Brave Browser: Fast AdBlocker for Android
Editors' Review
by
Clifford Colby
/ April 25, 2018
The Brave Browser for Android is focused on protecting its users' privacy. While the browser attempts to block all ads and trackers by default, it employs an interesting way for users to compensate creators for their content.
Pros
Block ads; pay publishers: Brave Browser blocks ads and trackers by default. In Settings, you can turn off ad blocking and tracking protection and block ads on regional and local websites.
To compensate content creators, such as website publishers and producers on YouTube and Twitch, Brave has a system that allows readers to make anonymous contributions to websites they visit. Users can automatically direct micro-donations to their top sites. Publishers then receive the contributions in the form of cryptocurrencies once they opt into the system. The company said it's working on a way for users to opt-in to receiving ads as another way to support publishers.
Based on Chromium: Brave Browser is built on the open-source Chromium project from Google. It doesn't at the moment take advantage of everything the project has to offer, but Brave's developers said Brave users will soon be able to use Chrome extensions with its browser.
Cons
Feels like a work in progress: Although the Android version of the browser is a 1.0 release, it still feels a bit rough as the company continues to make changes to the browser architecture and contribution system. The Mac and Windows versions of the browser are in beta and expected to ship later this year.
Bottom Line
The Brave Browser takes a hard line on ads and trackers but presents an interesting way for its users to compensate content creators: They can anonymously contribute to the websites they frequent.
