Brave Browser

Brave is a fully local application. Browsing history, bookmarks, passwords, and settings are stored on the user's device by default. Brave Sync is entirely opt-in and requires explicit setup. When enabled, synced data is stored on AWS servers in the US, but it is end-to-end encrypted before leaving the device — only the user holds the decryption keys. Brave's own servers cannot access the content of synced data.

Brave Sync uses end-to-end encryption. Data is encrypted on the device before being uploaded to Brave's cloud infrastructure (AWS). Only the user holds the decryption keys; Brave states it cannot read synced data. The privacy policy explicitly states that 'Only you will be able to decrypt your data.' Sync chain keys are derived locally and never transmitted to Brave's servers.

Brave does not sell, share, or monetize user data. The privacy policy states, 'We do not buy, sell, or share personal data about consumers.' Brave's revenue comes from Brave Rewards (opt-in crypto advertising), Brave VPN, Leo AI subscriptions, and Brave Search — not behavioral advertising. No third-party trackers or analytics SDKs are embedded in the browser itself.

Brave Leo AI does not use user conversations for model training. The privacy policy states, 'We do not use your conversations for model training.' Leo is opt-in — users must explicitly navigate to it. Chat history is stored locally on the device when enabled; Brave does not retain prompts or responses on the server. Leo uses third-party model providers (Meta Llama, Mixtral) under privacy-preserving terms.

The Brave browser codebase is fully open source under the Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL 2.0), an OSI-approved license. Source code is published on GitHub at github.com/brave/brave-browser. This includes Brave Core, the rendering engine (Chromium/Blink-based), and Brave Shields. The codebase is inspectable, forkable, and accepts external contributions.

No comprehensive independent security audit of the core Brave browser has been published. Brave's VPN underwent an independent audit in 2024 verifying no-logs and privacy claims. The Brave Wallet was audited by Doyensec in Q3 2022. The Brave Search API received a SOC 2 Type II attestation in 2024. None of these cover the browser core, Brave Shields, or the Sync implementation.

Brave maintains active contribution guidelines and a code of conduct on GitHub. The brave-browser repository includes a CONTRIBUTING.md file with instructions for submitting issues and pull requests. Brave's internal security review requirements for code changes are also publicly documented on the repository wiki.

Brave Browser is free forever with no subscription, account, or payment required for any core browsing feature. No trial period, no expiry. Optional paid add-ons exist (Brave VPN at $9.99/month, Leo AI Pro, Brave Search Premium) but are entirely separate and do not restrict browsing functionality.

The free tier of Brave provides the complete browser experience, including Brave Shields (ad and tracker blocking), private browsing, Brave Sync, Leo AI (basic tier), Brave Rewards, and Brave Search integration. No core feature is gated behind a subscription. Paid tiers add premium capabilities but do not restrict the base product.

Brave's pricing for paid features is transparent, with costs publicly listed. However, in 2020, Brave was found to automatically insert its own affiliate referral codes when users typed cryptocurrency exchange URLs into the address bar. Brave acknowledged this, CEO Brendan Eich apologized, and the behavior was removed. The incident was resolved but represents a documented lapse in ethical pricing conduct.

Brave's paid features (Brave VPN, Leo AI Pro, Brave Search Premium) are priced in USD with no documented regional pricing adjustments based on purchasing power. Users in lower-income countries pay the same price as those in high-income countries. No purchasing power parity mechanism is offered for any paid Brave product.

Brave supports partial data export. Bookmarks can be exported as an HTML file (open format). Passwords can be exported as a CSV file. Browsing history, extensions, and full browser profile settings cannot be exported in any portable format. There is no complete profile backup available through the browser UI.

Brave runs entirely on the user's device with no server component required for any core functionality. The browser installs and operates locally on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. No account is required, and no data is uploaded unless the user explicitly enables Brave Sync or Brave Rewards. There is nothing to self-host because the software itself is the complete product.

Brave can open cached web pages, local HTML files, and internal browser pages (settings, about pages) without an internet connection. Core web browsing — loading live websites — requires a connection. Brave Sync requires connectivity to update data across devices. Offline use is limited to locally cached content.

Brave is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. The Linux version is distributed via Brave's own apt and dnf repositories, qualifying as availability on an open platform. Brave also provides a direct APK download for sideloading on Android, though it is not currently listed on F-Droid.

Brave is built on the Chromium engine, which implements WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility features including screen reader support (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver), full keyboard navigation, high-contrast mode, and text scaling. Brave inherits Chromium's accessibility tree. Chromium's accessibility implementation is publicly documented and used as the baseline for all Chromium-based browsers.

Brave Software, Inc. is a for-profit corporation incorporated in Delaware, USA. It is VC-funded, with investors including Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, Blockchain Capital, and others across multiple funding rounds. While the company has strong privacy principles, its VC-funded structure creates financial pressure that may conflict with user interests over time.

No ownership change has occurred at Brave Software in the past three years. Brendan Eich remains CEO and co-founder. No acquisition, merger, or significant restructuring has been reported. Brave Software has maintained its independent status with no Big Tech involvement.

Brave publishes clear and specific privacy commitments for each of its products. Key commitments include no data selling, no behavioral advertising, no third-party trackers in the browser, and an explicit no-training policy for Leo AI. Brave regularly publishes privacy update posts that document changes to data-handling practices.

Brave Software has published no environmental sustainability reports, green hosting commitments, or carbon neutrality targets. The company's about and blog pages contain no references to environmental impact, renewable energy use, or climate commitments. This absence is notable given Brave's otherwise strong transparency practices.

Brave Browser was publicly launched in January 2016 by Brave Software, Inc., co-founded by Brendan Eich and Brian Bondy. As of July 2026, the browser has been in active development for over 10 years and serves more than 100 million monthly active users.

Brave releases a new stable version approximately every four weeks, in line with Chromium's release cadence. The GitHub repository receives regular commits from both Brave engineers and external contributors. Brave maintains an official community forum at community.brave.com and publishes release notes for every version.