Overview
Brave's central argument is that blocking should be the default rather than something you install afterwards. Advertisements, trackers, fingerprinting attempts and third party cookies are all blocked out of the box, at the network layer, so the requests are never made. On a page loaded with tracking scripts this is not a marginal improvement, it is the difference between a page that appears immediately and one that spends four seconds contacting three dozen hosts.
This build strips the components that exist to support the company's own products rather than the browsing. The rewards system, the cryptocurrency wallet, the built in virtual private network offers and the sponsored new tab imagery are removed at build level, and the associated services do not run. What remains is a fast Chromium browser with very good blocking and nothing asking for your attention.
Blocking and fingerprint resistance
The shield covers advertising, trackers, third party cookies and script based fingerprinting, with per site controls so a page that genuinely breaks can be relaxed without turning protection off globally. Upgrade to encrypted connections is automatic where a site supports it. Cross site cookies are partitioned, so a tracker that sets a cookie on one site cannot read it on another.
Fingerprint resistance works by randomising the values that scripts read for canvas, audio and hardware characteristics, slightly and differently per site per session. That approach is better than blocking outright, because a browser that refuses to answer is itself distinctive. The result is that the same browser looks like a different machine to every site that tries to profile it.
Speed and resource use
Because blocked requests are never issued, page load is genuinely faster on ad heavy sites and data use drops noticeably, which matters on a metered connection. Memory use is lower than an equivalent Chromium session simply because there are fewer scripts running, and battery life on a laptop improves for the same reason.
Everything else about the rendering engine is standard Chromium. Pages that work in one work in the other, extensions install from the usual store unmodified, and the developer tools are the complete set with nothing removed. There is no compatibility cost to using it as a daily browser.
Private windows, search and the rest
Private windows behave as expected, and there is a stronger variant that routes through an anonymising network for the cases where hiding your address matters. That option is slow by nature and should be used deliberately rather than left on, which is exactly how the browser presents it.
The default search engine is configurable, the sidebar can be emptied entirely, and the new tab page can be set to blank. Bookmarks, history and passwords import from any other browser in one pass, and synchronisation between devices uses a code phrase rather than an account, so nothing needs registering.
What you get
- Advertising, tracker and third party cookie blocking on by default at network level
- Per site shield controls for pages that genuinely break
- Randomised fingerprint values per site per session
- Automatic upgrade to encrypted connections where supported
- Rewards, wallet and virtual private network components removed at build level
- Private windows with an optional anonymising network route
- Blank new tab page and an emptiable sidebar
- Full Chromium extension support and complete developer tools
- Device synchronisation by code phrase with no account required
Inside the archive
- Brave offline installer, x86 and x64
- Policy template preventing removed components from returning
- Language packs for the interface list shown above
- Notes listing every removed component and service
System requirements
| Operating system | Windows 10 version 21H2 or Windows 11 |
|---|---|
| Processor | Any dual core processor |
| Memory | 4 GB minimum, 8 GB with many tabs |
| Graphics | Any card with hardware acceleration |
| Storage | 600 MB |
| Display | Any resolution |
Installing it
- Unpack the archive and pick the architecture matching your system.
- Run the installer. It does not ask about any additional components.
- Import from your existing browser on first launch if you want bookmarks carried over.
- Apply the supplied policy template so removed components stay removed.
- Open a heavy news site and confirm the shield counter shows blocked requests.
Mirrors
| Route | Region | Note | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct, primary | Europe | No wait, resumable | Online |
| Direct, secondary | North America | No wait, resumable | Online |
| Torrent magnet | Global | Direct is usually faster at this size | Online |
Release history
- Rebased on the current Chromium branch
- Filter lists refreshed
- Fixed shield per site settings not persisting across profile switches
- Wallet component removed at build level rather than hidden
- Fingerprint randomisation extended to additional interfaces
- Sponsored new tab imagery stripped from the build
Questions about this release
Will sites break with blocking on by default?
Occasionally. The shield has per site controls for exactly that, and relaxing one site does not weaken protection anywhere else.
Do Chrome extensions work?
Yes, unmodified, from the usual store. It is Chromium underneath with no removals to the extension system.
Is the rewards system really gone?
Yes, removed at build level along with the wallet, so the associated services never run and nothing prompts you about them.
How is fingerprint randomisation different from blocking?
A browser that refuses to answer is itself identifiable. Answering with slightly different values per site is far harder to correlate, which is why this approach is used.
Comments
Data use on my phone tether dropped noticeably compared to the browser I was using.
One banking site needed the shield relaxed. Two clicks and everything else stayed protected.
Comments are read before they appear. If a build stops working, say so here and it gets rebuilt rather than quietly left up.
No wallet icon anywhere, no rewards prompt. This is what I wanted the browser to be.