The ads are also supposed to protect user privacy. And that’s the real idea: A browser with the user steering it is replacing the ad tech complex.” “It’s not a huge amount of value for most people, so they may prefer to just use it to give back. “A lot of users don’t want to cash out ,” he added.

Certainly, some Brave users may simply want to use the browser for its ad-blocking capabilities, but he suggested that the more “ecologically minded ones” will want to participate, rather than getting a “free ride.” They should also, eventually, be able to cash out with regular “fiat currency” through exchanges like Coinbase and Uphold.īrave has been testing ads since January, and Eich said that more than 40 percent of desktop users have been opting in. Their rewards will take the form of Basic Attention Tokens (BAT), a cryptocurrency that the users can, in turn, share with the creators of the content that they’re watching.Įich told me that the browser is set by default to donate a user’s BAT at the end of the month to their most-visited sites, but the company also plans to let users exchange BAT for rewards like hotel rooms and restaurant vouchers (through the TAP Network created by the startup Hooch). The company says users who choose to participate in the program will receive 70 percent of the revenue generated by the ads they see.

He’s long maintained that the vision is “bigger than an ad blocker,” with a goal of finding new ways to compensate online publishers.īrave Ads are a crucial part of that vision. With the latest desktop version of the Brave browser, users can now opt-in to the Brave Ads program.īrave is an ad-blocking web browser startup led by Brendan Eich, creator of the JavaScript programming language and former Mozilla CEO.

Brave rewards ads