Add Bulk / Batch Import/Export for Brave Ad Block / Shields Whitelisted Sites


Description of the issue:

Hi Brave team and community,

I’d like to suggest a small but powerful feature enhancement: support for bulk import/export of site-specific Shields settings — specifically for whitelisting (disabling Shields on certain sites).


:test_tube: Background and Current Behavior

For reference, I’ve been testing this using news.com.au.

  • If I manually visit a site and disable Shields, Brave adds it to
    brave://settings/content/braveShields
    (Privacy and security > Site and shields settings > Shields status > Customised behaviours).
  • While this area doesn’t officially support bulk import/export, copy-paste does work (though its only for export, and error-prone for large lists).

:gear: Old vs. New Behavior

Previously, I could view whitelisted sites under
brave://settings/shields/filters, but now that section only contains “Create custom filters” using Adblock filter syntax.

Example:
Adding just news.com.au to that list does not disable ads for the site.

According to official advice:

I tried adding: @@||news.com.au^

This partially works — the ads blocked counter drops (e.g., from 39 to 15) — but the site is still not fully whitelisted.

:light_bulb: Feature Suggestion

Please consider adding a batch import/export feature to either:

  • brave://settings/content/braveShields (recommended — more user-facing), or
  • brave://settings/shields/filters (for advanced users).

This would allow users to:

  • Sync whitelisted site lists across multiple devices
  • Align filters with 3rd-party ad blockers like uBlock Origin Lite
  • Efficiently manage large allowlists for content-heavy or partner sites

Let me know what you think — happy to refine this idea if needed!

Thanks for all your hard work on Brave. :raising_hands:

Exact URL of the website in question:
brave://settings/content/braveShields

Screenshot of the ad as it appears in Brave:
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Did the issue present with default Shields settings? (yes/no)
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Does the site function as expected when Shields are turned off?
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Does the ad appear when using a Private window as well? (yes/no)
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Windows 11

Version 1.78.102 Chromium: 136.0.7103.113 (Official Build) (64-bit)

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