Brave, a web browser that blocks third-party trackers and unwanted ads from websites and allows users to reward preferred web content, has detailed how it accomplishes these things in a blog by Brendan Eich , founder, president and CEO. Brave recently introduced a beta version of its bitcoin-based payment system that automatically pays the websites that users want to support. Brave will invite users to pay the web content providers they wish to support from pre-funded bitcoin wallets. How Ad Replacement Works One of the ways Brave blocks unwanted ads and unwanted tracking pixels is with ad replacements. Brave posted an image showing slow and often harmful ads that are not effective, along with other ads that are “first party” ads that remain on the web page after the unwanted ads are blocked. The ads that Brave uses to replace unwanted ads generate revenue for both users and content providers. Brave ads use anonymous protocols as opposed to tracking pixels. The protocols confirm viewer impressions. These replacement ads have a negligible impact on loading performance. Brave plans to release information about the anonymity of its protocols in the near future. A posted image on Eich’s blog shows the websites before and after unwanted ads are replaced with Brave ads. Brave users get paid 15% of the gross advertising revenue, the same amount Brave earns from the Brave ads. The balance of this revenue goes to the ad content partners and publishers that users want to support. Users can route their earnings back to the sites they browse if they choose. They can also send more revenue through the use of a Brave wallet administered by BitGo . User Has Choices Brave’s mock user interface design will eventually cover global defaults and site-specific override settings. Brave enables the following choices: […]
