Brave browser

I’ve switched to using the Brave browser and I’m impressed. It won’t surprise anybody to learn that I have serious issues with Google and their apparent disregard for privacy. I’ve succumbed recently and started to view Google Chrome as a necessary evil. Firefox seems terribly clunky and slow. It felt like I didn’t have any alternative. I wasn’t happy by any means and Chrome itself seemed to under perform over the course of a day. Internet Explorer (or is it Edge now)has been useless for the best part of a decade.

By sheer chance, my old mate, Jon Olson suggested that I look at Brave. Jon has always been passionate about offering value and over the past couple of years has become a cryptocurrency zealot. Intrigued, I decided to give it a go.

Wow!

Improved speed with Brave browser

I noticed the difference immediately. Websites simply load faster. I think that’s for a couple of reasons.

  • Brave appear dedicated to the web browser’s privacy. They’re not busy cataloging your browsing history for commercial purposes
  • They block most add and tracking software, making your browser experience much more pleasant.

According to Brave statistics just 36 hours after install they have blocked 9534 ads and trackers (yes that many) and saved me 8 minutes in browsing time. That doesn’t seem much but for a guy who has multiple windows open constantly and is reliant upon fast loading speeds, it makes all the difference

So what’s the catch?

I can’t see one. In fact the Brave Browser rewards you for using it. Brave has what I can only describe as a profit share model where it redistributes some of its earned advertising revenue to users in a form of cryptocurrency called BAT (Basic Attention Token) Ads are served through the notify system . They work well, being highly visible whilst, not annoying like popups tend to be.
There is an option to opt out of ads being served entirely, which would lead you to a completely seamless browsing experience.

This is a brave new experiment in advertising and publishing and tweaks the adsense/adwords model to be potentially more targeted for advertisers and fairer to content publishers.
It is early days and there are significant risks to the Brave browser business model as the browser market is notoriously fierce.

The bottom line

I really like the browser. It is fast loading, hassle free and removes unwanted trackers and advertising. The fact it pays me for using it is a bonus. As a publisher, I am investigating the use of their ads on my site which could ad another potential income stream to my business.

I don’t like Google Chrome. I’ll be using Brave from now on. Please note that in recommending Brave I could earn a small commission if you download and use it regularly. I wouldn’t recommend it if I wasn’t using it.

You can download the Brave browser here


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By Mark