Getting started
The company is founded, then the first desktop beta ships.
About Brave
It started as a browser. Privacy, control, and a quieter web were the point from day one.
Brave is a modern web browser that treats privacy as a default, not an add-on. It’s also the front door to the rest of Brave Software’s products.
You still get the sites and habits you already know. Ads, trackers, fingerprinting, and cookies are handled in the browser, so you don’t have to rely on a stack of extra extensions.
Over time it grew past “just a browser” into search, AI, calls, a wallet, and a few other tools that sit around the same browsing window.
How it started
Brave Software was founded in 2015 by Brendan Eich and Brian Bondy. Eich helped create Mozilla and created JavaScript. Bondy had already worked at Mozilla and Khan Academy.
They started with a browser because the problem was sitting on the page: besides the article you wanted, modern sites also load ads, analytics, and other trackers.
So they didn’t just slap a private window onto a regular browser. They put more of that protection into the product itself.
The first desktop beta arrived in 2016. A Chromium-based desktop version followed in 2018. Brave 1.0 shipped in 2019. Search, Talk, Wallet, Leo, and the rest came after.
- 2015Brave Software is founded
- 2016First desktop beta
- 2018Chromium-based desktop version
- 2019Brave 1.0
- 2021Search, Talk, and Wallet show up
- 2023Brave Leo, the in-browser AI
- TodayStill centered on browsing, search, privacy, and AI
Familiar web tech, with Brave’s own privacy work on top
Brave didn’t invent a brand-new way to draw web pages.
On desktop and Android it uses Chromium, which is why moving from Chrome or Edge doesn’t feel like starting over. Sites work, the controls look familiar, and many extensions still install. On iPhone it uses WebKit, because that’s what Apple requires.
Chromium doesn’t mean it’s Chrome with a new coat of paint.
Brave changes Chromium: it turns off some pieces that fight its privacy goals, cuts some background network chatter, and rebuilds things like sync. The client code is public, and Brave describes the license as Mozilla Public License 2.0.
Privacy lives in the browser, not in a pile of add-ons
Other browsers can get more private if you tweak settings and install extensions. Brave’s bet is different: a chunk of that protection is on by default.
Brave Shields is the clearest example.
Shields can stop ads and trackers, lock down cross-site cookies, and get in the way of fingerprinting. Brave also upgrades HTTP to HTTPS when it can, and adds other defenses at the browser level.
Think of it in three layers:
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Layer 1
On the page
While a site loads, Shields can stop some ads, trackers, cookies, and fingerprinting tricks.
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Layer 2
In the browser
Brave also changes some Chromium behavior and adds its own privacy tools.
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Layer 3
What they collect
Brave’s current browser privacy policy says they don’t collect or keep your browsing history. Some features still need an IP address or details you type in. Read the note for that feature if you care about the details.
It grew out of the browser
Brave didn’t stay “only a browser” for long.
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Browser
The starting point: browsing the web with privacy built in.
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Search
Brave’s own search. They say results come mainly from their own index, not from renting another giant search engine as a black box.
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Leo
An AI in the browser for summaries, questions, translation, writing, and code.
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Talk
Video calls in the browser, with a free option and a paid one.
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Wallet
A Web3 wallet inside Brave, if you actually use that stuff.
From one browser to a wider set of tools
The browser lands
Chromium desktop arrives, then Brave 1.0 in 2019.
Everyday features
Sync and the other “use this every day” pieces keep landing.
More than a browser
Search, Talk, and Wallet join the lineup.
More services
VPN reaches more devices, a Search API shows up, and Leo joins the browser.
Search and AI keep moving
Search picks up more AI, and the company still orbits the browser, search, and privacy tools.
On the computer and on your phone
There’s a desktop version for Windows, Mac, and Linux, plus Android and iPhone. If you like living on the edge, Brave also publishes Beta and Nightly.
Coming from Chrome or Edge? Desktop Brave can import some of your settings and data.
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Windows
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macOS
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Linux
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Android
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iOS
iPhone / iPad
Who is this actually for?
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Less tracking on the page
You want the browser itself to deal with ads, trackers, and cross-site cookies, not a folder full of extra extensions.
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You already live in Chromium
You like how Chrome feels and you want to keep those extensions, just with a different privacy default.
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Computer and phone
You need it on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iPhone.
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Optional extras
You might also want Search, Leo, Talk, or Wallet — but they’re optional, not the whole product.
FAQ
Who makes Brave?
Brave Software. Brendan Eich and Brian Bondy started the company in 2015.
Is it a Chromium browser?
On desktop and Android, yes, with Brave’s own privacy changes on top. On iPhone it uses WebKit, because Apple requires that.
Can I use Chrome extensions?
On desktop, many Chrome Web Store extensions work in Brave.
What’s Brave Shields?
It’s the built-in shield. It can stop ads and trackers, lock down cross-site cookies, and get in the way of fingerprinting. You can also tweak it per site.
What can I install it on?
Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iPhone.
Is Brave Search the same as the browser?
No. The browser is the browser. Brave Search is a separate search engine. You can use them together, but they aren’t the same product.
Want to go further?
See what the browser actually does, or grab a download for the device you’re on.