveUser(MAU)statusupdate,Braveclaimedthatusershadcontributedsome26millionBATstositepublishersandwebcontentcreators(thelatterareoftenpostingonsocialmedia,orsites/serviceslikeYouTubeandTwitch).Brave ThefinancialfoundationofBraverelieson"BasicAttentionTokens"orBATs,whicharetiedtoacyber-currencyandusedtosupportwebsites.Userscanautomatically"tip"sitesbasedonhowmuchoftheirtotalonlinetimeisspentviewingtheircontent. HowisBravefunded?Somebrowsersdon'thavetoworryaboutmakingmoneybecausethey'rejustacoginamuchlargermachine.Forexample,Chrome,Microsoft'sEdge,andApple'sSafaridon'tneedtoturnaprofitbecausetheirparentorganizationsvaluethemfornon-monetaryreasonsaswellastheirabilitytoproducerevenueinsomefashion.Otherbrowsers,notablyFirefox,aretheopposite:Theymustfindawaytogeneraterevenue.Mozilladoesthatbystrikingdealswithsearchfirmsfordefaultplacementinthebrowser.(ThecurrentdealiswithGoogle.)BraveSoftware'sfinancialfoundationrestsonsomethingcompletelydifferent:Itsshareofadrevenue.Unlikeotherbrowsers,whichonlydisplaywebsitesinanecosystemwherethosesitesareearningadrevenue,Bravehasinserteditselfintothemoneystream.Braveistheentityearningrevenuefromads,eventhoughtheuserviewsthesamesiteas,forexample,Edge,whichearnsnothing.Brave'scutofpublisheradsis15%,whileitstakeofuseradsisaheftier30%.(Useradsarethenotification-stylepop-upsthebrowserdeliverstousers;theycurrentlymakeupthebulkofBrave'sads.Publisheradsarethoseviewed"onorinassociationwithpublishercontent."Abanneradatthetopofasite'shomepage,forinstance,isapublisherad.)Braverakesin15%,althoughitraised$35millionayearagoinjustsecondsbysellingtheBATcryptocurrencytoinvestors—butclearlyit'sexpectingthatitstake,asmuchas30%oftheBATsearnedbyusers,willbearevenuegeneratorasitsellsthoseBATstoadvertisers.Bravehasothermonetarymeans,asitkeptathirdofthe1.5billionBATs—thatbillionandahalfisacap,thecompanysaid—foritself(200millionBATs)andasstarterseedforbrowserusers'wallets(300millionBATs).AtthecurrentBATvalue,Brave's200millionequals$240million.Thatmoney,Bravesaidin2017inawhitepaper,wouldbeused"tobuildouttheBlockchain-baseddigitaladvertisingsystem."HowmanypeopleuseBrave?AccordingtoBrave,thebrowserhadmorethan25millionmonthlyactiveusers(MAU)asofFeb.2,2021.ThecompanystressedthatithadmorethandoubleditsMAUintheprior12months.AlthoughthatMAUsoundsimpressive,withthewholeworldonline,25millionisadropofthebucket.Mozilla'sFirefox,abrowserthatComputerworldhaslongbelievedtobeontheknife'sedgebetweensurvivalanddissolution,reportedaMAUofapproximately219millionaroundthatsameFebruarytimeline,oraboutninetimesBrave's.What'sthelatestonBrave?Search.InMarch,BraveSoftwareannouncedthatithadacquiredasearchenginecalledTailcat(yeah,wehadn'theardofthembefore,either),which,accordingtoBrave,"willbecomethefoundationofBraveSearch."AsoutlinedbyBrave,itsSearchwilleschewusertrackingandprofiling,and"willnotusesecretmethodsoralgorithmstobiasresults,"aslapatGoogle'sunder-deep-coveralgorithmicjugglingofsearchresultsthatcan,withjustonechange,drasticallyreducetheprominenceofasiteinthelistings.LikethebrowsermadebyBrave,Searchwillpayuserstoviewsearch-relatedads.Butthecompanysaiditwouldalsooffer"optionsforad-freepaidsearch,"whichwouldbeaveryvisiblemarkertoseparateitfromtherun-of-the-millengines.BravedidnotrevealatimetablefortakingSearchpublic;usersinterestedintestingBraveSearchcanregisterheretobeputonapreviewwaitlist.WherecanIdownloadBrave?Bravecanbe downloadedfromthispageofBraveSoftware'ssite.Thepageshouldautomaticallyrecognizethedevice'soperatingsystemandoffertheappropriateversion.Ifitdoesn't,selectfromthechoicesatthebottom\:Windowsx86orWindowsx64;macOS(Intel)ormacOS(ARM64);andLinuxx64forCentOS/RHEL,Debian,Fedora,Mint,openSUSE,andUbuntu.MobileversionsoftheBravebrowser(foriOSandAndroid)areavailableintheAppStoreandinGooglePlay,respectively. Related: Browsers Internet Privacy SeniorReporterGreggKeizercoversWindows,Office,Apple/enterprise,webbrowsersandwebappsforComputerworld. Follow Copyright©2021IDGCommunications,Inc. 7inconvenienttruthsaboutthehybridworktrend ShopTechProductsatAmazon