- Brave has announced that it will utilize its own search engine by default.
- Brave says that as of September 2021, their browser had almost 40 million monthly active users.
- Brave is introducing a new opt-in method for users to submit data and help improve its search results.
Brave to utilize its own search engine
Brave, the privacy-focused browser that disables third-party advertisements and trackers by default, has announced that it will utilize its own search engine by default. The update will influence which search engine is utilized via the browser’s address bar for new users. Brave Search will take the position of Google in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, as well as Qwant in France and DuckDuckGo in Germany. In the following months, more nations will be turned over.
It’s a big milestone for Brave’s nascent search engine, which debuted in public beta earlier this year because most users simply accept what they’re offered. The search engine selected as the browser default is a useful advertising strategy, and it is so essential that it has become a major target of antitrust inquiry. Google now provides a selection of search engines for Android users in Europe, following a $5 billion punishment from EU authorities for, among other things, improperly linking Google search to Android. Google has also paid businesses such as Apple and Firefox to be the default search engine in their browsers throughout the years.
“As we have seen in many browsers, the default setting is critical for adoption, and Brave Search has reached the quality and critical mass required to become our default search option, and to offer our users a seamless privacy-by-default online experience,” said Brendan Eich, co-founder, and CEO of Brave. He went on to say that the company’s search engine currently processes “almost 80 million inquiries each month.”
New Privacy-focused service
Although the transition will increase the importance of Brave Search among Brave users, the browser’s market share is so minuscule that it doesn’t even register against established competitors like Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Opera, according to StatCounter statistics.
Nonetheless, Brave says that as of September 2021, their browser had almost 40 million monthly active users.
In addition to increasing the visibility of Brave’s search engine, the decision demonstrates the company’s trust in the new privacy-focused service. Brave Search is unique for being based on Brave’s own independent web index, whereas many rivals rely on a combination of results from larger indexes like Microsoft’s Bing (though Brave has said that it would draw in results from other sources if it cannot create enough of its own). According to the business, their search engine does not track “users, queries, or clicks.”
Brave Search considers subscription service
Along with the new default search engine, Brave is introducing a new opt-in method for users to submit data and help improve its search results. Brave says that their Web Discovery Project collects search and browsing data in a method that cannot be connected to individual users and cannot be sold to marketers or given to authorities.
Brave Search is presently free to use and does not display advertisements, but the firm wants to add adverts to its free version in the future, as well as provide an ad-free subscription service.
Also Read: Google, Microsoft to spend billions on cybersecurity after Biden meeting
