[6][7][8] Brave is a privacy-focused browser, which automatically blocks most advertisements and website trackers in its default settings.

[25] As of June 2021, the news feed also includes promoted articles based upon the Brave ads platform.

[26] An iOS feature that lets users create playlists of audio and video media sources and play them offline.

In June 2019, Brave started testing a new ad-blocking rule-matching algorithm implemented in Rust, replacing the previous C++ one.

[31] Users are given control to adjust ad blocking, script and cookies settings in the Shields and Privacy section of the browser.

[32] As well as ads and cookie-based trackers, Brave shields also protect against fingerprint tracking using a technique it calls "farbling", allowing each browser session to appear unique.

[37][38] In April 2022, Brave announced a de-AMP feature that bypasses Google's AMP system, directing the user straight to the original website instead.

[42][43] In January 2021, Brave became one of the first web browsers to offer native integration with a peer-to-peer networking protocol.

Brave expects to generate revenue from selling Basic Attention Tokens (BATs) to advertisers, letting users earn them while viewing ads and content.

In an initial coin offering on 31 May 2017, Brave sold one billion BAT for a total of 156,250 Ethereum ($35 million) in less than 30 seconds.

[81] Reviews of Brave praised the browser's speed, privacy aspects and built-in ad blocking,[82][83][84][85] as well as potential reduced battery usage.

[90] Brave has received negative press for diverting ad revenue from websites to itself,[91] collecting unsolicited donations for content creators without their consent,[92] suggesting affiliate links in the address bar[93] and installing a paid VPN service without the user's consent.

In April 2016, the CEO of the Newspaper Association of America, David Chavern, said that Brave's proposed replacement of advertising[97][98]"should be viewed as illegal and deceptive by the courts, consumers, and those who value the creation of content".In December 2018, British YouTube content creator Tom Scott said that he had not received any donations collected on his behalf by Brave.

[103][104] Further research revealed that Brave also added referral codes to the URLs of other cryptocurrency exchange websites.

"Two days later, Brave released a new version which they said made auto-completion to partner links opt-in,[106] followed by a blog post explaining the issue and apologizing.

[107][108] In October 2023, reports emerged that Brave Browser was installing its $9.99 VPN service on Windows machines without the user's consent.

[94] The developer later announced it intends to reverse its decision, promising to not install the VPN unless enabled or purchased by the user.

[109] One privacy issue appeared via a private disclosure on Brave's HackerOne bug bounty platform on 12 January 2021.

Once the bug received public attention in mid-February from Twitter users verifying the vulnerability, the fix was soon uplifted to the Stable channel and landed in Brave 1.20.110.