Browser Review: Brave Mobile

Brave for iOS new tab page on version 1.40.

Browsing on mobile: the Web for your phone.

In past articles, I have generally focused on desktop devices (ie. laptop and desktop computers). This article is the first in a series of mobile browser reviews and privacy tips. In this article, I will explain the differences between mobile and desktop browsers, and review one of these mobile browsers: Brave for iOS. Brave also has a browser for Android, which is very similar. I will give an overview of the browser's features and grade it for privacy, interface quality, and features. I will also compare the browser to its desktop equivalent (Brave for macOS).

What is a mobile Browser?

For many people, web browsing is near the bottom of the list of smartphone activity. We use our phones to text, take pictures, play games, get directions, check social media, and occasionally look something up. Most people just use the default app that came with their phone and don't think about it. But there are lots browsers out there, many of which are better than the system defaults.

Many mobile browsers are stripped down versions of their desktop counterparts. The tab bar gets removed, configurability goes down, and these browsers view stripped-down mobile versions of websites. However, not all mobile browsers are like this. For proof, look no further than Vivaldi's Android browser, which still has a desktop style tab bar and many of the features of its desktop relative.

The main difference between mobile and desktop browsers is the interface. Mobile browser interfaces are cleaned up and shrunk down to work on a small screen, to avoid running out of space for the actual website. Different browsers do this in different ways. In this article, I will look at one of them.

Browser Overview

Brave Mobile is a simplified version of the Brave browser designed to work on smartphones and tablets. The new tab page is very similar to that of its desktop counterpart, with a library of background images, stats from its tracker blocker, and shortcuts. The only thing missing is the cards feature, which isn't even that useful. Unlike many mobile browsers, Brave has a tab bar. Located directly under the address bar, it is very similar to Safari's desktop tab bar, with simple square tabs. At the bottom of the browser there are several interface buttons. Here you can find the forward and back buttons, the new tab button, a list of all tabs running in the browser, and the browser's settings.

In terms of privacy, Brave Mobile is just as good as its desktop counterpart. As far as I can tell, the two browsers use the same tracker blocking script, which makes sense, seeing as they are made by the same company as versions of the same software. The privacy policy is also the same.

As for features, it is pretty good for a mobile browser. While it lacks many features, like tab grouping, a bookmark bar, and profiles, that are expected from desktop browsers, it is actually pretty high on the features scale compared to other mobile browsers. The only mobile browser I know of with more features is Vivaldi, which is still only available on Android.

Browser Grade

In this section, I will compare Brave Mobile to other browsers to give it a grade. You can see my other browser reviews here to compare.

Brave Mobile uses the same strict blocking protocol as its desktop counterpart, and follows the same privacy policy. Brave's blocker is the strongest of any browser I've tested, blocking all types of tracking before they even load.

Privacy: A+

Browsers are graded by how good their tracker blockers are, support for FLoC, malware/nefarious script blocking, and collection of user data.

Interface: A+

Browsers are graded on the quality of their interface. Interfaces should be easy to use and should look good.

Brave Mobile's interface is streamlined and clean. All of the necessary buttons are in easy to access places and are clearly labelled. The blocker interface is simple and easy to understand, and the menu and settings panels are well labeled and easy to use.

Among mobile browsers, Brave is among the best in terms of features. While it falls well short of Vivaldi Mobile's full-desktop interface, on iOS it is one of the top browsers in this category.

Features: A-

Browsers are graded on the presence of several useful features (tab bar, tab groups, bookmarks), as well as customizability and extra features that the browser has.

Overall Grade: A+

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