Does Brave live up the hype?
Brave is an excellent browser that combines extensive features and an easy-to-use interface with great performance and solid security and privacy controls. Apart from its slow update frequency. Brave Browser Review – Introduction Brave Browser is the latest unique browser to join the ever-expanding market. In our review about Brave browser, we'll try and see what makes it unique and why you should switch to it. Until then, let's see what you need to know about it. Brave browser is 'just another desktop-cum-mobile-browser' (as described by Sophos) for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS that like other browsers, blocks advertisements and trackers. However, unlike other browsers the built-in ad blocking feature breaks sites, making it hard to browse the web for some people.
Brave browser is a free and open-source web browser developed by Brave Softare Inc that is advertised as a private, secure, and fast mobile and desktop web browser. Brave browser is based on Google's open-source web browser project Chromium.
PROS | CONS |
---|---|
Built-in adblocker | No support |
Uses Uphold instead of a private crypto wallet | |
Built-in adblocker breaks sites |
You may have heard about Brave over the last couple of months. Brave browser is becoming quite popular for being ‘somewhat' ad-free and claiming to offer a safe internet browsing experience. But, is Brave browser really offer a safe and private browsing experience? Does Brave live up to the hype? In this Brave browser review, we'll analyze and compare the speed to other popular browsers like Chrome and Firefox, and cover some of the other popular features like the built-in ad blocker.
Site loading speed
Is Brave browser as fast as it claims to be? Well, Brave browser is a Google-based Chromium browser so is that really much of a feat? However, we still tested the load speed of websites and compared or research to third-parties. We conducted that Brave browser is faster than Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox on some websites. When we paired up Brave browser and Google Chrome against each other in a speed test we noticed identical loading speeds on most pages. But, in some tests, Brave was faster.
Websites simply load at a faster rate because the Chromium-based browser has a built-in ad-blocker that blocks advertisements and trackers without the use of third-party plugins that burn through resources and slow down browser performance in some cases.
Built-in adblocker
Many in-development and newly released internet browsers have been adding built-in ad-blockers to their browsers to block advertisements and stop trackers by default. Brave is no different; Brave has a built-in ad blocker that automatically blocks advertisements and tracking scripts. Free install adobe reader for windows 10. The ad-blocker, or 'shield' as they call it, is enabled by default and can be disabled manually.
Although the addition of an ad-blocker is great and can even make the browser perform better than Chrome or Firefox, the feature is not as seamless as it is with other web browsers that block ads by default or provide extensions to do so. In some cases, Brave's ad-blocking feature will break a site and make pages hard to navigate (shown in the image below).
Brave browser still shows advertisements if you sign up for the Brave Rewards program. The Brave Rewards program allows you to earn tokens for watching privacy-respecting advertisements.
Brave Rewards
A feature that makes Brave a little unique is Brave Rewards. The Brave Rewards program allows you to earn Basic Attention Tokens (BAT; Ethereum cryptocurrency) which are loaded to your Brave wallet when you view specific advertisements and add personal funds. With Brave Rewards you can earn tokens by viewing ads in Brave (called Brave Ads), automatically contribute to publishers and content creators, and send tips to a website. Keep in mind, you cannot send tips or contribute to sites that have not been verified. If you do, your funds will not reach them over an allotted amount of time and will be used elsewhere.
The bad side to this is that it's not private for a website or content creator to sign up to receive payments from Brave. Since we're not talking about P2P payouts, in order for a website to be verified by Brave to receive donations, the website owner needs to be aware of Brave Rewards in the first place, make a Brave account to become a publisher, install a plugin developed by Brave (to their website), copy a verification code into the plugin, verify the code has been added to the plugin, create an Uphold account, verify the Uphold account by surrendering all of their personal information, send Uphold a picture of their driver license being held next to their face, install a phone application called Authy 2-Factor Authentication, get a code from the app by surrendering even more personal information to another party, finally connect the Uphold account to Brave, create a channel to add the website, and then finally the website is verified… but not really. You see, we've done all of this and we're still not verified to receive donations from Brave.
Other issues with Brave
A big rumor about Brave is that they steal money from website owners and content creators. Whether or not this theory is true is up to debate and we're not here to make a case for any side. However, there are reasons why many people think that Brave and Brave browser steals from websites and creators:
- Some people describe Brave's model for generating revenue as pirating because their product is to ‘stop' websites and content creators from making money so that they can make money off their content instead.
- Brave users have complained that the ads they viewed weren't registered which means that sites and creators lose money and Brave was still able to advertise to you.
- Brave uses Uphold. As you may know, Uphold is basically a crypto wallet that Brave uses to payout their users and registered site owners and content creators; However, Uphold is not private and most people do not want to use Uphold because they'll have to do things like send images they wouldn't even post on social media to them.
On top of this, Brave has very bad support and that is a fact. Many people have complained that Brave does not respond to users, website owners, or content creators who contact them and need support so we tested this out. We attempted to contact Brave on January 29th concerning our Uphold account and did not receive a reply. We contacted Brave again on February 22nd, March 14th, and May 7th and still no reply. However, we did notice Brave CEO Brendan Eich arguing with Twitter users over their distaste for Brave.
Brendan Eich is the CEO of Brave and Brendan Eich is someone with a questionable past and who is often surrounded in controversy for his political views and public comments. If you do not know much about Brendan Eich, I suggest that you research him. You will find numerous articles about the former Mozilla CEO and current Brave CEO and his homophonic past on the internet. Is Brendan Eich someone that you want to support?
Conclusion
Brave browser is 'just another desktop-cum-mobile-browser' (as described by Sophos) for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS that like other browsers, blocks advertisements and trackers. However, unlike other browsers the built-in ad blocking feature breaks sites, making it hard to browse the web for some people. The company behind the browser also has issues they need to hammer out including the unnecessary (but probably lucrative for them) use of Uphold to payout website owners and content creators which may violate their privacy. Brave can and should dump Uphold to use a safer and private system for members to receive payouts, but they have chosen to firmly stand with Uphold.
Brave browser is available at Brave.com.
As a fan of Kindle Fire, I do love Kindle Fire very much, but there is one thing that Kindle Fire frustrates me. It is the Kindle Fire browser--Silk browser which is designed and developed by Amazon's team. The Kindle Fire browser is supposed to be awesome and fast, but the fact goes far from its original intention of design. It is slow, unresponsive a lot and even crashes some time. Another drawback of Kindle Fire Silk browser is the wasting of space on the screen. The top and bottom space of the browser are all wasted. What's more, the Amazon doesn't offer any alternative in Amazon App Store to get as many people as possible to use the Silk browser. This action is really disappointed me. However, we always can find other ways to install the alternatives for Kindle Fire Browser. Here are 5 best browser for Kindle Fire for your choice.
Google Chrome
Dolphine
Opera
Firefox
Maxthon
- Purchased a lot eBooks from Google Play? Read Google play eBooks on Kindle Fire is a good choice.
- Want to listen to Audible on Kindle Fire, you will need this guide 5 Ways to Listen to Audiobooks on Kindle Fire.
Before installing any of these best alternatives for Kindle Fire browser on Kindle Fire, you have to allow installation of applications that are not from Appstore. Slide down from the top of the Kindle Fire screen to find the settings, then select the application from settings, and turn on Apps from Unknown sources.
Google Chrome
No matter for Windows, MAC or Android, Google Chrome are 90% people's first choice. Want to sync your bookmark, tabs, passwords, recent research, and history to your device? If you have a Google account, you can do it perfectly with Google Chrome. You can use the incognito mode to browse the website if you do not want the browser to record where you browse and what you download. The data saver feature can compress images, fonts, and other web objects by Google server before sending out. This function will reduce mobile data usage by up to 50% while browsing. If you turn on safe browsing, you will see a warning before you navigate to a potentially dangerous website or download a potentially harmful app. Voice search is also available for Google Chrome. It also can choose from search results that instantly appear as you type and quickly access previously visited pages.
Installation
Tap here to download the Google Chrome on your Kindle Fire. The downloading notification will be on the top of the screen. When the downloading of Chrome APK file is completed, tap the notification area at the top of the screen and select ' Install' to finish the installation. Now you can enjoy the best Kindle Fire web browser.
Dolphin
Dolphin is a popular browser among Android users. Since the Kindle Fire is using the Android system, Dolphin also can be the best browser for Kindle Fire. It offers a free, full-featured, internet browsing. As a powerful browser, Dolphin also eliminates the use of a dozen of apps from your Kindle Fire. Gesture search allows you to draw a hieroglyph and the browser will automatically recognize it and conduct the search. It also has voice search function which can liberate your hands from the keyboard. It also has the strong set of add-ons support. Tabbed browsing, incognito mode, night mode, fullscreen mode, desktop mode are all available for your choice. What's more, it enables you to sync bookmarks, tabs, history& passwords across devices. Besides above features, I like Dolphin because?user?interface is intuitive.
Brave Browser Review 2019 Toyota
Installation
Tap here to download the Dolphin on your Kindle Fire. The downloading notification will be on the top of the screen. When the downloading is completed, tap the notification area at the top of the screen and select ' Install' to finish the installation.
Opera
Opera is not only a well-known third party browser for PC& MAC, but also one of the best Android browser. It also can be one of the best browser for Kindle Fire. The latest version of Opera has featured news feed that notices the content you like and provide you more related news. Its built-in add blocker can block the pop-ups, help pages load faster and save your data. You can sync your Speed Dial shortcuts, bookmarks and tabs in Opera for Android across all your devices. With to finish the installation.
FireFox
Firefox browser has played a ruling role on PC browsers before Google has launched the Google Chrome. Although the NO. 1 position has been taken over by Google chrome, Firefox are still liked by many users, no matter for PC or Android users. If you are a Firefox user in desktop, you should not miss this best browser for Kindle Fire. It can sync all things with your desktop Firefox browser. It also have a third party add-ons which allow you add what you need and skip what you don't. Ad blocker and video downloaders are all available on this browser. It also have many other features such as night mode, private browsing and so on. It is a little bit pity that Firefox has not data saving feature.
Installation
Tap here to download the Firefox APK file on your Kindle Fire. The downloading notification will be on the top of the screen. When the downloading is completed, tap the notification area at the top of the screen and select ' Install' to finish the installation.
Maxthon
Brave Web Browser Review
Maxthon browser is known for its fast speed. But fast is not the only feature attracts users' attention. Its highly customizable interface, built-in ad hunter, all kinds of plug-ins and so on that make your web browsing more enjoyable. Besides these features, screenshot, night mode, reader mode, private browsing, text re-flow also win many users for Maxthon. Maxthon Cloud Browser has the ability to synchronize your bookmarks, tabs, options and your address bar and new-tab links, throughout all of your computers and mobile devices running the app. I can say it has all the features you can expect in a browser. So just forget original Kindle Fire browser and get this one as your Kindle Fire web browser.
Installation
Brave Browser Review 2019 Download
Tap here to download theMaxthon on your Kindle Fire. The downloading notification will be on the top of the screen. When the downloading is completed, tap the notification area at the top of the screen and select ' Install' to finish the installation.
If you still do not know which browser is your taste, just download all of Kindle Fire web browsers, have a try and tell us your favorite one in the comments. There are many good browsers not in this top list but you can write them in the comments so that people can have a try. Let's share the best Kindle Fire browser now.
Bonus Tip
How to Remove Kindle Fire Ads
How to Tell Kindle Fire Generations
How to Close Apps on Kindle Fire
If you want to read epub or pdf on kindle Fire, just download the best ebook tool--Epubor Ultimate to help you strip eBook DRM and convert eBook format.
Iris Yan joined Epubor since 2017. She always wants to share everything related to ebook reading and improve your reading journey.