Brave Software is the company behind the Brave Browser, a privacy-focused web browser, and the Basic Attention Token (BAT) advertising ecosystem. Founded in 2015 by Brendan Eich (creator of JavaScript and co-founder of Mozilla) and Brian Bondy, Brave aims to fix the broken digital advertising model while protecting user privacy.

Brave Browser

The Brave Browser blocks third-party ads and trackers by default, resulting in faster page loads and improved privacy. It is built on Chromium (the same engine as Google Chrome), so it supports Chrome extensions and is compatible with all websites. Brave is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.

Key features include:

• Brave Shields — Blocks ads, trackers, fingerprinting, and third-party cookies by default
• Brave Rewards — Users can opt in to view privacy-preserving ads and earn BAT tokens. Ad matching happens locally on the device — no personal data is sent to Brave’s servers.
• Brave Search — A privacy-focused search engine that uses its own independent index rather than proxying results from Google or Bing
• Brave Wallet — A built-in self-custody crypto wallet supporting Ethereum, Solana, and other networks, with no extension required
• Brave Talk — Private video conferencing built on the Jitsi protocol
• Brave VPN — A built-in VPN service powered by Guardian

Business Model

Brave’s business model centers on the BAT (Basic Attention Token) ecosystem. Advertisers purchase ad campaigns with BAT, users earn BAT for viewing ads, and content creators receive BAT through tips and revenue sharing. All ad targeting is done locally on the user’s device, preserving privacy while delivering relevant ads.

Brave has grown to tens of millions of monthly active users, making it one of the most widely adopted privacy-focused browsers.

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