Delete Cookies on Exit and How to Whitelist Websites
Cookie management has changed from what many people were used to due to upstream changes on Chromium. The key thing to realize is that using Delete Browsing Data will override any other settings—you can’t whitelist sites there anymore; everything gets deleted. In other words, you will want to never enable this option unless you want everything deleted.
In order to counter this and give people control, Brave has added a setting called Forget me when I close this site in your Shields settings. If you enable it by default (Settings → Shields), it will erase cookies from sites when you’re done with them. Any websites you want to keep your info on can be whitelisted by adjusting the per-site settings using the Brave Shields lion icon in your address bar.
The opposite also applies: if the global setting is off, you can enable Forget me when I close this site on a per-site basis for sites you want to clear data from when finished.
The answer is no; Brave does not intentionally inject any bias into its search results. Many users have discussed that results seem to lean in one direction or another, especially toward liberal viewpoints. I’d like to address why it might appear this way. Before diving in, here are some official responses from Brave on this topic:
Brave Relies on the Web Discovery Project for Indexing
Brave doesn’t use a traditional web crawler like many other search engines. Instead, it relies exclusively on the Web Discovery Project. This means that users who opt in to the project contribute anonymous data about their searches and the web pages they visit within the Brave Browser. Essentially, participating users serve as the web crawlers themselves. This approach can influence search results based on the content that these users are accessing. If a significant number of users visit certain types of content more frequently, it may affect the diversity of indexed content and lead to a perception of bias.
Website Coding and SEO Practices Influence Indexing
The way websites are coded significantly affects how they are indexed by search engines. Search engines rely on HTML tags, meta descriptions, and keywords found in website headers. Skilled web developers and SEO experts optimize websites to rank higher in search results by targeting specific keywords. Organizations with more resources can invest in better web development and SEO, making their content more likely to appear prominently in search results. This can impact the perceived balance of search results, as well-resourced sites may overshadow smaller or less optimized ones.
Brave doesn’t rerank results
Unlike Google, Bing, and other mainstream search engines, Brave does not rerank search results based on your search history or personal data. While Brave does rank results to provide the most relevant information, it doesn’t manipulate these rankings to cater to individual biases or preferences. Many users are accustomed to personalized results, so encountering unpersonalized, neutral results may feel unfamiliar and give the impression of bias. Adjusting to a search engine that doesn’t filter results based on your past behavior can be a surprising experience.
There’s Good News Though
While Brave doesn’t inject bias or rerank results to fit any narrative, they understand that users may want more control over their search experience. To address this, Brave offers a feature called Goggles. Goggles allows you to create custom filters to uprank, downrank, or omit certain types of content from your search results. You can use these Goggles for personal use or share them publicly so others can benefit from your customized search preferences.
This means you’re not limited to the default search experience and can tailor results according to your preferences. Although setting up Goggles requires some effort, it’s a powerful tool for customizing your search experience. If you’re curious and want to learn more, please check out my FAQ article on Goggles
What Are Goggles and How Can They Change Your Search Results?
Goggles Explained:
Goggles are filters created using specific syntax or rules that adjust how Brave Search ranks results. You can follow public Goggles or create your own to change how results are displayed according to your preferences. For example, Goggles like News From The Left and News From The Right offer a higher chance of seeing results aligned with specific political leanings.
Goggles can go beyond politics; for instance, No Pinterest ensures no results from Pinterest appear.
How to use Goggles
After searching, you’ll see the Goggles option appear. You can click it to view available Goggles or click on Discover More to find new ones.
Clicking Discover More takes you to https://search.brave.com/goggles/discover where you can find a variety of Goggles to follow. Unfortunately, not all existing Goggles are displayed at once, so try using specific keywords in the Search Public Goggles box to explore.
Example:
Let’s say I want to follow Tech Blogs. I find it in the Goggles list and hit the “+” to add it to my following list.
Once added, Tech Blogs will move to your list of followed Goggles.
When a Goggle is created, it’s essentially a list of websites with settings to either discard (remove from results), boost (increase likelihood of appearing), or downrank (decrease likelihood of appearing) certain sites in search results.
Sometimes, the name of a Goggle might not fully align with what we expect it to do. For example, News From The Right is set to boost certain right-leaning sources, but it doesn’t downrank or discard any left-leaning results. This means you may still see left-leaning results, even with this Goggle/filter enabled.
Boosting and downranking in Goggles use values from 1 to 10, with 10 having the most impact. News From The Left and News From The Right Goggles use a boost level of 4 at most, meaning they don’t give a strong priority but do increase the chance of seeing results from those boosted sites.
When you visit Goggles Discover Page, you’ll notice About This Goggle buttons next to each Goggle. Clicking these buttons will take you to the source code of the Goggle, where you can view all the settings and syntax. For instance, News From The Right contains syntax with $boost rules, but no $discard rules. This allows you to see the specific websites it’s prioritizing, like PragerU or Breitbart.
Keep in Mind the Purpose of Default Goggles
The default Goggles, such as News From The Left and News From The Right, were created as examples. The lists are not created or maintained by Brave but rather were created by All Sides. However, they haven’t been updated or maintained since July 28, 2023.
Take some time to explore different Goggles to find one that fits your preferences. If existing Goggles don’t meet your needs, you may want to create one of your own. Your custom Goggle could even end up being a valuable resource for others.
How to see and share crash reports on Desktop or Android devices
To see crash reports, go to brave://crashes. If there have been recent crashes, you’ll see a list. To share a report, copy and paste any Uploaded Crash Report ID you find here in the details of your post reporting your issue.
It’s best to copy/paste rather than taking a screenshot, as this reduces the risk of typos and makes it easier for developers or support to work with the report ID accurately.
If you see a Send Now button next to any entry, that means the report hasn’t been uploaded yet. Click Send Now, then close Brave completely to allow it to upload. Wait about 30 seconds, reopen Brave, and check brave://crashes again. The report should now display an Uploaded Crash Report ID.
In order for crash reports to be generated, you may need to have Automatically send diagnostic reports enabled. This setting is in Settings → Privacy and Security.
