Is there any way to stop Brave from constantly "phoning home"?

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Hi,

I like Brave but as I’ve seen and read elsewhere it forces updates even when Brave isn’t open and appears there’s no way to stop it.
If I block it it just keeps trying and trying and trying.
.
So I have Brave not being used and it keeps trying to jump on the internet against my wishes. When I’m working on something I don’t want any programs doing anything that have nothing to do with what I’m working on. I do not want ANY programs reaching for the internet without my consent for a couple reasons, one is that some of my work uses most all the resources of my computer and then there’s safety and privacy.

Is there ANY way to stop Brave from updating until I actually open it and then allow it to update?

Thanks.

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Yeah, right here:

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You didn’t mention the operating system / platform you’re using. If it’s Windows

allows you to edit autoruns.

Be aware — and be warned: this is a powerful tool; misuse can get you into trouble.

In my Win-7 installations, there are five Brave-related entries. I disable them on machines that see use in settings with limited internet access. Specific to Brave (not applicable to other browsers), I have to enable these entries and re-boot when I subsequently want to download / install Brave updates.

My experience: unless these autoruns are disabled, when Brave is started, it will automatically search for | download | install updates.

There are various similar options for **nix installations which I’m puzzling out anticipating Win-7’s end-of-life. I’m still on the steep side of that learning curve.

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@redbike9
Do you think Brave is doing something he shouldn’t (according to the setting) do despite the setting being disabled? Then please post it in the Support and Troubleshooting section to fix the problem. Your method may be interesting, but you describe it indirectly as risky.

Be aware — and be warned: this is a powerful tool; misuse can get you into trouble.

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The suggestion I posted — under Windows 7: editing Brave-related autoruns — consistently and reliably allows me to control whether and when Brave downloads and installs updates. Dating back to Brave’s Muon version, despite user requests, there’s been no user control over whether and when Brave downloads and installs updates, which is what the query from @Stota was about. My suggestion reliably works for me. And yes, a tool that edits autoruns has risks associated with it.

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Hi, I think you misunderstood the post.

It was about Brave not becoming active in the background, for example to download updates, not to block the entire update process.

And the most important thing:

…

It is also possible that the thread has not been completely clear.

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Thanks MediaBird and redbike9!

I have Windows 10, sorry I didn’t add that before.

I got fed up with it shortly after posting and uninstalled Brave and moved on so it won’t be an issue for me anymore but for others I wish there was an easy way to only update upon it being opened.

One thing on uninstall, and I’ll post this in Support and Troubleshooting, I uninstalled using Windows normal uninstall process, then it was gone from my list of programs, shortcuts were gone and then… shortly thereafter what do I see?
Brave Update trying to access the internet. So I go in the program files and see Brave Update still there, so I delete that and then I see Brave (brave.exe) trying to access the internet, so I got rid of that and have been good since.

So that’s something to seriously look into, it is a bit worrisome.

I’ll post this over there. Thanks again.

Peace.

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As @MediaBird linked, the background process on Windows is launched when Brave is launched and its continues to run if you don’t disable background services to stop. Using Windows specific tools to manage background services is at users risks as it may cause unexpected issues but if you are proficient enough in using such tools then its fine. If background service is disabled then the updater only initialises when visit about brave from settings and continues to run until the browser is closed. Hope this clears the confusion

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@Stota
Somewhat off-topic, but what browser are you using now that isn’t communicating for updates in the background?

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We are allowed to post workarounds to issues I assume - yes?
I think that is all @redbike9 was doing. If the OP has used this workaround - he may still be using Brave instead of removing it and moving on to another browser.

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Why do you take my post so negatively? I was just trying to find out what information the creator was looking for.

May the Force be with you. :pray:

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You question his understanding of the OP’s post - and thus the basis of his solution. If you were simply trying to understand to OP’s question then ask to OP to clarify. This sounded like a mild scolding of @redbike9, to me, for providing a an answer to a question you think was not asked. The OP did also say ‘until I actually open it and then allow it to update’. Does your solution stop Brave from updating until ‘he allows it’? You could work with the OP on your method - and @redbike9 could do the same. When you get critical of @redbike9’s solution - then it seems you are being negative towards his interpretation of the OP’s question. How about let the OP decide which route is the best solution and/or to clarify it better.

Anyway, I was not overly offended or bothered by your comment. I did ask a question that is relevant in my mind. Some boards are monitored and moderated by people who can be very particular in their approaches - and your response made me question whether this may be one of the more strict boards that don’t want workarounds to be posted. I could ask the same - why do you take my post so negatively? Because it questions you - as you questioned @redbike9?

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Well, I don’t understand why you write texts like books here, but well.

You don’t need to write as many words as “relevant”, and you don’t need to question my approach either. But for you :wink: :

If you can clarify what the thread creator really needs, you can get the following posts to provide the corresponding answers. Would you rather have more “ideas”, which might be quite digressive? We can also write some registry workarounds here, maybe recommendations to install Linux, etc. These are all solutions, yes, but changing a simple setting is more logical.

If you want to publish your books, here:
https://kdp.amazon.com/

Edit:

Reads differently.

Edit2:
By the way, did you notice that you linked redbike9 four times? I think you should go on a problem search - inside yourself.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

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Well, I don’t understand why you write texts like books here, but well.

It’s a post - not a text - sorry too many words bother you

You don’t need to write as many words as “relevant”, and you don’t need to question my approach either. But for you :wink: :

Not a matter of being relevant - it’s a matter of expressing ideas and having a discussion. Often, that involves more than a few words or ‘one liners’

If you can clarify what the thread creator really needs, you can get the following posts to provide the corresponding answers. Would you rather have more “ideas”, which might be quite digressive? We can also write some registry workarounds here, maybe recommendations to install Linux, etc. These are all solutions, yes, but changing a simple setting is more logical.

I didn’t post another solution as I actually felt that @redbike9 had a very viable solution if yours was not what the OP was looking for. I also did not think your solution was necessarily correct since the OP said they wanted to ALLOW when the updates were downloaded and applied. I do work that frequently has docs that are local HTML files - so I read them in the browser - yet I do not want applications (including the browser) using the internet while I have the docs open.

I also use the browser to test internal web development sites I work on - and in some cases do not want the internet being used by other apps/browser for testing and performance analysis purposes. So again, redbike9’s solution handles those scenarios - which MAY very well be what the OP was asking for since they asked to ALLOW when these updates occur.

It is also application etiquette to no just be using the internet without a way of controlling it. Again, in my case, I use a metered internet connection and would prefer that software not be out there pulling updates whenever it feels like it. So, from my perspective, with the OP saying they want to ALLOW updates when they see fit - I can understand why they may actually mean what they said.

If you want to publish your books, here:

Cute… :wink:

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So, maybe I’m misinterpreting the Task Manager’s listings, but after I’ve toggled the background apps setting to off in Brave Settings, then ended the two Brave Update processes in Task Manager and checked that the services are stopped, relaunching Brave and doing brave://help to check for/download updates, relaunching to implement updates, and exiting Brave, I find that the two Brave Update processes are back in the background processes list, albeit with no CPU usage and the services stopped.

I don’t personally have much of an issue with them sitting there, but the OP apparently does. @Stota, did you try toggling the setting and check Brave’s traffic after relaunching with the setting off and observe continued attempts at phoning home?

Regards,
Hnk

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This thread is slowly becoming very confusing…

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Under Windows, “autoruns” fall into a few different categories. One is “run once”, the meaning of which is self-evident (at least to me). More typically, autoruns — once they’re started — you know — run; that’s what autoruns do. They’re like the sorcerer’s apprentice’s broom, going out for another bucket of water. You need a sorcerer to stop them.

One way to stop autoruns is to — cautiously — employ the Microsoft utility I previously referenced to disable autoruns that on their own do Stuff I want to control — and this is essential — reboot. Autoruns start when a computer boots. To stop them, you have to disable them — and reboot. This is not confusing. It’s basic computer hygiene.

In my opinion, a much better alternative to editing autoruns is apps that explicitly give users choice and control over what happens in the background.

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@MediaBird plenty of people uninstall but haven’t shared everything they tried beforehand. Plus, if something promising or relatively easy, at least, comes along that might fix, a lot of people will reinstall to try again. I’ve done it. I know many who have. Q.E.D.

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There is no need to be alarmed about the update process that runs in background. As mentioned before you can always disable running autoupdater by disabling background services in advanced settings. That being said if you visit About Brave that will still trigger manual update check which calls the background process and will continue to run until the browser process is closed. There are a few components that trigger update check everytime you launch like adblock/ httpse/tracking protection/safebrowsing which are required to keep your shields settings upto date so these calls are required.

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