Launched in beta in 2016 by Brendan Eich, the inventor of the famous Javascript language and one of the founders of the Mozilla foundation, Brave aims to offer safer, faster and more privacy-friendly browsing, while ensuring above-average performance.
To facilitate exchanges within its ecosystem, the American startup launched cryptocurrency Basic Attention Token (BAT).
Lately, the version 1.0 (first stable version) of the browser is released (mobile, PC, MAC) and the product has passed the 10 million mark monthly active users.
Technical specifications
Based on a modified version of open source code Chromium, Brave has however separated from the specific Google code which links the browser to the services of the American giant.
According to several recognized media, Brave is doing pretty well in terms of performances. Specialist tests PCWorld indicate that the young browser outperforms Edge (formerly Internet Explorer) and Firefox, except on WebXPRT 3.
Source: PCWorld
In terms of resource consumption, Brave would also be a better option for Firefox and Edge. Version 78 of Google Chrome would be slightly less voracious, however.
In general, we see a slightly slower start than the competition but a cruising speed much higher than the average since the browser blocks a lot of elements.
Getting started
Downloading and installing Brave are quite simple and the browser offers an extremely clear interface.
The option menu is practical and you can easily find the desired features. For non-English speakers, you can put the browser in french by clicking on “settings” and then accessing the “language” tab.
features
Brave has a multitude of features like Shields : the small shield with a lion head placed to the right of the address bar to block advertisements, including popups, but also invisible elements such as trackers and other cookies.
As you can see in the screenshot above, the shield Brave Shields blocks 2 items during a visit to Cryptonaute. This is the Google code used to analyze the audience of the site and the banner ad code.
This brings us to the ad network functionality called Brave Ads. Because if Brave cuts the publishers’ income by blocking advertisements, the browser pays them through its own advertising management.
Brave also rewards Internet users who view their advertisements broadcast during their session, up to 70% of their total advertising revenue (this functionality is however optional and can be deactivated in order to benefit from browsing without any advertising).
And this is where the Basic Attention Token.
Built on Ethereum, the digital coin is used as a currency between advertisers, publishers and users. It thus facilitates transactions in the ecosystem Brave.
The token is also used through the tip functionality. Brave Rewards allowing internet users to make BAT donations to their favorite websites and content creators (Twitter, Youtube, Twitch, etc.).
Note that for withdraw BAT tokens outside the Brave ecosystem, users and publishers must go through third-party financial services Updhold.
In addition to its specific privacy features, Brave also offers the possibility of using the decentralized computer network Tor directly through the browser interface.
We continue the listing with the support of the protocol IPFS Companion. Also, WebTorrent is natively integrated and allows you to download torrents directly from the browser.
Brave also supports physical crypto-wallets like the popular Ledger Nano X.
You can deactivate all social media (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin …) in order to evolve in an environment without potential distractions.
Finally, the browser is compatible with the majority of extensions available on Google Chrome Store and offers the possibility to synchronize your favorites, passwords, history from other browsers.
Brave Reviews
Yes Brave is undeniably an excellent browser given its handling and performance, its rather promising economic model is still experimental, like many projects based on blockchains or cryptocurrencies.
The browser will appeal to users concerned about protecting their online privacy and of course the holders of bitcoins and other digital assets.
It’s also a great way to learn cryptocurrency by getting their first chips for free. according to Brave, a typical user earns around 5 euros in Basic Attention Token (about 25 BAT at current prices) each month, which they can withdraw or redistribute to their favorite creators.
On the weak side, there is not much to complain about except that Brave Freezes so many items that sometimes it mistakenly hides the content of a site.
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