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No pivoting; just an incremental realization of a better Web. We never replaced ads. Brave blocks trackers, and their associated third-party ads for privacy and

No pivoting; just an incremental realization of a better Web. We never replaced ads. Brave blocks trackers, and their associated third-party ads for privacy and security reasons—we've done this from the start. But when you block third-party ads, you cut into the revenue of publishers, creators, and other content makers. Cutting revenue for those who make the Web wonderful is not ideal, so an alternative approach was needed to help those who creator the content that keeps us 'coming back' to the Web. This is where Brave Rewards came in, and Brave's User Growth Pool. We distributed BAT to our users, inviting them to ear-mark it for the creators they appreciated most. Some of those creators signed-up to claim our tokens, while others didn't. From the start, Brave has been focused on privacy, security, and sustainability. In the vein of privacy, we introduced Brave Search. An engine with its own index, not connected to you or your online activities, existing only to help you find what you're seeking on the Web. Our revenue model is largely ad-based, but quite different from the ads we all have come accustomed to on the Web. Brave's Ad model is consent-based, user-configurable (you control ad-frequencies, etc.), and private-by-design. Rather than sending your data off to third-parties, we send regional ad catalogs to you. These are studied in the private enclave of your machine so that your data is never transmitted elsewhere. When users participate in Brave Ads, they receive 70% of the associated revenue (for their attention). Brave gets the remaining 30%. I hope this helps

opheliate 5y ago
> We never replaced ads. How can you be so disingenuous? You removed ads, then introduced your own advertising. You may see those as two separate events, but the consequence is the same as if you had chosen to replace ads.
- jonathansampson 5y ago
  Replaces implies in-situ substitution (i.e. ads on pages, etc.); in fact this is often what is explicitly stated when the claim "Brave replaces ads" is made (see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28619682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28619682 for a local example). Brave blocks harmful ads and trackers, and introduced an alternate model to supply missed revenue for creators. Brave Ads (desktop notifications) are off by default in Brave; users must opt-in. So there is no replacement (in-situ) of ads, but there is blocking (of necessity, for security and privacy reasons) of third-party trackers/ads.
  - ziddoap 5y ago
    I can't help but wonder if you were in politics at some point in your career, being able to hinge on a very strict and literal definition of "replace" and missing the entire spirit of topic at hand.
    - jonathansampson 5y ago
      Words have semantic range, and this is no less true for "replace" than for any other word. In 2016 there were reports that Brave would replace ads [meaning in-situ, in-page substitution] with its own ads. This never happened. Yet the claim continues to live on (see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28619682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28619682 for a local example). But anybody who downloads and uses Brave for a few seconds can quickly tell that this is not the case. But perhaps this first reading wasn't the proper exegesis; perhaps the author meant only "Brave blocks Google's ads, and has created its own advertising model in its place." If that's the intended understanding, then yes, that's correct. Google's ads are privacy-leaches who parasitically attack to non-consenting hosts, sucking as much data out as possible. Brave Ads replaces Google Ads. Brave Ads is based on consent, privacy, and equity. With Brave Ads, you have to opt-in to participate. If/when you do, you receive 70% of the revenue, and you share [no data] in the process. Google's model is quite the opposite; you don't opt-in, you don't get revenue, and your data is piped out to a third-party where it is sold, rented, and/or amended onto whatever profile exists for you on the Web. Yes, Brave replaces Google
      - ziddoap 5y ago
        >Words have semantic range, and this is no less true for "replace" than for any other word. I agree. Although I'm sure it's clear that I believe "replace" is semantically compatible with "remove advertisements from X, instead serving ads from Y in a different location". >perhaps the author meant only "Brave blocks Google's ads, and has created its own advertising model in its place." This was my interpretation. >Brave Ads replaces Google Ads. I guess we both agree that "replace" is within the semantic range. Which is why "We never replace ads." didn't sit well. For what it is worth, I'm neither for nor against Brave. Just surprised about how vigorous Brave employees are being in the thread. >Google's model is quite the opposite Don't worry, I'm not on the Google train either.
- 6510 5y ago
  There are 3 types of ads: 1) non tracking on page 2) tracking on page 3) brave ads The user can chose to block or allow each. It could be considered Brave replacing them if the default was to not have (2) and have (3) but you have to enable brave rewards yourself. You could say it allows the user to replace the ads but that wouldn't be very specific as the ads are of a different type and value.

opheliate 5y ago

> We never replaced ads. How can you be so disingenuous? You removed ads, then introduced your own advertising. You may see those as two separate events, but the consequence is the same as if you had chosen to replace ads.

jonathansampson 5y ago
Replaces implies in-situ substitution (i.e. ads on pages, etc.); in fact this is often what is explicitly stated when the claim "Brave replaces ads" is made (see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28619682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28619682 for a local example). Brave blocks harmful ads and trackers, and introduced an alternate model to supply missed revenue for creators. Brave Ads (desktop notifications) are off by default in Brave; users must opt-in. So there is no replacement (in-situ) of ads, but there is blocking (of necessity, for security and privacy reasons) of third-party trackers/ads.
- ziddoap 5y ago
  I can't help but wonder if you were in politics at some point in your career, being able to hinge on a very strict and literal definition of "replace" and missing the entire spirit of topic at hand.
  - jonathansampson 5y ago
    Words have semantic range, and this is no less true for "replace" than for any other word. In 2016 there were reports that Brave would replace ads [meaning in-situ, in-page substitution] with its own ads. This never happened. Yet the claim continues to live on (see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28619682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28619682 for a local example). But anybody who downloads and uses Brave for a few seconds can quickly tell that this is not the case. But perhaps this first reading wasn't the proper exegesis; perhaps the author meant only "Brave blocks Google's ads, and has created its own advertising model in its place." If that's the intended understanding, then yes, that's correct. Google's ads are privacy-leaches who parasitically attack to non-consenting hosts, sucking as much data out as possible. Brave Ads replaces Google Ads. Brave Ads is based on consent, privacy, and equity. With Brave Ads, you have to opt-in to participate. If/when you do, you receive 70% of the revenue, and you share [no data] in the process. Google's model is quite the opposite; you don't opt-in, you don't get revenue, and your data is piped out to a third-party where it is sold, rented, and/or amended onto whatever profile exists for you on the Web. Yes, Brave replaces Google
    - ziddoap 5y ago
      >Words have semantic range, and this is no less true for "replace" than for any other word. I agree. Although I'm sure it's clear that I believe "replace" is semantically compatible with "remove advertisements from X, instead serving ads from Y in a different location". >perhaps the author meant only "Brave blocks Google's ads, and has created its own advertising model in its place." This was my interpretation. >Brave Ads replaces Google Ads. I guess we both agree that "replace" is within the semantic range. Which is why "We never replace ads." didn't sit well. For what it is worth, I'm neither for nor against Brave. Just surprised about how vigorous Brave employees are being in the thread. >Google's model is quite the opposite Don't worry, I'm not on the Google train either.
6510 5y ago
There are 3 types of ads: 1) non tracking on page 2) tracking on page 3) brave ads The user can chose to block or allow each. It could be considered Brave replacing them if the default was to not have (2) and have (3) but you have to enable brave rewards yourself. You could say it allows the user to replace the ads but that wouldn't be very specific as the ads are of a different type and value.