The developers of Brave, a privacy-focused web browser, have been testing their own search engine with a few invited users for some time. From today, Brave Search will be available to everyone in public beta through the browser’s official applications and a new website.
As TechCrunch noted, Brave announced its own search engine in March this year after acquiring Cliqz, an anti-tracking browser with a built-in search engine. Like DuckDuckGo, Brave Search is an alternative to major search services like Google and Bing for those concerned about data privacy.
The company claims that it does not collect IP addresses or use personal data to improve search results, so users can remain anonymous. Combined with Brave Browser, users can browse the internet without being tracked thanks to a feature called ‘Shields’, which blocks most trackers, adverts and unnecessary cookies.
However, if you’d rather not download Brave to use the company’s anti-tracking search, you can still use it in Safari, Google Chrome or other browsers. It’s now available on search.brave.com. Later this year, Brave Search will become the default search engine for the Brave browser.
Whether they’re already Brave browser users, looking to extend their online privacy with Brave Search integrated into the Brave browser, or users of other browsers looking for the best privacy-preserving search engine, they can all use the new beta version of Brave Search, which puts users first and gives them complete control over their online experience. Brave Search is based on a completely independent index and does not track users, their searches or their clicks.
Lately, privacy has become a top priority for some companies, including Apple. This year, Apple announced iCloud+ with Private Relay, which masks the user’s IP address to prevent tracking between apps and websites. Interestingly, there have been rumours of Apple investing in its own search engine, but the company has never shown any interest in this, at least publicly.
