/ 21.03.19
Will fortune favour the brave?
Recently there's been a lot of hype around Brave, a relatively new browser launched by a team led by Brian R. Bondy and co-founder of Mozilla Project, Brendan Eich.
Brave's self-professed mission is to make the web a better place by giving users a faster, safer browsing experience. Recent reports suggest that it is gaining traction and is even tipped to give Google Chrome a run for its money!
A few of our team decided to test it to see if it lives up the hype.
One of the first things we all commented on was how fast it is. Tests show that it puts far less strain on system resource than even the leanest of browsers (such as Firefox Quantum) and it only uses around 70% of CPU cycles when performing the same tasks as other browsers.
The browser also integrates some very effective Ad/Tracker blocking features. A pleasant side effect of this is that it helps reduce memory usage by 33% to 66% (compared with Chrome) - Especially beneficial for mobile and laptop users.
Another nice feature is that Brave automatically upgrades to HTTPS for secure, encrypted communications and the default settings block phishing, malware, and malvertising to keep your information safe and secure. It's refreshing to know that their servers will never see or store your browsing data. It stays private, on your device until you choose to delete it!
"We love the 'shields up' feature which shows how many ads/trackers have been blocked on each site you visit."
For the technically inclined, Brave sits on the open-source Chromium engine that also powers Google Chrome and Microsoft edge. This makes adding Chrome extensions as simple as if you were adding them from the official Chrome Web Store.
Harnessing the power of the Blockchain
The Brave team have also come with an innovative rewards programme that integrates blockchain driven advertising into the browser using Basic Attention Tokens (BAT). Users can earn BAT tokens and store them in a fully integrated browser wallet by viewing ads that Brave automatically inserts instead of the ads the websites are naturally displaying.
When you sign up for 'Brave Rewards' you also get the option to donate a portion of the ad revenue to the sites you enjoy the most. You can also earn tokens for yourself to purchase premium content or other services within the BAT platform.
We've also heard that the team are working on a new 'Speed Reader' mode to help reduce clutter and reputably increase website display speeds by a factor of 20!
So, all in all, there are lots of things to like.
Brave is a fast, secure and stable browser that makes browsing the web a far more rewarding and enjoyable experience. Their approach to ad blocking and the integration of the Brave Rewards programme is original and intriguing. Only time will tell if it can gain long-term traction and challenge the dominance of Chrome, Safari and Firefox.