BRAVE (MacOS) Constantly Blocking Websites, Aborting Downloads

I had to create a new user account on my Mac Studio, because torrent downloads weren’t working properly. In the new account, everything works as expected… except Brave. No problems with Brave in the old account… constantly getting ‘is blocked’ (ERR_BLOCKED_BY_CLIENT) errors when clicking on d/l links (using Private page with Tor). Tried turning off 'WebTorrent under Settings > Extensions (it wasn’t on). Sometimes, though, d/ls will start, then abort with ‘something went wrong’ error. Any ideas what I can try..?

Brave Version( v1.78.102) MacOS Sequoia 15.3

TIA,

@Sesquicunnus

Something for Mac users to monitor, are the Diagnostic Reports. Example:

  • /Users/YOURUSERNAME/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Brave Browser_2025-02-27-002018_MY_MAC.crash

Those reports can be read by opening them with the MacOS Console.app that is located in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder.

The reports - if any - are definitely “geek material.” But something may be worth noting and reporting here (but NOT all of such a report’s contents).

That said, based upon other Brave Community members who are frustrated with downloading, the over-the-Internet route is sometimes not good enough, and some exploration of alternative routes leads to discovering something that works. Example: shifting VPN connections.

Some adblock rule might be a problem. Sometimes monitoring the BB Developer Tools > Network [tab] window shows a persistent block affecting traffic. @fanboynz may be available (and much more able than I) to help you narrow down the issue.

Testing an alternate BB User Profile, sometimes helps. Sometimes testing by using BB Beta, provides useful info (it works, but the BB standard release has a problem?). And sometimes, I will use an alternate MacOS user account.

Tips regarding Brave Shields:

I have more success, with:

  • Brave Shields UP
  • Either Allow All Cookies or Block 3rd Party Cookies, but NOT Blocking All Cookies
  • Allowing JavaScripts from specific sources, but NOT Allowing All JavaScripts
  • Trackers & Ads treatment: Aggressive (at first), and then incrementally relaxing that setting
  • Fingerprinting (aka footprinting) blocking: Strict (at first), and then incrementally relaxing that setting

I almost NEVER use:

  • All of Brave Shields UP
  • All of Brave Shields DOWN

Shields Basics

How do I configure global and site-specific Shields settings?

How do I use Shields while browsing?