Brave launches Search Ads and Premium access

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Brave Software announced the launch of advertisement on Brave Search, the company's search engine. The company promises that ads on Brave Search are privacy-preserving, which means that users of the search engine won't be tracked.



Brave Search users who don't want advertisement in search may subscribe to Search Premium instead. Search Premium is available for $3 per month and will provide search results without advertisement on Brave Search.

Ads are labeled clearly on Brave Search so that they may be distinguished from organic search results. An "Ad-icon" is displayed on the right side of an advertisement on Brave Search. The feature is in Beta currently, and while that is the case, a beta label is attached to the icon as well.

Brave promises that ads do not track or profile users. The company reveals that search ads use only three types of information to display ads on Brave Search: the search query, country and device type.

Search queries can, in theory, still include identifiable information, but the search engine "does not keep any kind of profile" of the searches that users make. In other words: Brave Search is going back to the classic days of advertisement on the Internet, where ads were displayed based on the topic of a page or site, or in this case search, instead of dedicated user profiles that gather information from all corners of the Internet.

Only text-based advertisement is shown on Brave Search during the beta phase. The company plans to integrate the advertisement service with the private ads feature of the Brave Browser. For now, Brave users who opted-in to Brave Private Ads won't see ad units on Brave Search. Brave Software plans to integrate Brave Rewards with Brave Search so that users may earn BAT, a virtual currency, when they interact with Search ads.

Closing Words

Brave Search could become a cornerstone for Brave Software. The company has diversified its product portfolio in recent time, adding Brave Search, VPN and other services to the mix. Search especially could add a significant amount to the company's overall revenue. While it seems unlikely that many Brave users will sign-up for Premium Search, some may do so to help finance development of the web browser and search product.

Now You: would you pay for an ad-free search experience without tracking?
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