Brave Browser: Free Ad Blocking and Private Browsing
Last updated: 5 October 2026
The Brave browser blocks ads, trackers, pop-ups and cookie banners on every site from the first tab you open, with nothing to install or set up. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux, it is open source, and Brave says over 125 million people use it.
The browser is free, and so are the ad blocking, Brave Search and the Leo AI assistant. The paid extras are Firewall + VPN at £9.99 a month and Leo Premium at £14.99 a month. Those prices come from the UK App Store, checked on 5 October 2026.
Brave Rewards, which pays you in a cryptocurrency for viewing Brave's own ads, is optional and switched off unless you turn it on.
Download the Brave browser free
What the Brave browser blocks
Blocking is handled by Brave Shields, which is on by default. It stops banner ads, pop-ups, autoplay interruptions and the ads that play before and during videos. It also dismisses cookie consent banners, so you click through fewer of them.
On the privacy side, Shields blocks the cross-site trackers and fingerprinting scripts that follow you from one site to the next. It strips tracking codes from links you copy, and it sends a Global Privacy Control signal asking sites not to sell your data. Brave says its rebuilt blocking engine uses 75% less memory, so it keeps up with lots of open tabs.
Features that come free
- Brave Search: the default search engine, running on Brave's own index rather than results bought from Google or Bing. You can switch to another engine at any time.
- Leo: an AI assistant that summarises articles, translates pages and drafts replies inside the browser. Brave says it does not keep your conversations or use them to train models.
- Shred: deletes the cookies and stored data for one site without logging you out of everything else. Auto Shred can run whenever you close a tab.
- Brave News: a news feed built from sources or RSS feeds you choose.
- Sync and night mode: encrypted syncing of bookmarks between devices, plus a dark theme for reading at night.
Brave prices in the UK
These are the in-app purchases on the UK App Store:
- Firewall + VPN: £9.99 a month or £99.99 a year, with a one-week free trial. It covers all traffic on the device, not just the browser.
- Leo Premium: £14.99 a month or £149.99 a year, for access to more capable AI models.
- Brave Origin: £59.99, paid once. It is a stripped-back build of Brave with no AI and no crypto features, and one purchase covers all your devices.
The free browser does everything in the first two sections, so most people never need to pay. Set a reminder if you take the VPN trial, because it rolls on to the paid plan after a week.
Brave Rewards and BAT
Brave Rewards is an opt-in scheme. If you agree to see Brave's own ads, such as images on the new tab page or notifications, you earn Basic Attention Tokens, known as BAT. You can send BAT to sites and creators you want to support, or keep it in a crypto wallet. Rewards is limited on iPhone and iPad, so it is mainly a desktop and Android feature.
BAT is a cryptoasset. Its value in pounds rises and falls, you could lose what it is worth, and cryptoassets are not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Treat any tokens you earn as a small bonus rather than savings.
Limits
Brave's blocking only works inside Brave. Ads in other browsers and inside other apps are untouched. Some sites ask you to switch off ad blocking before they will load, and you can turn Shields off for a single site from the address bar when that happens.
If you want to stay in Safari on an iPhone or Mac instead, 1Blocker adds ad and tracker blocking to Safari itself.
Making Brave your default browser
On an iPhone, open Settings, scroll down to Brave and choose Default Browser App. After that, every link you tap in Mail, Messages or any other app opens in Brave with blocking already on. On Android, Windows and Mac, choose Brave in your system's default apps settings.
Platforms and requirements
- iPhone and iPad: iOS 18 or later. The current version is 1.95, released on 24 September 2026, and the download is about 379 MB
- Android: on Google Play, with over 100 million downloads
- Desktop: Windows, macOS and Linux, from brave.com
- Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 from about 74,000 ratings on the UK App Store, and 4.8 from 3.86 million reviews on Google Play
Get Brave
Free on every platform, with the VPN, Leo Premium and Origin sold separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Brave browser free?
Yes. The Brave browser, its ad and tracker blocking, Brave Search, Leo, Shred, Brave News and Sync are all free. Firewall + VPN, Leo Premium and Brave Origin cost extra.
How much is the Brave VPN in the UK?
£9.99 a month or £99.99 a year on the UK App Store, with a one-week free trial, as of 5 October 2026.
Does Brave block YouTube ads?
Brave Shields blocks the ads that play before and during videos on the web. That applies to YouTube in the Brave browser, not in the YouTube app.
Do I have to use crypto to use Brave?
No. Brave Rewards and the Brave Wallet are both optional, and the wallet is off by default. Brave Origin is a version with no crypto features at all.
Does Brave sell my browsing data?
Brave says it does not collect or keep your browsing history. Its browser privacy policy lists the features that do process data, such as the VPN, and how long that data is kept.
Is Brave better than Chrome for privacy?
Brave blocks third-party trackers and fingerprinting scripts by default. Chrome's default settings block neither, so if privacy is the reason you are switching, those defaults are the main difference.
Official sources
Features and prices are correct at the time of the last update and can be changed by Brave. Nothing on this page is financial advice, and that includes BAT.
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