3 Brave Browser benefits:
Introduction
We started using Brave as our main browser some weeks ago. We’re convinced. So I’ll tell you why you should use Brave Browser as well. Of course, Brave will boost your productivity, or it wouldn’t be on our website. It may even facilitate your flow. And these aren’t the only Brave Browser benefits!
Brave is a free browser, available for desktop and smartphone. It was first released in 2016 and its popularity has increased steadily since. As many other new and more traditional browsers, it is built on on top of the open-source Chromium web browser. That’s the same one Chrome is based on. As a result you can easily transfer your extensions and bookmarks when you switch from Chrome to Brave.
So what makes Brave different?
It combines the benefits from Chrome, such as its many extensions, with a faster and safer internet experience. Here’s some extra information about the why behind Brave:
Brendan Eich, Brave co-founder and CEO on the TEDxVienna stage (YouTube).
Benefit 1: Faster loading times thanks to ad-blocking
On their website, Brave claims to be 3 to 6 times faster than Chrome. While I’m not sure the browser is really that much faster, it’s definitely faster than most other popular browsers such as Firefox, Safari and Chrome.
Brave blocks most ads, which obviously results in faster page loading times. Moreover, the browser doesn’t show any annoying ad-blocker alerts. Consequently, you’ll have fewer distractions while working and a faster internet connection to boost your productivity.
On mobile devices, you’ll feel the difference in your data bundle. After installing, you’ll see the number of trackers and ads blocked, and the amount of saved minutes and data this adds up to. After about 3 weeks of using Brave, the browser has blocked a whopping total of 43,471 ads and trackers on my laptop. This saved me about 488 MB and 36 minutes.
My favourite part of the ad-blocking feature? I can watch YouTube without being interrupted by ads every 3 minutes. I swear I was seeing more ads than actual videos on Youtube before I switched to Brave.
Download Brave for a faster internet experience.
Benefit 2: Brave browser protects your privacy
Most websites about Brave go into a lot of detail here. I’d love to do the same, but I honestly wouldn’t know what I’d be talking about. So I assume, that if you’re just a tiny bit like me, you wouldn’t either.
Keeping it simple, this is what Brave does for your safety and privacy:
- Brave blocks ads, trackers and blocking script (whatever this is) by default.
- When possible, Brave automatically updates websites to https (that’s the safe version of http – I’m not completely internet illiterate.)
- Brave blocks phishing (not to be confused with fishing), malware and malvertising.
- The browser also disables plugins that have proven to be a security risk (In your face, bad people who try to steal my information).
- Brave provides better cookie control (the ones that track your internet use – not the edible ones. Don’t worry Cookie Monster).
- Brave does many more cool technical things, which you can learn about from people who actually know about these things on their website: https://brave.com/features
Private windows – whatever you use them for – are also safer with Brave Browser. Brave never remembers what you do in a private window. Thanks to the TOR network your IP address will be hidden from all the dirty sites you visit. Just kidding, I know you use private browsing to secretly apply for a new job. And that’s completely safe because, in a private window, your employer won’t know your browsing history and neither will your internet service provider.
Download Brave to use the internet in a safer way with more respect for your privacy.
Benefit 3: Earn and allocate BAT cryptocurrency
This is perhaps the most exciting part. Brave has its own cryptocurrency. BAT, or Basic Attention Token, is a special currency that you’ll earn while browsing. It won’t make you rich, but it’s exciting to earn money for doing close to nothing. In the following paragraphs, I’ll explain how this works and what you can do with your earned BAT.
Currently, you earn 0,05 BAT per ad, which is just a small browser notification. This equals about 0,01 cent at the moment. I know this may seem very insignificant, but in the last few days, I have received about 15 dollar cents per day for closing a few notifications. However, it took about two weeks before this kicked off. I’m not sure if that happens to everyone or if it was a personal issue.
By default, you’ll see two ads per hour. In the settings, you can change this to anything between zero and five. If you want to maximise your earnings, set it to five. If you prefer to avoid these tiny distractions, switch them off. Turning it off, however, means that you won’t be able to contribute to your favourite content creators.
You read that correctly. Brave allows you to donate your “hard-earned” money to affiliated content creators. By default, your BAT will be automatically distributed based on your interaction time with the content you view online. Turn that setting off to decide who you want to tip. Once you’ve received your monthly deposit of BAT, you can choose which Twitter account, website, YouTube channel or other you want to support.
I know a couple of guys who would be happy to receive your tips…
Download Brave to start earning BAT for viewing ads. And then, tip the content creators of your choice.
Conclusion:
So is Brave Browser better than Chrome? For us, it is. These are only some of the many Brave browser benefits: it’s faster, as good as ad-free and it allows you to thank your favourite content-creators, at no cost to you. For example, If you install the Brave Browser, you can tip us on the website, on Twitter or on Youtube.
Don’t forget to download Brave here to give it a try. Once set up, you can tip your favourite content creators. That could be either us, the guys from the browser apps below or your favourite celebrity on Twitter. Although, she is probably rich enough and since you’re reading this article, why not helps us earn some money to invest in T3G instead’?
Side note: Do you want or need to use multiple browsers on your laptop or desktop? I, for instance, have a personal Google account and a work account. Switching between two accounts can be a pain, as you know. So I use Chrome for work and Brave for personal use. That makes things a lot easier.
Do you know what makes things even easier (on macOS)?
An app that lets you choose which browser to open every time you click a link. Browserosaurus does exactly that.
For an even more efficient solution, try out finicky. Once installed, your computer automatically knows which browser to open based on the link. The installation, unfortunately, requires a bit more technical knowledge but it’s not impossible. It cost me a few hours and probably a healthy year of life; but hey, that means that I can now probably troubleshoot and fix your problem if you want to install this app. So, don’t hesitate to reach out if you need help with this.
