Serious Discussion I intercepted Brave's network traffic for 48 hours

[Sampei.Nihira]

For the record, I was trying Vivaldi and Brave browsers this week to see if there were any improvements (I didn't use either for about a year), and I was really impressed with how both have become.

Brave browser now doesn't write as much on the SSD as before; it is currently comparable with Google Chrome in resources. Brave Search is impressive with Leo results; I think it is the best AI integration in all available browsers, and it is way faster than Firefox.

Vivaldi browser, on the other hand, continues to improve its useful features and nice-looking GUI. I think it is the most beautiful browser available and feature-rich, not bloated like MS Edge, and its ad blocker has improved a lot; I haven't seen any ads on YouTube recently. The only drawback I found is that some video websites that I watch movies and series on show me a "disable ad blocker" message that I am unable to deal with.

@rashmi, is there a recommended filter to remove this, please?

Try the filter lists recommended by Yokoffing:

GitHub - yokoffing/filterlists: Collection of blocklists to fill in the gaps

first paywalls.

 

[LinuxFan58]

What do web browsers really do in the background? Privacy advocates have a keen interest in this question. Promising users better privacy and freedom from ads, Brave has made quite a name for themselves with over 100 million monthly active users.

Did you add any blockrules in firewall of DNS?

 

[ForgottenSeer 116559]

Did you add any blockrules in firewall of DNS?

No, my Cloudflare Gateway policies are minimal. No blocklists. I experimented with regex, but I've done away with that too.

I rely totally on Brave for adblocking.

It's worth nothing that Hagezi's DNS blocklists and others like Peter Lowe's explicitly exclude Brave's domains or mark them as legitimate.

 

[Sorrento]

In Brave I use its own blocking, in Firefox uBlock & in Wolf - DNS controlled by Mullvad, that's it really, Edge not on PC

 

[Parkinsond]

In Brave I use its own blocking

You should use Brave own adblocker; actually it's the only reason to use Brave.

 

[Sampei.Nihira]

No, my Cloudflare Gateway policies are minimal. No blocklists. I experimented with regex, but I've done away with that too.

I rely totally on Brave for adblocking.

It's worth nothing that Hagezi's DNS blocklists and others like Peter Lowe's explicitly exclude Brave's domains or mark them as legitimate.

Peter Lowes is a filter list that can be used at the DNS level.
HaGeZi incorporates it into its sources.
On the other hand, Kees1958's "EU US ads&tracking networks MV3 (third-party blocking only)" filter list must be used by adding it to adblock.
Although many, but not all, of the blocked domains are common.

 

[Jan Willy]

Site with nice suggestions to limit Brave's telemetry:

 

[ForgottenSeer 116559]

Brave's uniquely performant adblocker is a major selling point for me, personally.

As soon as it was rewritten in Rust years ago, it was already 69× faster than the old C++ version. Last month they overhauled the engine to use FlatBuffers and reduce memory usage by 75%, meaning it now handles the default 100,000–120,000 or so filters (including uBO lists, script sanitization, etc.) like a dream.

It operates in the browser core, and most of the adblocking is performed at the network request pipeline, aggressively preventing requests before they happen. Advanced features like CNAME uncloaking and bounce tracking stripping are included.

Vivaldi works at the network level through Chromium APIs, but it's not as low-level.

 

[Sampei.Nihira]

Brave's uniquely performant adblocker is a major selling point for me, personally.

As soon as it was rewritten in Rust years ago, it was already 69× faster than the old C++ version. Last month they overhauled the engine to use FlatBuffers and reduce memory usage by 75%, meaning it now handles the default 100,000–120,000 or so filters (including uBO lists, script sanitization, etc.) like a dream.

It operates in the browser core, and most of the adblocking is performed at the network request pipeline, aggressively preventing requests before they happen. Advanced features like CNAME uncloaking and bounce tracking stripping are included.

Vivaldi works at the network level through Chromium APIs, but it's not as low-level.

But I don't think that in terms of advanced functionality, as I use it, it's equal to uBo/AG.
Otherwise, @LinuxFan58 wouldn't have disabled it to use AG.

 

[ForgottenSeer 116559]

Brave has allowed enterprise admins and advanced users to disable unwanted features through Group Policy since 2020. I managed my installation on Windows this way, and I don't even see leftover UI elements from Brave Rewards, the crypto wallet, or the VPN.

For anyone who hasn't come across it yet, SlimBrave is a nifty PowerShell script for configuring these registry keys and getting Brave more to your liking.

 

[Sorrento]

In Brave I use its own blocking, in Firefox uBlock & in Wolf - DNS controlled by Mullvad, that's it really, Edge not on PC

You should use Brave own adblocker; actually it's the only reason to use Brave.

I do I reckon i put that ?? 'In Brave I use its own blocking'

 

[lokamoka820]

For anyone who hasn't come across it yet, SlimBrave is a nifty PowerShell script for configuring these registry keys and getting Brave more to your liking.

And here's a simple guide from our friend @Marko :) on how to Debloat Brave browser as well.

 

[Zartarra]

I disagree! Vivaldi ad blocker works well, including on YouTube, for me on Windows, Android, and iOS. Brave ad blocker's default has a few filters, but Vivaldi only uses the two main EasyList filters. I add Peter Lowe, Fanboy's Annoyance, and EasyList Cookie to the Vivaldi ad blocker.

Same here. No ads with Vivaldi. I configure the "block tracker sand ads" in the settings "Tracker and ad blocking". Manage the sources and disable "allow ads from our partners" and enable Easylist. You can also import other filters.

I have no issues with Youtube. Works very well.

 

[LinuxFan58]

But I don't think that in terms of advanced functionality, as I use it, it's equal to uBo/AG.
Otherwise, @LinuxFan58 wouldn't have disabled it to use AG.

Brave processes a lot uBO scriptlets, but not all. The reason I am not using it is when I looked at the unsolved issues backlog of Brave on Github (over 5000 or so), I thought it might be better to use Brave with all of its extra features disables (ads, rewards, crypto and its build-in adblocker). That said I am really happy with Brave on Linux (running in Flatpak sandbox hardened with flatseal).

 

[spaceoctopus]

Websites open clean in my case.

I second that.I use Vivaldi too(For almost 5yrs now), and their adblock/tracking protection is quite good. Perhaps its efficiency comes from the fact that it is directly integrated in the browser. Instead of being an extension, the coding works better. I tested it with websites which were infested with ads, and was surprised how efficient it was. Combined with a good private dns, you get a well rounded protection against ads and trackers, and you keep things simple.Instead of adding a hundred adblockers and getting lost in configs.

 

[ForgottenSeer 116559]

Brave processes a lot uBO scriptlets, but not all. The reason I am not using it is when I looked at the unsolved issues backlog of Brave on Github (over 5000 or so), I thought it might be better to use Brave with all of its extra features disables (ads, rewards, crypto and its build-in adblocker). That said I am really happy with Brave on Linux (running in Flatpak sandbox hardened with flatseal).

Brave doesn't promptly close issues and leans toward keeping many open as part of a community-oriented approach. A lot of feature requests, suggestions, enhancements, etc. stay open. For example, I just pulled up an open issue where someone complained about the icon not being stylish enough, and it kept them away all this time.

It can happen that someone reports a crash in a particular setup or similar experience without properly tagging it, but when I search for open issues without the type:bug or labels:bug, crash, regression, perf (performance issue), or perf-regression (performance regression)—it accounts for 8,418 of 10,350 open issues that don't immediately sound buggy according to type and labels. Some reported issues are niche or otherwise can be difficult to reproduce.

There's always a lot of work to do with a browser, especially when you serve so many platforms.

 

[n8chavez]

Brave has allowed enterprise admins and advanced users to disable unwanted features through Group Policy since 2020. I managed my installation on Windows this way, and I don't even see leftover UI elements from Brave Rewards, the crypto wallet, or the VPN.

For anyone who hasn't come across it yet, SlimBrave is a nifty PowerShell script for configuring these registry keys and getting Brave more to your liking.

Agreed! I've mentioned this in other posts. It's so handy.

 

[Sampei.Nihira]

I second that.I use Vivaldi too(For almost 5yrs now), and their adblock/tracking protection is quite good. Perhaps its efficiency comes from the fact that it is directly integrated in the browser. Instead of being an extension, the coding works better. I tested it with websites which were infested with ads, and was surprised how efficient it was. Combined with a good private dns, you get a well rounded protection against ads and trackers, and you keep things simple.Instead of adding a hundred adblockers and getting lost in configs.

Hi,
Unfortunately, that is not the case.
You do not block 100% of trackers.

 

[spaceoctopus]

Hi,
Unfortunately, that is not the case.
You do not block 100% of trackers.

You're perfectly right.100% is impossible. One thing is to take a holistic approach. Brave has some powerful tools and features to prevent tracking, but paradoxically, the more settings you have, the higher the pobability of making a mistake that gives you a "shape" and somehow give more details about you, than you wanna hide.

Brave has also a few scandals about their browser and the use of user data.

In the end, you need to combine experience, knowledge and the need to learn new things and method, so that you can make the best of what you have. And in this case, it concerns tracking, adblocking and privacy.

 

[Sampei.Nihira]

You're perfectly right.100% is impossible. One thing is to take a holistic approach. Brave has some powerful tools and features to prevent tracking, but paradoxically, the more settings you have, the higher the pobability of making a mistake that gives you a "shape" and somehow give more details about you, than you wanna hide.

Brave has also a few scandals about their browser and the use of user data.

In the end, you need to combine experience, knowledge and the need to learn new things and method, so that you can make the best of what you have. And in this case, it concerns tracking, adblocking and privacy.

Of course, I have always maintained that the best configuration is the one you can manage best.