Brave Browser 1.91.175

Built on the same Chromium engine as Chrome, it runs every Chrome extension you already rely on, but ships with the tracker and ad blocking that most people install separately.

The result is a browser that feels like Chrome, loads like something lighter, and doesn't quietly ship your browsing habits off to an ad network.

What Brave Shields actually blocks

Brave Shields is the engine-level filter that runs on every page by default.

It strips third-party ads, cross-site trackers, and the fingerprinting scripts that identify you even without cookies.

Because the blocking happens before the page renders, sites load faster and use less data - which matters more on mobile than most people realize.

You don't need to hunt down a separate blocker extension to get clean pages, though Brave won't stop you from adding one if you have a favorite.

Brave vs Chrome, Edge, and Firefox

This is the comparison most people are weighing, so it's worth being plain about it. Against Google Chrome, Brave gives you the same extension support and rendering with far less telemetry and no default ad load.

Against Microsoft Edge, you drop the Windows-level integration and Microsoft account nudging in exchange for genuine privacy defaults.

Against Mozilla Firefox, the trade is a non-Google engine and Enhanced Tracking Protection versus Brave's Chromium familiarity and broader extension catalog.

If you want maximum anonymity rather than everyday privacy, Tor Browser is the heavier tool; Zen Browser is the Firefox-based pick if a calmer, design-led interface appeals to you; and Vivaldi or Opera are the picks if customization or a bundled VPN matter more to you than blocking.

Brave Rewards and BAT, explained without the hype

Brave Rewards is optional and off until you turn it on. Enable it and Brave shows occasional privacy-respecting ads as background notifications, paying you in Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) for the ones you choose to view.

You can pass those tokens to creators and sites you visit often, or simply ignore the whole system and run Brave as a straight ad-blocking browser. Nothing about Rewards is required to get the privacy and speed benefits, which is the part marketing tends to bury.

Speed and resource use

By refusing to download ad and tracker payloads in the first place, Brave routinely renders heavy pages faster than browsers that load everything and block visually afterward.

On laptops that translates to lower memory pressure and better battery life, and on older Windows machines the difference is noticeable rather than theoretical. It's the rare privacy gain that also makes the browser feel quicker.

Platforms and sync

Brave runs on Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit), macOS 10.13 or newer, the major Linux distributions, plus iOS and Android. Its sync uses end-to-end encryption, so bookmarks, passwords, and settings move between your devices without Brave being able to read them.

For cleaning up traces that no browser can reach on its own - Windows system files, leftover logs - pair it with a tool like Privacy Eraser Free.

Is it worth switching to

If you currently run Chrome with an ad blocker bolted on, Brave gets you the same setup with less overhead and fewer privacy compromises, for free and with no paid tier.

The honest catch is the Rewards/crypto layer, which some people find clutters an otherwise clean browser - but it's fully optional.

For anyone who wants Chrome's compatibility without Chrome's data appetite, it's an easy install to justify.