Brave Search
Brave Search is an independent, privacy-focused search engine developed by Brave Software, Inc.. Launched in June 2022 after a year in beta, it was created to provide a viable alternative to big tech search engines by prioritising user privacy and delivering results free from the manipulation of advertising-driven algorithms. Its development was accelerated by the acquisition of Tailcat, a search engine project from Cliqz.
A pivotal milestone was achieving 100% independence from other search engines’ indexes, meaning it serves results solely from its own index of over 10 billion web pages. This independence ensures it remains operational even if other tech giants fail. By 2025, it had become the default search engine for the Brave browser in many regions and was handling millions of queries daily, establishing itself as a leading player in the ethical search engine space.
Features and Functionality
Brave Search combines a robust, independent index with a suite of user-focused features:
-
Independent Index: Serves over 92% of results from its own index, built and refined through its privacy-preserving Web Discovery Project (WDP), where users can opt in to contribute anonymous browsing data to improve the index’s quality and relevance.
-
AI-Powered Answers (‘Answer with AI’): Provides concise, summarised answers to queries at the top of search results. These answers are generated by large language models (LLMs) based on content from the web pages in their index, with sources always cited for verification.
-
Goggles: A unique beta feature that allows users or communities to apply custom filters and rules to re-rank search results. This enables highly specific search use cases and allows users to counter any intrinsic bias in the main ranking algorithm.
-
Discussions: Surface results from forums and community discussions (e.g., Reddit) directly within the search results, providing access to human experiences and opinions alongside traditional web pages.
-
Privacy by Default: Does not track users, profile them, or collect personal data. It uses only a minimal set of anonymous cookies to remember user preferences like safe search settings or measurement units.
-
Search Operators: Supports advanced search operators like
site:,filetype:, andintitle:for power users to refine and control their searches with precision. -
Google Fallback Mixing: An optional feature that allows the browser to anonymously check Google for results if a query is rare or not well-covered in Brave’s own index. The results are then blended in to improve coverage, all while maintaining user anonymity.
Pros & Cons Table
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 🔒 Unmatched Privacy: Truly private by default. No user profiling, tracking, or collection of personal data. | 🌐 Smaller Index: The independent index, while large, is not as comprehensive as Google’s for very rare or hyper-specific “long-tail” queries. |
| 🎯 Independent & Transparent: Free from the influence of Big Tech algorithms and advertising interests. Provides transparent results without secret bias or censorship. | 🤖 AI Limitations: The ‘Answer with AI’ feature, while useful, can sometimes miss nuances or context from the original sources it summarises. |
| ✨ Innovative Features: Tools like Goggles offer unparalleled user control over result ranking, a feature absent from most competitors. | 🔍 Result Quality Variability: As a younger engine, the relevance and ranking of results can occasionally be less refined than established players. |
| 🚀 Fast & Clean Experience: Built-in ad and tracker blocking leads to faster loading times and a clean, uncluttered results page. | ⚠️ Fallback Reliance: To ensure completeness, some users may feel the need to keep the optional Google fallback mixing enabled, slightly diluting the independence. |
| 🌍 Community-Driven: The Web Discovery Project allows the community to contribute to improving the index in a privacy-preserving way. | 📊 Niche Feature Focus: Its strong privacy stance and innovative features may appeal more to a specific, privacy-conscious audience than to the general user. |
Overall Rating
4.5 / 5 ★★★★☆
Brave Search is an exceptional, principled search engine that excels in privacy, transparency, and innovation. It is the ideal choice for users seeking to break free from surveillance-based search and actively shape their search experience. It is held back only by the inherent comprehensiveness limitations of a younger index and the occasional rough edges in its AI summarisation. It represents the future of ethical search and is a top recommendation for anyone who values their privacy online.
Key Reviews
-
TechRadar (2025): Hailed as “the best AI search engine for privacy”, praising its independence and user-focused model, but noting its smaller index can be a limitation for obscure queries.
-
Brett in Tech (May 2024): Rated it the “Best overall search engine” for its balance of fantastic results and excellent privacy protections.
-
Search Engine Journal (2025): Concluded that “Brave Search is perfect for users who want a search engine that respects privacy, is easy to use, and is useful,” highlighting its independence and AI summariser features.
Summary: Key Points
-
🏆 Core Strength: Complete independence and a principled, privacy-first ethos. It does not track you, ever.
-
🚀 Key Differentiator: The Goggles feature, which allows for user-controlled custom ranking of results, a powerful tool unmatched by mainstream competitors.
-
🎯 Ideal For:
-
Privacy-conscious users, journalists, and researchers who cannot risk being tracked or profiled.
-
Users frustrated with the declining quality and ad-cluttered results of traditional search engines.
-
Those who want to support and use an independent alternative to the Big Tech monopoly.
-
-
⚠️ Important Considerations:
-
Enable the Web Discovery Project to anonymously contribute to improving the index’s quality and relevance for everyone.
-
For the most obscure queries, be prepared to toggle on Google Fallback Mixing temporarily or refine your search terms.
-
Explore Goggles to discover community-created filters that can tailor results to your specific interests or professional needs.
-
-
💰 Pricing: Completely free to use. An optional Brave Search Premium plan exists for an ad-free experience, but the standard product is funded by non-tracking, privacy-respecting ads.
-
🛠️ Alternatives: DuckDuckGo is a privacy-focused alternative but relies on Bing’s index. Kagi is a superb, paid-for alternative with excellent personalisation, but it is not free. Google remains the most comprehensive option for those who prioritise result breadth over privacy.