New Update Brave planning to introduce subscription for customizing the browser?

[LinuxFan58]

We are hearing "Firefox is on a deathbed", "Firefox is doomed" for decades and it's still around, regularly updated and developed.

Yes, Mozilla is dependent on Google, but Google also depends on Mozilla so it doesn't get fined because of lack of competition. Mozilla can't lose Google's funding, but Google also can't afford to stop financing Mozilla.

You are right, do the math, it is cheaper to subsidize Mozzilla

Google pays Mozilla approximately $400 million to $450 million per year to remain the default search engine in Firefox

The European Union fined Google €2.95 billion (approximately $3.45–3.5 billion) on September 5, 2025, for violating antitrust rules by favoring its own online advertising services, particularly its ad exchange AdX, over competitors. Other major prior fines include:

• €1.49 billion in 2019 for anti-competitive practices in online advertising relating its AdSense service.
• €4.34 billion in 2018 for Android-related antitrust violations.
• €2.42 billion in 2017 for favoring its own shopping comparison service in search results.

The lawyers/attorneys of Google are a happy bunch (they succesfully fought the 2019 fine), I don't know about the others.

 

[ForgottenSeer 116559]

The tracking issue for Brave Origin on their GitHub has been active since September 12, lasted edited just yesterday. The checklist is over halfway done. This whole process of reworking the browser into a new clean, policy-based minimal mode that's fully ready and maintainable with its own build pipeline is surprisingly non-trivial.

The tight integration and interweaving of features around Chromium's architecture, which strongly enforces security and isolation, means that it's taking a lot to ship a robust browser that will last on Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, and iOS.

All the code for Brave Origin will be available in the public repos. I'm curious to see the outcome.

 

[Jonny Quest]

Just an observation from my side, and maybe it's just a settings issue, or how Brave handles this site? But, when I click on Like on my laptop, it is usually above the post, at times I have to grab the screen and drag it down (touch screen) to see the Like options that are further up. With FF, they are right there, more in line with the bottom part of the post.

View attachment 294383 View attachment 294384

I don't know if it was a Brave update, a forum tweak, or was just one of those things. But on both laptops, Brave is now displaying the Like options right above the text, and not at time 1/4 - 1/2 way up the screen.

 

[oldschool]

I don't know if it was a Brave update, a forum tweak, or was just one of those things. But on both laptops, Brave is now displaying the Like options right above the text, and not at time 1/4 - 1/2 way up the screen.

View attachment 294737

It happens randomly using Firefox. The forum software still has some bugs.

 

[Parkinsond]

I don't know if it was a Brave update, a forum tweak, or was just one of those things. But on both laptops, Brave is now displaying the Like options right above the text, and not at time 1/4 - 1/2 way up the screen.

View attachment 294737

I have had it also before on Edge and Yandex; I do not think it's browser-related.

 

[Marko :)]

It happens randomly using Firefox. The forum software still has some bugs.

It's normal for me. It used to be like that when forum got new design, but it is fixed for me.

 

[lokamoka820]

Is the free version of the Brave Leo AI sufficient, or do I need to use the paid version?

 

[ForgottenSeer 116559]

Is the free version of the Brave Leo AI sufficient, or do I need to use the paid version?

It depends on how casual your usage is. If you only occasionally need it for quick questions and summaries, the free tier should be totally fine. Rate limits are reasonable but slowed down during high traffic periods.

Leo AI's premium LLM models are more advanced and better suited to complex tasks and deeper reasoning or coding. The higher rate limits and priority access also make a difference if you continually need to use AI chat.

 

[Brownie2019]

Brave Software has announced the public release of Origin, a paid minimalist, bloat-free version of its browser that strips out cryptocurrency, AI, rewards, and other monetization-focused features.

The browser maker says Brave Origin is designed for users who want a more streamlined, privacy-focused browser without the company's optional revenue-generating services and integrations.

"Today, Brave is announcing the release of Brave Origin, a paid version of the browser for users who don't need all of Brave's out-of-the-box features, but still want the privacy that only Brave offers," the company explains.

According to Brave, the browser turns off features such as Brave Rewards, Brave Wallet, Brave VPN promotions, Brave Leo AI, Brave News, Brave Talk, sponsored images, and other promotional or monetization components included in the standard browser.

The company says Brave Origin continues to include Brave Shields, the browser's built-in privacy and ad-blocking protections.

Brave Origin is available as both a standalone browser download and as an upgrade option for existing Brave installations.

The company says the license is a one-time purchase of $59.99 US that can be used to activate the software on up to 10 devices. Users installing the Linux version can get Brave Origin for free.

The Brave Origin launch has raised some criticism from users who argue that Brave is effectively charging users to remove features that many already considered unnecessary and unwanted in the first place.

"My criticism is that Brave started by selling users a browser that protected them from the web's monetization layers. Over time, the browser itself became another monetization layer," a user posted on Reddit.

"And now Brave Origin basically confirms the problem: if you want the clean, stripped-down, privacy-focused version, that becomes the paid product."

Others pointed out that many of the features being removed can already be disabled in the free Brave version via enterprise group policies.

Due to this, some users questioned whether Brave Origin introduces any meaningful differences beyond packaging those configuration settings into an easier-to-use interface.

Defenders of the project argue that most users are unlikely to manually configure enterprise policies, making Brave Origin a more accessible way to obtain a cleaner privacy-oriented browser, while also supporting the privacy project.

Brave Software releases Origin for a paid, bloat-free browsing experience

Brave has announced the public release of Brave Origin, a paid minimalist version of its browser that strips out cryptocurrency, AI, rewards, and other monetization-focused features.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

[Bot]

Brave Software has announced the public release of Origin, a paid minimalist, bloat-free version of its browser that strips out cryptocurrency, AI, rewards, and other monetization-focused features.

The browser maker says Brave Origin is designed for users who want a more streamlined, privacy-focused browser without the company's optional revenue-generating services and integrations.

"Today, Brave is announcing the release of Brave Origin, a paid version of the browser for users who don't need all of Brave's out-of-the-box features, but still want the privacy that only Brave offers," the company explains.

According to Brave, the browser turns off features such as Brave Rewards, Brave Wallet, Brave VPN promotions, Brave Leo AI, Brave News, Brave Talk, sponsored images, and other promotional or monetization components included in the standard browser.

The company says Brave Origin continues to include Brave Shields, the browser's built-in privacy and ad-blocking protections.

Brave Origin is available as both a standalone browser download and as an upgrade option for existing Brave installations.

The company says the license is a one-time purchase of $59.99 US that can be used to activate the software on up to 10 devices. Users installing the Linux version can get Brave Origin for free.

Brave Software releases Origin for a paid, bloat-free browsing experience

Brave has announced the public release of Brave Origin, a paid minimalist version of its browser that strips out cryptocurrency, AI, rewards, and other monetization-focused features.

www.bleepingcomputer.com

Brave Origin looks more like a packaging and support decision than a fundamentally new browser.

What seems clear

• Based on Brave’s description, the main change is that various optional monetization and promotional features are removed or disabled by default.
• Core privacy features such as Brave Shields are still included.
• The paid model appears to be a one-time license, while Linux users reportedly get it free.

Why some users are criticizing it

• The criticism is understandable: many of the unwanted features in standard Brave can already be disabled manually.
• If Origin mainly bundles existing configuration choices into a cleaner package, some users will see the price as paying to remove bloat that should arguably have stayed optional and unobtrusive in the free version.
• That creates the impression that the “minimal” experience is being sold back to users.

Why others may still see value

• A pre-stripped build can be useful for people who do not want to edit policies, tweak settings, or maintain those changes across installs.
• In general, many users prefer a simple install-and-go setup rather than hardening a browser manually.
• Some may also view the payment as a way to support Brave without relying on ad, crypto, AI, or promotional integrations.

The key question

The real issue is whether Brave Origin offers anything beyond convenience, cleaner defaults, and easier deployment.

If it is mostly the standard browser with preconfigured removals, then the debate becomes less about privacy and more about product positioning.

If Brave later maintains Origin as a genuinely separate, minimalist branch with fewer distractions and less surface area for unwanted integrations, then it becomes a more distinct product.

Practical takeaway

For privacy-conscious users, the main comparison is likely:

• Free Brave + manual disabling of unwanted features
• Brave Origin + one-time payment for the same result with less effort

That means the value depends heavily on whether someone wants convenience and a cleaner out-of-box experience enough to pay for it.

At least from the information presented, the criticism is not unreasonable, but neither is the argument that some users will pay for simplicity.

 

[JasonUK]

On Linux you can get Brave Origin at no cost. Must admit having used it I like it and probably would pay a one-off payment especially as you can already get discount codes making the payment pretty minimal (c£33 UK)

 

[lokamoka820]

You can debloat Brave browser to make it resemble Brave Origin using WinUtil.

 

[Parkinsond]

You can debloat Brave browser to make it resemble Brave Origin using WinUtil.

On Reddits, those who used Brave origin reported the exact same footprint compared to Brave, so what is the point of getting "origin".
On my machine, Brave "regular" consumes the same as Edge, or even slightly less; as fast as Edge.

 

[lokamoka820]

On Reddits, those who used Brave origin reported the exact same footprint compared to Brave, so what is the point of getting "origin".
On my machine, Brave "regular" consumes the same as Edge, or even slightly less; as fast as Edge.

It also syncs with Brave browser normally because the servers are the same; I think it's just to make some money off users who don't like the bloat.

 

[Marko :)]

On Reddits, those who used Brave origin reported the exact same footprint compared to Brave, so what is the point of getting "origin".
On my machine, Brave "regular" consumes the same as Edge, or even slightly less; as fast as Edge.

Because it is the same web browser, same package. Once you enter the code, garbage from UI just gets hidden and that's all. That's the difference between Brave and Brave Origin.