Brave already blocks many ads and trackers, but there are a few settings worth checking if you want more control over your privacy.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the settings I change, explain what they do and point out the options that might make everyday browsing less convenient.
These instructions are for Brave on a computer. Menu names may vary slightly depending on your version.
Watch the Video Walkthrough
Prefer to follow along? Watch my video below, then use the steps in this guide as a checklist.
Step 1: Check Brave’s data collection settings
Start by reviewing the optional information Brave sends back to help improve the browser.
- Open Brave’s menu and select Settings.
- Go to Privacy and security.
- Scroll down to Data collection.
- Turn off these options if you don’t want to contribute:
- Allow privacy preserving product analytics
- Automatically send daily usage ping to Brave
- Automatically send diagnostic reports
Brave describes its product analytics and usage ping as privacy preserving. Turning these off is a choice about sharing usage and diagnostic information; it doesn’t stop every connection the browser needs to make.
Step 2: Turn off search suggestions
Search suggestions can be useful, but they may send what you type to your search engine before you press Enter.
- Open Settings.
- Select Search engine.
- Look for Improve search suggestions and turn it off.
If it’s already off, leave it that way.
You can still search normally. This change controls the suggestions supplied by your search engine while you type.
Step 3: Adjust Brave Shields
Shields handles protections such as blocking trackers, controlling cookies and reducing fingerprinting.
Open Settings → Shields to change the defaults for websites you visit. Changing settings through the Shields icon in the address bar usually affects only the current website.
Check the following options:
| Setting | Suggested choice |
|---|---|
| Trackers & ad blocking | Aggressive |
| Upgrade connections to HTTPS | Strict |
| Block fingerprinting | On |
| Block third-party cookies | Enabled |
| Block scripts | Leave off for everyday browsing |
Aggressive blocking applies more protections, but it can occasionally stop parts of a website from working. If that happens, use the Shields icon to adjust protection for that particular site.
Strict HTTPS warns you when a website cannot provide an encrypted connection. Take care before continuing, especially if the page asks for passwords or other personal information.
I leave Block scripts off globally because many websites need scripts for menus, forms and other features.
You may also see Forget me when I close this site. This is useful when you want Brave to clear a particular website’s stored data after you close it, but it can also mean signing in again next time.
Step 4: Choose your default search engine
Next, check which search engine Brave uses.
- Open Settings → Search engine.
- Choose your preferred search engine for normal windows.
- Check the search engine selected for private windows too.
In the video, I choose Startpage. You may also see options such as Brave Search and DuckDuckGo.
You don’t need to delete the other search engines from the list to change your default. Simply select the one you want to use.
Step 5: Decide what Brave clears when you exit
You can ask Brave to remove selected browsing data when you close the browser.
- Open Settings → Privacy and security.
- Select Delete browsing data.
- Open the On exit tab.
- Choose the types of data you want removed.
- Click Save, if shown.
You can also reach this screen by entering brave://settings/clearBrowserData in the address bar.
The main option to consider is Cookies and other site data. Clearing it removes stored website data, but it will also sign you out of many accounts.
Browsing history is optional, depending on whether you want to keep a record of pages you’ve visited.
You can clear Cached images and files too, although this may make websites load more slowly on your next visit. Clearing the cache isn’t essential for blocking trackers.
Avoid selecting passwords or other saved information unless you specifically want it removed.
Optional: Review Brave Rewards
If you’ve enabled Brave Rewards and don’t want its ads, open Settings → Rewards → Ads settings and turn off the available ad options.
Rewards is optional. If you never enabled it, you can leave it alone or hide its icon to keep the toolbar tidy.
A few minutes well spent
Once you’ve worked through these settings, carry on browsing normally and see how they suit you.
These changes give you more control over your browser’s privacy settings. They don’t make you anonymous, but they’re a useful place to start.
