You may already know that Chrome consumes a lot of resources. But it's also a terrible choice for privacy, especially in the default settings. That's why I switched to Brave, a Chrome alternative with all the features and none of the privacy vulnerabilities.
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Why Switch to Brave Browser?
Chrome is an ad platform. That's how he makes money. The browser has a system that tracks each page you visit to create a list of personalized ad topics.
Ironically, it is called “Privacy Sandbox”. It is built into the browser and enabled by default. Third-party cookies (which follow you across websites by tracking everything you click) are also enabled by default.
Brave doesn't have the same logic. It uses blockchain to reward advertisers and its users. Brave has its own unique ad network (which is not enabled by default and you have to opt-in) that shows you banner ads and push notifications.
It has an incentive to keep you away from typical ad networks. Of course, you can just leave it disabled and use the browser as usual.
While Google Chrome provides little to no tracking protection, Brave has some of the strongest anti-tracking features in a mainstream browser. Even your browser fingerprint is random. I tested Chrome against Brave on CoverMyTracks. Both browsers run on default settings.
I'm not impressed with Chrome's performance either. Chrome and Brave take up almost the same amount of memory at startup. But once you open a few tabs, Chrome starts to really eat up the RAM.
With the same 10 tabs open and no extensions, Brave uses about 1/3 of the memory that Chrome needs. Chrome only gets worse when you load more tabs and more extensions.
Brave respects your privacy and is lighter on your resources. But is that enough to bother with switching to the browser?
It should be, when you consider that Brave runs on the same engine as Google Chrome – both are based on Chromium. This means you can use all your Chrome extensions in Brave too.
Additionally, Brave has a sync feature, just like Chrome, that allows you to sync your browser data and preferences across different devices. Even if you don't want to ditch Chrome entirely, it might be a good idea to use multiple browsers.
Switch to Brave on Desktop
Whether you are using Windows or MacOS, you can get the installer for Brave browser from the official website. Brave is also available on Linux. Open the Brave download page and click on “Get Brave".
Double-click the installation file to launch the installer. It will download, install and launch the browser automatically.
On first launch, Brave will greet you with a welcome screen. Installation is easy. Here you can make Brave your default browser with just one click. On the next screen, you can enter all your Chrome bookmarks and passwords. Just select Chrome and click “Introduction".
Brave has its own dedicated search engine that you can use. I use DuckDuckGo, so I'll skip Brave Search. I also don't want to send my usage information to Brave. Just click on “Finish.” (Finish) to complete the first setting.
Brave will open the dashboard with all the bookmarks, browsing history and saved passwords you've imported from Chrome. However, extensions are still missing. You will have to reinstall them manually.
Go to the Chrome Webstore and install your extensions with a single click (just like you would in Chrome).
Google Chrome has a sync feature that connects to your Google account to create a profile. With sync turned on, you can open Chrome on any device and have your preferences, browser data, bookmarks, passwords, and extensions ready.
Brave also has sync, but it doesn't connect to your Google account. Synchronization works through a "chain" of devices. You can simply enter a passphrase or scan a QR code to add a new device to the sync chain. You can then manage your synced devices and choose what to sync and how.
To keep your synced data safe, Brave encrypts synced items (passwords, bookmarks, etc.) on the client side. Simply put, all your data is encrypted locally on the device before being sent to Brave's servers.
Brave's servers only send and receive the encryption version and it is decrypted on your device locally. At no point does Brave have access to your content or encryption keys.
If you install Brave on another computer, you can sync it to the chain by going to the Settings > more tools > Sync > “I have a sync code”. Just enter the code and you're ready to go.
I also like to tweak a few settings before I start using Brave:
- Reduces Clutter: The board in Brave is pretty messy. Just click the three dots on each widget and hide it.
- Change the Default Search Engine: Brave browser defaults to Brave search, which you can change in the settings. I chose it DuckDuckGo for regular and incognito windows.
- Fix Common Streaming Problems: Also, open them Settings > Extensions and enable support Widevine. It is disabled by default and can cause bad behavior on streaming platforms like Netflix.
- Disable the AI: Finally, go to Settings > Leo and turn it off. It's Brave's native artificial intelligence assistant, which we don't need.
Switch to Brave on mobile
Once you've set up Brave on your desktop, installing it on mobile is much easier because the sync feature is already active.
Install Brave from the Google Play Store and open it. Brave on Android also gives you a welcome screen which you can use to set Brave as default browser and disable usage reporting.
To import your bookmarks, passwords, and history into the Brave browser on your phone, go to Settings > More tools > Sync and press “Scan or sync code”. The QR code we need to scan is on the desktop version of Brave (which we're trying to sync with). So open Brave on the desktop and go to Settings > More tools > Sync > Manage your syncs. Click on “Add New Device” (Add new device) and select "Phone/Tablet" (Phone/tablet). A QR code will appear that you can scan.
Alternatively, you can click the option View sync code and enter it manually in your phone. On the desktop, you can also “customize” the sync. It allows you to sync everything or select data as you need it.
You can manually load passwords and bookmarks from Chrome on your mobile. Open Chrome on your phone or tablet and go to Settings > Manage Google passwords > Export passwords. Copy the file anywhere on your computer.
Then you just need to import this file into the Brave desktop (which syncs with your Android) and all your codes will be synced. Open him up Brave > Settings > Brave Password Manager and press "File selection".
There is no way to export Google Chrome bookmarks in the mobile version of the app. You'll need to use Chrome on your desktop to move synced bookmarks. Click the menu with three dots, then select Bookmarks and lists > Manage bookmarks. On the bookmarks page, click the three dots and select “Export Bookmarks”. Save the file HTML anywhere and move it to your phone storage.
On your phone, open the Brave browser, tap the three dots and select "Bookmarks". Tap the three dots again and select
. Find the file you just transferred from your computer and select it. That's all!
Setting up Brave on iOS is almost identical to Android. You get the app from the AppStore, tap “Set as Default” (Set as default) and it takes you to Settings where you can change the defaults. To set up sync on iOS, open Brave's settings, tap Sync, subsequently "I Have a Sync Code" and scan the QR code on your desktop.
That's all you need to kick Google Chrome out of your life without losing any of its features or functionality thanks to Brave. Happy browsing!
