🥇Release of the Brave browser 1.0, developed with the involvement of the creator of JavaScript

After four and a half years of development and testing introduced the first stable release of the web browser Brave, developed under the guidance of Brendan Eich, the creator of JavaScript and former head of Mozilla. The browser is built on the Chromium engine and focuses on protecting users' privacy. Builds are prepared are available for Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. The project's code is available is on GitHub, specific components for Brave are distributed under the free MPLv2 license.

Brave has a built-in and enabled-by-default engine for cutting out ads, tracking scripts between sites, social media buttons, autoplay video blocks, and mining inserts. The filtering engine is written in Rust and uses algorithms borrowed from the Block Origin and Ghostery extensions.

Brave browser 1.0 release, developed with the participation of the creator of JavaScript

According to the developers, cleaning displayed pages of ads and third-party JavaScript blocks allows for 3-6 times faster page loading. In tests conducted by the developers, Brave averaged a reduction in loading time of 27 seconds compared to Chrome and 22 seconds compared to Firefox, while Brave loaded 58% less data and consumed 40% and 47% less memory for processing pages than Chrome and Firefox, respectively.

To combat indirect user tracking, the browser employs a blocker for hidden identification methods (‘browser fingerprinting’). The core includes the HTTPS Everywhere extension, enabling the use of HTTPS on all sites where possible. There is a private browsing mode where traffic is routed through the Tor network. The browser supports a synchronization mechanism between devices, Brave Sync, offers a choice of dark and light themes, is compatible with Chrome extensions, and has built-in support for IPFS and WebTorrent.

Recognizing that ad blocking may deprive content creators of funds to maintain their resources, Brave developers integrated an alternative funding mechanism for publishers into the browser. The essence of the proposed scheme is that funds from ad displays are received by the user, who then distributes them in the form of donations to the resources they find most interesting.

Donations to content creators are organized through the Brave Rewards. Donations can be made as a monthly subscription or as one-time tips for interesting content (a red triangle indicator appears in the address bar for donations). To prevent fraud, only verified websites can participate in the program (over 300,000 websites supported). The Brave Rewards widget is displayed on the page shown when opening a new tab.

Funds for donations can be accumulated through the built-in Brave Ads advertising platform, which displays ads without relying on external services. To ensure privacy, data about opened pages does not leave the user's system and is stored locally. Using Brave Rewards and Brave Ads is optional and can be enabled at the user's discretion (via the Brave Rewards menu or the brave://rewards URL) and configured (the number of ads displayed per hour can be limited). Ads appear as pop-up notifications separate from the content. Currently, ad display is possible in 30 countries, and no post-Soviet countries are included yet.

Payments are made in a specially created cryptocurrency BAT (Basic Attention Token), based on Ethereum and combining a decentralized platform for ad exchange. The proposed approach allows the user to fully control all browser data while enabling businesses to continue advertising. The revenue distribution model implies that 70% of the income from advertisers is shared among users. Funds earned from viewing ads accumulate in the form of BAT tokens in a wallet linked to the user. The user can exchange earned BAT for digital and real currencies or use them to sponsor websites.