BRAVE

What is Brave Search?

Brave Search is an independent, privacy-focused search engine developed by Brave Software, the same company behind the Brave web browser. Launched in 2021, it was built from the ground up on its own independent index, distinguishing it from most other search engines, including privacy-oriented ones like DuckDuckGo, that rely on third-party indexes such as Bing or Google.

Unlike traditional search engines that monetize user data, Brave Search prioritizes user privacy and transparency, avoiding tracking, profiling, or personalization based on user behavior. It aims to deliver unbiased, relevant results without algorithmic manipulation influenced by advertising or corporate interests.

Key Features of Brave Search

Independent Index

Brave Search indexes over 18 billion web pages using its own crawlers. This independence ensures it is not reliant on Big Tech infrastructures, allowing it to provide results free from external editorial influence or algorithmic bias.

While it may use limited "fallback mixing" from other sources when necessary, users can disable this and view a "search results independence" metric on the results page.

Goggles: Customizable Search Filters

Goggles are community-curated filters that let users customize how results are ranked. For example:

• Tech Blogs Goggle boosts results from independent tech writers.
• News from the Left/Right tailors political lean.
• Product Reviews (No Affiliate Links) filters out commercial content.

Users can create, follow, or share Goggles, promoting a decentralized, user-driven search experience.

Bangs and Search Operators

Brave supports Bangs (e.g., !w for Wikipedia, !r for Reddit) to quickly route searches to specific sites. It also supports standard search operators like quotes for exact phrases ("Brave Search") or - to exclude terms.

Discussions and Snippets

• Discussions: Automatically surfaces forum content (e.g., Reddit, StackExchange) for topics likely to have community debate.
• Snippets: AI-generated previews at the top of results, offering direct answers with source citations.

Privacy: A Core Pillar

Brave Search is private by design:

• No user tracking: Does not collect search history, IP addresses, or device fingerprints.
• No profiling: Results are not personalized or influenced by past behavior.
• Anonymous local search: Users can enable location-based results without revealing precise IP data, using broader geographic regions instead.

The company emphasizes transparency, publishing whitepapers and allowing community input into ranking models.

In contrast, Google and Bing build extensive user profiles for ad targeting, while even DuckDuckGo uses Bing’s index and shares limited data with Microsoft.

How Brave Compares to Other Search Engines

Brave Search stands out with its independent index and AI-powered Ask Brave, while Startpage excels in anonymity and third-party verification, though it relies entirely on Google’s infrastructure.

Brave Browser Integration

Brave Search is the default search engine in the Brave browser, a Chromium-based, privacy-first browser known for:

• Built-in ad and tracker blocking
• Faster page loads (due to stripped ads)
• Support for Chrome extensions

The browser and search engine work seamlessly across platforms (Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android), with synchronized settings and privacy controls.

Users can also set Brave Search as default in other browsers like Chrome or Firefox.

Monetization and User Rewards with BAT

Brave uses a unique user-centric ad model powered by Basic Attention Token (BAT), a cryptocurrency on the Ethereum blockchain.

How It Works:

• Users can opt into viewing private, non-intrusive ads (as notifications).
• For viewing ads or using Brave Search with ads, users earn BAT tokens.
• BAT can be tipped to creators, used for premium content, or exchanged for cash.

Brave takes a 15–30% cut of ad revenue, but returns 70% to users, incentivizing engagement without compromising privacy.

This model contrasts with Google’s ad ecosystem, where users are the product, not the beneficiary.

Ask Brave: AI-Powered Search Experience

Launched in September 2025, Ask Brave is an AI chat interface integrated into Brave Search that combines generative AI with real-time web results. It aims to deliver accurate, up-to-date answers while minimizing hallucinations.

Key AI Features:

• Web-Connected Answers: Draws from live search results, not just static training data.
• Source Citations: Every response includes linked references to original web pages.
• Conversational Interface: Supports multi-turn queries for deeper exploration.

Privacy in Ask Brave:

• All chats are >end-to-end encrypted
• Conversations are not used for AI training.
• Chats are automatically deleted after 24 hours of inactivity.
• No IP logging ensures anonymity.