Brave: The faster, smarter alternative to Chrome

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BRAVE INDEED: Even though Brave is a relatively new software, it excels in areas where many other browsers disappoint.

Chris Song, Staff Writer

As soon as you load up a website on Brave, you automatically notice a difference from the typical browsers you use: There’s a clean interface, lightning-fast loading speeds and a refreshing absence of annoying ads. The Brave Browser offers the best internet experience in this day and age, and rivals like Chrome don’t even come close.

Brave is a free and open-source browser that provides a new, streamlined internet experience for its users. Initially released in November 2019, it has recently gained popularity amongst the technology community and shot up the list of the best browsers as people became increasingly attracted to its industry-leading speed and privacy features.

From installing the browser to surfing the web, Brave makes it quick and simple so that anyone from the know-nothings to the tech nerds can succeed. They even allow you to import your bookmarks and saved passwords from your previous browsers, making the transition feel seamless.

From the get-go, Chrome or Safari tends to be slower than Brave when visiting any website due to the notorious practice of data collection that most browsers engage in for revenue that eats up the memory of your device and slowing the loading process. Brave provides significant improvement in speed just by not collecting your personal information for each website that you load.

More remarkable reductions in loading times can be easily seen when you load up any page with lots of advertisements. Since each advertisement is content that the browser needs to download in order to display, the lack of a well-integrated adblocker like Brave’s Shield can significantly delay loading times. In addition, while most conventional sites restrict access to their content unless a user disables their adblocker, Brave’s merit is uniquely visible when its adblocker is able to bypass these measures, providing an easier and efficient web browsing experience.

The adblocker also serves as the primary tool to ensure the privacy and security of Brave users. As more and more of our lives become interconnected with the internet, it’s a given that current and future generations should be cautious of their online security. The Shield detects any malicious attempts at collecting your private information so that companies cannot target you with invasive advertisements that you see so often on Chrome.

While Brave has tried to make the process of switching over as easy as possible, holes still remain, especially with browser extensions. You won’t need to install another adblocker, but many other extensions that have not been integrated may not be compatible with Brave. However, as the browser continues to grow, additional support seems to be on its way to bolster the extension store.

Another recurring concern that people tend to have is in regards to payments to content creators, which is part of the broader moral dilemma internet users have struggled with over the past few years. The use of a powerful adblocker such as the Shield might benefit the user in the short-term, but content creators that rely on ad revenue may suffer as a result. A simple solution could be to just turn off the adblocker when visiting a creator that you like, but Brave is looking to develop a rewards system that will be further implemented in the future.

Brave is a clear frontrunner on the browser market, providing the cleanest, fastest and most enjoyable web browsing experience yet. Hopefully you’ll join the millions of Brave users and brave your way through the uncertainties and complexities of internet life.