On the positive, this is free on Linux, though it’s still in Beta. It is nice in that some unwanted features are removed like AI, the cryptocurrency stuff, Tor…, and you can enable them if you want with a toggle. If you’re using an Arch based system, it’s in the AUR, brave-origin-beta-bin. I replaced my Brave browser with it for the rare site that doesn’t work properly with Firefox. On Linux it will ask if you want to pay or proceed for free. I’ve always had a problem with Brave for the cryptocurrency stuff, hijacking people’s commissions… as they seem to have struggled to find a revenue stream without the best ethics. But by offering a de-bloated version for a fee seems reasonable, especially for the non-technical. I believe you can manually disable all this stuff as well in the regular version, though this makes it more convenient.
By Michael Kan
Internet browsers are usually free. But Brave sees a market in selling a de-bloated version of its browser for $60.
The San Francisco company introduced the paid version in a Reddit post last week, saying: “When Brave users told us they’d pay for a minimalist version of our browser, we listened.”
The result is Brave Origin, which maintains the privacy and ad-blocking features. But it removes other features that the company uses to support its business, including the VPN, crypto wallet, and Brave Rewards, which offer you tokens in return for viewing ads.
In exchange, the company is charging a one-time fee of $59.99 for the product. “Brave Origin lets you support Brave’s development without using revenue-generating features,” it says.
Available on desktop and mobile, Brave Origin is so minimalist that it strips away and affects 12 features. Not surprisingly, some users are complaining about the high price. “I wouldn’t mind paying for Brave Origin, but $60 is a steep price for a Chromium-based browser,” wrote one user.
Others are concerned that Brave limits software activations to 10 per purchase, meaning they could run out as you upgrade to new computers or phones. However, Brave CTO Brian Bondy replied that customers will be able to “extend the number of activations if the limit is hit” through a new control that’s being added.
“Extending is purely better than revoking. Revoking is not good for privacy, and not optimal for the user because you’d have to link the device to the account,” Bondy wrote. CEO Brendan Eich also says he’s open to different ideas that can simplify the “one-time-buy aspect” of Brave Origin.
For now, Brave Origin is being offered as a “Nightly” test version that works on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. Stay tuned for our hands on with the paid browser.