4 Reasons Why Switching Back to Brave Was the Smartest Decision We Made

For months, we experimented. We ventured into the seemingly greener pastures of alternative browsers, lured by promises of novel features and refined experiences. Yet, after an extended trial period, we came crawling back to Brave. This isn’t a tale of simple preference; it’s a pragmatic reassessment of the browser landscape, highlighting the specific features and functionalities where Brave reigns supreme. This article details exactly why switching away from Brave was a misstep, and why returning to it improved our browsing experience significantly.

Unmatched Ad-Blocking and Privacy: A Return to Tranquility

Perhaps the most immediately noticeable advantage of Brave is its integrated ad-blocking capabilities. Many browsers necessitate the installation of third-party extensions to achieve comparable levels of ad-blocking, which introduces potential security vulnerabilities and can negatively impact performance. Brave, on the other hand, provides a robust ad-blocking solution built directly into the browser’s core.

The Problem With Third-Party Ad Blockers

Extensions, while often helpful, are prone to:

• Security Risks: Many extensions require broad permissions to access your browsing data. Malicious extensions can exploit these permissions to steal sensitive information or track your online activity.
• Performance Degradation: Extensions add overhead to the browsing process. Multiple extensions, especially ad blockers that perform complex filtering, can significantly slow down page load times and overall browser responsiveness.
• Compatibility Issues: Extensions can conflict with each other or with websites, leading to broken functionality or unexpected behavior.
• Privacy Concerns: Some ad-blocking extensions have been known to engage in questionable data collection practices, undermining the very privacy they are supposed to protect.

Brave sidesteps these problems by providing a native ad blocker that is specifically designed for optimal performance and security.

Brave Shields: Granular Control Over Your Privacy

Brave Shields goes beyond simple ad blocking. It offers granular control over various privacy settings, allowing you to:

• Block Trackers: Prevent websites from tracking your online activity across different sites. Brave automatically blocks trackers, including those used by social media platforms and advertising networks.
• Block Third-Party Cookies: Limit the ability of websites to store cookies that track your browsing history.
• Upgrade Connections to HTTPS: Automatically ensure that you are using a secure (HTTPS) connection whenever possible, protecting your data from eavesdropping.
• Block Script: Disable scripts from running on websites, which can prevent malicious code from executing and improve performance.

Returning to Brave meant returning to a browsing experience where we were in complete control of our privacy. No more endless configurations of third-party extensions or constant vigilance against intrusive trackers. Just a clean, fast, and private browsing experience, by default.

Beyond Ad-Blocking: Blocking Annoyances

Brave doesn’t just block ads. Its built-in content filtering extends to:

• Cookie Consent Notifications: Automatically dismiss those annoying cookie consent pop-ups that plague modern websites.
• Social Media Buttons: Block social media “like” and “share” buttons that track your browsing activity.
• Annoying Elements: Manually block specific elements on a webpage to customize your browsing experience.

Superior Performance and Resource Management

Beyond privacy, Brave excels in performance. Our primary reason for exploring alternative browsers was a perceived stagnation in Brave’s resource management. However, after a period of comparison, we discovered that Brave, particularly with its most recent updates, remains a champion of efficient resource utilization.

The Chromium Advantage: Optimized for Speed

Brave is built on the Chromium engine, the same open-source platform that powers Google Chrome. However, Brave’s developers have made significant optimizations to improve performance and reduce resource consumption.

• Ad Blocking and Tracker Blocking: By blocking ads and trackers, Brave significantly reduces the amount of data that needs to be downloaded and processed, leading to faster page load times.
• Resource Management: Brave is designed to use memory and CPU resources efficiently. This is especially noticeable when browsing with multiple tabs open or when running resource-intensive web applications.
• Battery Life: On laptops, Brave’s efficiency translates into longer battery life. By reducing the amount of processing required to load and render web pages, Brave helps conserve battery power.

Real-World Performance: A Noticeable Difference

Our testing revealed that Brave consistently outperformed other browsers in terms of:

• Page Load Times: Websites loaded faster in Brave, especially on slower internet connections.
• Memory Usage: Brave used less memory than other browsers, allowing us to run more applications simultaneously without experiencing slowdowns.
• CPU Usage: Brave used less CPU power, resulting in smoother scrolling and faster responsiveness.

The performance improvements were particularly noticeable on older hardware. Brave breathed new life into our aging laptops, making them feel faster and more responsive than they had in years.

The Brave Rewards Ecosystem: Earning While You Browse

One of Brave’s most unique features is the Brave Rewards ecosystem, which allows users to earn Basic Attention Token (BAT) by viewing privacy-respecting ads. While the concept of earning cryptocurrency while browsing may seem gimmicky, we found it to be a genuinely rewarding experience.

How Brave Rewards Works

• Opt-In Ads: Users can choose to view privacy-respecting ads that are displayed in the form of notifications.
• Earning BAT: When users view these ads, they earn BAT tokens.
• Supporting Content Creators: Users can use their BAT tokens to support their favorite websites and content creators through Brave Rewards.
• Privacy-Respecting Ads: Brave Rewards ads are designed to be privacy-respecting. They do not track users’ browsing activity or collect personal information.

The Benefits of Brave Rewards

• Earning Passive Income: Users can earn a small amount of BAT each month simply by browsing the web.
• Supporting Content Creators: Brave Rewards provides a way to directly support the websites and content creators that users value.
• Privacy-First Advertising: Brave Rewards offers a privacy-respecting alternative to traditional online advertising.

While the amount of BAT earned may not be substantial, the concept of being rewarded for your attention is appealing. Furthermore, Brave Rewards provides a tangible way to support the websites and content creators that you enjoy, without sacrificing your privacy. Magisk Modules and the Magisk Module Repository greatly benefit from the BAT contributions from our users.

** Brave Wallet integration**

Brave has a built-in crypto wallet, making it easy to manage your BAT tokens and other cryptocurrencies. This allows users to seamlessly receive their BAT earnings, send tips to creators, and interact with decentralized applications (dApps) directly from their browser.

Customization and Extension Support: Tailoring Your Browsing Experience

While Brave offers a robust set of built-in features, it also supports a wide range of extensions, allowing you to further customize your browsing experience.

The Chrome Web Store: A Vast Ecosystem of Extensions

Because Brave is built on Chromium, it is compatible with the vast majority of extensions available in the Chrome Web Store. This means that you can easily add functionality to Brave to suit your specific needs.

• Productivity Tools: Add extensions for managing tasks, taking notes, or organizing your bookmarks.
• Security and Privacy: Add extensions for password management, VPN access, or enhanced privacy protection.
• Accessibility: Add extensions to improve accessibility for users with disabilities.
• Customization: Add extensions to change the look and feel of Brave or add new features.

Customization Beyond Extensions

Brave also offers a range of built-in customization options, allowing you to:

• Choose Your Search Engine: Select your preferred search engine from a list of options, or add a custom search engine.
• Customize the New Tab Page: Customize the new tab page with your favorite websites, bookmarks, or news feeds.
• Change the Theme: Choose from a variety of pre-installed themes, or create your own custom theme.
• Customize Keyboard Shortcuts: Customize keyboard shortcuts to make browsing more efficient.

The combination of built-in features and extension support makes Brave a highly customizable browser. You can tailor it to your specific needs and preferences, creating a browsing experience that is both powerful and efficient.

Conclusion: Brave is Worth a Second Look

Our initial experiment with alternative browsers proved to be a valuable learning experience. While other browsers offer unique features and advantages, Brave’s combination of privacy, performance, and rewards ecosystem ultimately won us back. The integrated ad-blocking, granular privacy controls, and efficient resource management make Brave a superior choice for anyone who values a clean, fast, and private browsing experience. The Brave Rewards program is the cherry on top, allowing you to support your favorite content creators while browsing the web. For us, switching back to Brave was the right decision. We encourage you to give Brave a second look. You might be surprised at how much you like it. And remember to check out our collection of Magisk Modules at the Magisk Module Repository to further enhance your Android experience.