New Brave Origin premium experience offers minimalist version of browser

When Brave users asked us for a minimalist version of our browser, and one they’d be willing to pay for, we listened. 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.

In reality, there’s no such thing as a free browser. With Chrome, you are the payment: Google siphons your data, which in turn fuels their advertising empire. Brave blocks all tracking by default and operates out in the open: premium, opt-in features like AI, Search, and VPN, along with crypto features like Rewards, Wallet, and Web3 domains all directly support the business through revenue from subscriptions, partnerships, or privacy-first advertising. But many users have told us they want a browser without the extras. For these users, we’ve built Brave Origin.

Brave Origin delivers the same privacy and performance that have made Brave trusted by over 115 million users worldwide. This includes industry-leading ad+tracker blocking, Brave Shields protection, and best-in-class speed, along with regular software updates, Chromium patches, and ongoing security and privacy improvements. Brave Origin users will simply get a more minimalist version of the browser, without the features that otherwise support Brave as a user-first business.

For users who prefer Brave’s rich feature set, or who simply don’t want to pay for Brave Origin, the existing Brave browser product will remain free, unchanged, and fully supported.

“We’re excited to launch Brave Origin today, in response to demand from our users for a minimalist browser with best-in-class privacy and security protections,” said Brian Bondy, CTO and co-founder of Brave. “Origin gives our users the ad and tracker blocking they want coupled with the ability to manage which features appear in the browser, for a one-time fee across all their devices (and free on Linux). By supporting Brave as a business, users get the browser they asked for in order to manage their Web experience.”

Why we built Brave Origin​

Brave has always been about putting the user first. The choice to block (or allow) ads and trackers in order to protect user privacy depends on blocking by default, or game over. Brave also enables users to explore (or ignore) emerging spaces like AI and Web3, where a user-first browser will be crucial. And, most of all, Brave allows users to access the Web on their terms, free of Big Tech’s influence. By default, Brave blocks the data theft that feeds the Surveillance Economy, and combats the algorithmic bias that can harm free access to information.

At the same time, we’re conscious of the economics of the Web. We have strived to put users first while enabling them to support their favorite publishers and creators, all the while building Brave into a sustainable business.

We built Brave Origin in response to requests from users who wanted to support Brave’s industry-leading work on Web privacy and open-source adblocking, without having to manage or remove features they weren’t interested in using.

How to try Brave Origin​

Brave Origin is available in two ways:

• As a new, standalone browser product, available via a separate app download (on desktop devices)
• As an upgrade to the existing version of Brave (on desktop or mobile devices)

Both versions will be available via a one-time purchase of $59.99 US, and a single purchase will give you access to both options. For example, after making this one-time purchase, you could choose to download the standalone app and upgrade your existing version of Brave, or use only one of these options.

Purchasing will provide a purchase ID that can be activated multiple times across all your devices, in either—or a combination of both—standalone and upgrade modes. There is technically no limit to the number of times you can activate Origin across your devices and platforms, but there is a monthly rate limit. You can easily manage your activations—and request more—using self-serve controls in account.brave.com.

What features are affected by Brave Origin?​

Brave Origin users will continue to benefit from our industry-leading privacy, adblock, and speed (via Brave Shields), as well as regular software updates, Chromium patches, and security and privacy improvements. Beyond this core, Origin will affect the following features:

• Leo AI
• News
• Playlist (currently iOS only)
• Rewards (which also disables browser-based Brave Ads)
• Speedreader
• Stats like the daily usage ping, crash logs, and privacy-preserving product analytics (P3A)
• Talk
• Tor
• VPN
• Wallet (which also disables Web3 domains)
• Wayback Machine
• Web Discovery Project
• Email aliases (currently in Nightly release for desktop)

For Origin users who download the separate, standalone app, all of the features listed above will be automatically removed. Any new revenue-generating features we release (outside the core of Brave Shields) would not appear in the standalone Origin app. The features will be compiled out of the build.

Origin users who opt to upgrade the existing Brave app on their device will see a new Settings panel. The features listed above will appear in this Settings panel, and be toggled off by default. Any new features we release outside the core of Brave Shields will appear in this panel, and also be off by default. In this case, Brave manages group policies internally to disable features.

Users who use the free Brave browser can also hide or disable most Brave features without getting Origin. However, the features are not compiled out of the build just by hiding them, and thus executables are not smaller, unlike the standalone Origin product. For users who choose to follow these instructions, we hope they can also support Brave as a business in another way, such as with Brave Search premium.