Trial for Advertising Program Launched by Brave Browser
Brave Software is the publisher of an open-source web browser with enhanced privacy features, built-in ad blocker and built-in cryptocurrency (Basic Attention Token [BAT]). The company has recently commenced trials for its browser’s ads program.
The company was founded by former chief architect and CTO of Mozilla, by name Brendan Eich and former senior software engineer at Mozilla and former software developer lead at Khan Academy, Brian Bondy. The company claims that its browser offers a number of speed and privacy advantages over its competitors. According to Brave’s website, the browser loads pages up to two times faster than other browsers on desktop and up to eight times faster on mobile. This is mostly due to its inbuilt ad blocker that seeks to eliminate undesired bandwidth expenditure.
Once fully launched, the browser will give its users the possibility to choose between either block ads entirely or to earn the browser’s inbuilt cryptocurrency, Basic Attention Token, in exchange for viewing ads. Basicattentiontoken.org describes BAT as comprising “a utility token based on the Ethereum technology that can also be used as a unit of account between advertisers, publishers.”
The company’s ad program will see users view a “few relevant ads” several times each day, and each time an ad is viewed, the browser user will earn BAT tokens. Brave is set to distribute 70% of the profits generated through advertising with browser users who choose to view ads.
Those who take part in the trial will have their browsing histories sent to Brave in order to be analyzed. It is not sure yet whether the trial is appropriate for those seeking to reap the full privacy benefits of the browser.
Brave software announced in April that they would partner with Dow Jones Media Group. It is said the agreement comprises “Brave [providing] access to premium content from Down Jones Media Group to a limited number of users who download the Brave browser.”
The senior vice president of Dow Jones Media Group-owned Barron’s, Daniel Bernard, is quite optimistic regarding the deal. He stated that “Our partnership with Brave is an exciting and innovative step […] As global digital publishers, we believe it is important to continually explore new and emerging technologies that can be used to build quality customer experiences.”
