PSA: Current FAQ

Creators showing unverified even though I’m verified

If your website is showing as an Unverified Creator even though you’re verified, then try the steps below. If they don’t work, then create a support ticket.

Step 1
Make sure your region is supported. Just because you’re linked to a custodial partner doesn’t mean your region is supported. You can verify this by making sure your country is on the list at https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/articles/6539887971469

Step 2
Hit the refresh button that appears next to where it says Unverified Creator. Sometimes this simple refresh is enough to resolve the issue for you.

Step 3
Go to your Creators dashboard and disconnect from the custodial partner, then reconnect. Sometimes this refreshes things and resolves issue within 24 hours. You may need to repeat Step 1 for yourself again.


Those are primary steps which resolve for some people. If that doesn’t do it, then create a Creators Support Ticket at https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=10061687185549 and someone from Brave will investigate

5 Likes

How do I participate in Rewards?


On the far right hand side of your address/URL bar, you’ll see New Tab - Brave 1_18_2023 22_59_11 which is the Rewards icon. If you have never tapped/clicked on it before, then when you click on it you’ll see the prompt below:

Photos 1_18_2023 23_00_49

After you take the tour, you’ll want to hit Start Using Brave Rewards and it will then prompt you to choose your country.

-NOTE- The country you select must be the one you’ll have a passport or other photo ID when you go to connect to a custodial partner, assuming you want to earn BAT for yourself and receive payouts. If the country you choose doesn’t match the ID you used with Uphold, Gemini, or whichever partner you’re using then you’ll get a Country Mismatch error and will have to reset Rewards or change your ID before you can participate.

New Tab - Brave 1_18_2023 23_04_16

Then you’ll need to connect to a custodial partner, such as Uphold or Gemini if you want to be able to earn. If you can’t create an account with them for any reason, then you can still participate but all earnings will be auto-contributed.

However, if you’re able to create an account and link it to Brave, then you’ll be able to receive payouts each month based on the Brave Ads that have appeared on your device.

Once that step is done, all you need to do is make sure that Brave is allowed to show notifications on your device. Many of the ads Brave shows will be notifications, though there are other types. Keep in mind that you never have to click on ads to earn anything. In fact, Brave only wants you to click on ads if you’re interested in them. Just having them appear is all that’s needed for you to earn BAT.

5 Likes

When will I receive my Rewards payment?


Payments begin processing around the 7th of each month. It’s important to remember that this is when the process begins and is not when you’re guaranteed to receive your pay.

Brave Support typically updates a topic, Ads Payout Status Update, that you can check each month to see the overall status of payments.

NOTE

Generally your Estimated Earnings will become 0 on the final day of the month and then will process and send starting around the 7th. The dates generally go by United States on Pacific time. So if you’re in Europe or other areas, you’ll need to keep the time difference in mind.

3 Likes

How can I see more ads?


There’s no real way to increase the number of ads you can see. However, there are things you can do to make sure you’re not missing out on potential ads. For example:

  • Make sure settings like Focus Assist (on Windows) are turned off. Many OS or devices come with these settings now, which will pause all notifications during hours it thinks you’re sleeping or while you’re busy doing things, such as playing games or watching videos. If it pauses notifications, that means it will pause ads.

  • Make sure your New Tab Page settings (SettingsNew Tab Page or on your New Tab Page, go to Customize) has Sponsored Images turned on. This will allow possible ads to be served when you open a new tab.

  • Make sure Brave News is turned on. On Desktop you go to Customize on your New Tab Page and then to Brave News and make sure it’s enabled. On iPhone and Android, you need to go SettingsBrave News.

  • Make sure your IP address and device Locale are the same. If these don’t match, you can have issues receiving ads or getting paid for the ads you do see. This is especially important to remember if you use a VPN. (Same goes with proxy servers, usually bad to have as can cause issues)

  • Do your part to spread word about Brave. The more people who are aware will help to bring advertisers. More advertisers in your area = more ads.

  • Use your device casually and make sure it’s running. Overall it observes our activity. As long as we’re moderately active on our devices and letting notifications serve, we’ll usually do well. Just keep in mind if you leave a device unattended for extended periods of time, you’ll see less ads. Yet in the same token, if it’s constantly in use and seems like someone is using it to “farm” Rewards, then it also will reduce ads.

For all others on what to avoid, check out part about Why do profiles get flagged?

2 Likes

What types of ads are there?


There are currently four types of ads available. These are:

  • Push Notifications (PN) - These will appear in the Notification Center of your device. The maximum amount of PN ads you can receive are 10 per hour, up to 100 per day. That said, the maximum number will almost never be reached.

  • Sponsored Images (SI) - These are also referred to as New Tab Page (NTP) ads. These are shown to you when you visit a NTP. The maximum amount of SI you can receive is 20 per day, with a maximum of 1 every 15 minutes. Unlike PN ads, you these will be big ads that are designs that take up the entirety of the background of your NTP. The designs/images can vary greatly.

  • Inline Content (IC) - These will be shown to you as you scroll through Brave News, which is below your New Tab Page. The maximum amount of IC ads you can see are 12 per hour, up to 60 per day. As with PN ads, you’re not guaranteed the maximum and may come nowhere close.

  • Search Ads - These are still in beta at the time of writing the FAQ and, as a result, won’t be available via Rewards. However, once set these will appear during searches at Brave Search and we will be able to earn BAT from them. The maximum amount we can see is unknown at this time. However, this will be a good way to increase monthly earnings while looking for things you need.

NTP Ad Example:

Brave News Ad Example: (See the BAT triangle on top right that says ad? It appears mixed in with news sources as you scroll through Brave News. They can be big or small

)

4 Likes

Why can’t I get paid directly to Brave Wallet?


In order to comply with current financial regulations (such as FinCEN and OFAC requirements, or equivalent regulators outside the United States), payouts at this time must first go through a regulated custodian. Once you receive BAT into your custodial account, though, you can always then withdraw it on-chain to your Brave Wallet.

Part of the issue is that Brave would have to KYC/AML everyone directly, which they are trying to prevent. Another is that they would have to obtain licenses and all, such as Money Transmitter License (MTL) among others. There’s a lot of hoops and hurdles to jump through, much risk in considering those things, and definitely a lot of expenses. The safest and most effective way to resolve all of this has been just to make sure to use custodial partners like Uphold and Gemini, which are able to make sure all regulations are being met.

4 Likes

Why is a custodial partner necessary?


To have better accountability and transparency of BAT, to reduce fraud, and to abide by government regulations.

In the past, Brave allowed people to earn BAT in the form of vBAT. This vBAT was able to be tipped to Creators and would be able to be earned even while not Verified. Unfortunately this resulted in a lot of people creating bot accounts and even offered exchanges on Discord and others, where transactions were occurring that were nothing short of money laundering. This illegal activity definitely caused some negative feedback and potential issues, especially from governments.

That aside, there also was the issue of people who lost devices, quit using Brave, etc. With BAT being a closed system with a limited supply, this made things difficult for Brave to be able to guarantee we had BAT circulating and available for everyone. By moving to the idea of using custodial partners, there’s no more worry about whether anything was lost to corrupt profiles, lost devices, etc. and there’s better accountability overall.

NOTE

It has been teased that Brave is looking into options that will allow them to offer on chain BAT payouts. If done, this would likely be done on Solana. This would be part of Boomerang.

If and when this happens, it would erase the requirement for using a custodial partner. Stay tuned for more possible news on this in the future. They are still going through legal and trying to make sure that this could be done with no issues.

5 Likes

Why can’t we link to Binance or some other exchange?


I’ll quote Brendan Eich, CEO of Brave on this one:

The process in having a business relationship with exchanges is more difficult than Users may realize. There are a lot of fees and other arrangements that need to be set up to happen.
That said, we are in talks with multiple and hoping to reach new deals to expand offerings. In fact, we can’t give details, but we have a major deal we’re hoping to reach soon that would make Users very happy. We are also always reaching out and trying to do business with other companies, but it takes time.

If you’d like to see Binance or any other exchange that’s not currently offered by Brave, then I’d encourage you to reach out to that exchange and share that you would like to see them do business with Brave. If you and others can create enough of a demand, I’m sure they’ll make arrangements and make it happen.

7 Likes

Why do profiles get flagged?


Profiles get flagged based on what the system sees as activity that violates the Terms and/or is an attempt at fraud. If you have been flagged, you’ll likely want to know what caused you to be flagged. Unfortunately, Brave’s policy is that they won’t reveal what activity resulted in an account being flagged.

Obviously this makes this challenging to figure things out if you did something accidentally, but it’s been done because people who were doing wrong just used the information to try to better avoid detection in the future. It’s a tough balance.

Ideally, I’d like to give a big list of potential issues. However, little to nothing has been confirmed by Brave and I want to avoid any speculation. We can provide random lists, but without confirmation it’s all theories.

What I CAN tell you is that you’ll often hear people mention VPN as one of the things causing people to be flagged. What has been confirmed is that just using a VPN is not enough to get you flagged. However, it is a contributing factor along with other activity to abuse Rewards or defraud advertisers.

The simple and concise way of thinking about it though is that the system essentially uses a logic puzzle. It bases everything on casual use by the “average” person. If your use seems far out of the ordinary, especially in a way that might be at a disadvantage to Brave or advertisers, you’ll likely see the account flagged.

7 Likes

Why is KYC/AML required?


Short answer is because it’s required by governments and it’s dangerous not to comply.

There was someone who asked for references to the laws or at least for information to show where it’s required. Below is an answer I gave them, which I hope might serve as a starting point for anyone interested. It’s not a perfect answer but it should help provide a lot of information and get you on a starting point to research on your own, if you really care to know.


United States:

Part of it is buried in https://www.fincen.gov/resources/statutes-regulations/usa-patriot-act

Another portion which might help you is https://www.innreg.com/blog/fincen-cryptocurrency-regulation-foundations-four-key-msb

European Union

Then you have https://www.mobbeel.com/en/blog/kyc-mandatory-2024-wallets-exchanges-cryptocurrencies/

https://www.protocol.com/fintech/eu-crypto-kyc

https://decrypt.co/104110/eu-crypto-anti-money-laundering-rules-private-wallets

World Economic Forum

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/why-crypto-businesses-need-anti-money-laundering-regulations/ interesting.


There’s a lot of variations and you have to dig deep to find all the specifics. But most push it under the idea of combating terrorism, making claims that cryptocurrency is used for money laundering and funding of crimes. Therefore things continuously are getting stricter on enforcement and they are constantly trying to regulate cryptocurrency in general. Governments are even starting to look at DeFi, such as you can read about at

It’s kind of crazy all the things going on. But yes, nationally and internationally there’s a lot of specific mandates. One might be able to go through the swamp and make arguments that things like BAT payouts could fit outside of some of those areas.

The thing is, the penalty for not complying can be imprisonment, fines, etc. For example:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/high-ranking-employee-cryptocurrency-exchange-pleads-guilty-bank-secrecy-act-violations

https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8412-21

So question is, would you really want to risk it if it were you? Governments are big on mandating these things. Even India now is trying to require all VPN and crypto exchanges to do something like KYC and to hold all records for 5 years. This is why it’s required and why Brave has decided to use custodial partners that are properly licensed and following regulations.

NOTE

It has been teased that Brave is looking into options that will allow them to offer on chain BAT payouts. If done, this would likely be done on Solana. This would be part of Boomerang.

If and when this happens, it would erase the requirement for using a custodial partner. Stay tuned for more possible news on this in the future. They are still going through legal and trying to make sure that this could be done with no issues. Of course, this would also potentially mean no KYC/AML required.

4 Likes

What are the best settings for Shields?

This is a difficult one to answer as it depends on your preferences. The default settings will block a lot but isn’t as solid as it could be. This is because it goes by moderate settings to avoid possibly breaking websites.

However, as time has gone by, it seems like it’s better to activate special filters and to increase the settings. The overall recommendation is:

GLOBAL SETTINGS

Content Filters

image

NOTE
Keep in mind you have a higher chance of breaking sites or experiencing issues with the more filters under Content Filtering you have active. So I wouldn’t go crazy with it and you usually can have little to no issues just using Fanboy Annoyances and uBlock Annoyances on your device. Though you may need to activate a region specific one if you’re outside of the USA and still seeing ads on content designed for your region.

6 Likes

How come I’m still seeing ads?

There’s a few possibilities. Overall Shields should stop ads and you’ll have little to no problems. However, it’s important to remember that advertisers are paying people to try to bypass ads, just as staff here is always improving filters to prevent ads from showing. This means every once in a while, something might work temporarily.

So what should you do if you see ads? There are two primary steps:

-Step 1: Troubleshooting:

  • The first thing to check is that you’re using the most recent version of Brave.

  • Second thing is to check your Shield settings. If it’s not on Aggressively block trackers * ads, set it to that. Does it help? (or if already had strictest, does easing it help?)

  • Next,(Desktop and Android only), Go to brave://components and make sure to Check for update on everything there.

  • When the above doesn’t work, the next step is to try opening the page in a Private Window (available on all devices). If ads don’t show here, then it suggests it’s likely an extension or a bad cookie. So disabling/removing extensions and/or clearing cookies would be a good place to start.

  • (Desktop only). Create a new profile and test the site just once more. This again is testing for extensions but it goes one step further to also see if it’s something in your settings. If you see no ads on your new profile but see it on the old, it suggests it’s a setting, cookie, or extension. So then it’s just messing with things until you discover the culprit

-Step 2: Reporting:

If ads on websites still persist after basic troubleshooting steps, then you’ll want to create a topic here under Ad-Blocking, which is Ad-Blocking

When you create your topic, make sure to provide the following info:

  • Which version of Brave you’re using.

  • Which OS and OS version (such as Windows 11, Android 12, etc)

  • The exact website you’re having issues with (provide URL)

  • Screenshot of the ad, if possible.

  • Which troubleshooting steps you’ve tried and the results.

From there, Fanboynz and the rest of the Brave team will typically investigate and make any changes possible to filters so that the ad will be blocked again in the future.

3 Likes

Will Shields still work after Manifest V3?

Yes, they will! Brave has long been prepared for this and has their ad-blocking built into the browser through Rust. As a result, Manifest V3 will have absolutely no effect on Brave.

To better quote from what has been said by Brave directly about whether Manifest V3 would break Shields:

This Manifest V3 been delayed for a couple years. They first announced it in 2019 and our team put together a rewrite of our adblocking engine with Rust and then put it into the core for the browser for the network request. So we’re not coming in on the same API that’s affected by Manifest V3. Brendan has also talked about possibly providing support for other adblocking extensions too, but that will be disclosed at a later date. When this rolls out, most likely you’ll see a softer experience on blockers that aren’t on Brave, but Brave will still have the blocking you expect.

3 Likes

How do I become a Creator?


You’ll need to go to https://creators.brave.com/ and create an account. Then provide all the information requested. Things like links to your content and much more will be required. Also make sure you thoroughly read all the Terms at https://basicattentiontoken.org/publisher-terms-of-service/

3 Likes

Creators Suspensions


If you have received a suspension notice for your Creators account, the only way you can get assistance is to write an email to suspensions@brave.com. Creators suspensions ARE NOT handled here on Brave Community or via a support ticket. The emails are your only option.

Typically they go through Creators suspensions emails once a month and try to make decisions. How long you’ll have to wait will often depend on your luck and the timing of when they are going through it.

When you do write your email to suspensions@brave.com, do be sure to answer the questions below:

  1. How did you solicit tips/referrals/etc.?
  2. Do you believe you may have done something to trigger our security checks? If so, please explain in detail.
2 Likes

How to get support for Creator issues other than suspensions?


Any issues with Creators such as payment related issues, not showing as Verified, adding extra channels, or anything other than suspensions typically will be best handled by creating a Creators Support Ticket at https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=10061687185549

You can also create a topic here on Brave Community, over at Creators, though chances are they’ll refer you to create a support ticket as they’ll need information that ideally shouldn’t be made public, such as the email associated with your account in order to better assist you.

3 Likes

How to backup on Desktop


The official response for doing backups of your data to keep it safe or move it to another device will be below. Then underneath that, you’ll see other options.

OFFICIAL METHODS

OPTION 1 Backup Method (minimal)

  1. Go to brave://password-manager/settings and Download File where it says Export Passwords
  2. Go to brave://bookmarks/ and Export Bookmarks from the hamburger menu image on top right.
  3. If using Brave Wallet and you don’t have your phrase saved, go to brave://wallet/crypto/backup-wallet and you can get it.

Option 1 Restore Method

  1. Go to brave://password-manager/settings and Select File where it says Import Passwords
  2. Go to brave://bookmarks/ and Import Bookmarks from the hamburger menu image on top right.
  3. Click on Brave Wallet, click Restore, enter your phrase and create a password.

This will keep your vital information. However, it doesn’t keep any of your settings, extensions, favorites, etc. But it’s the only “official” way they have shared.

**OPTION 2 Backup Method

This is everything from Option 1 except includes a workaround on getting all of the other data. Brave staff has shared this, but yet it’s still not considered an official method.

  1. Go to brave://password-manager/settings and Download File where it says Export Passwords
  2. Go to brave://version and look for Profile Path and take note of it’s location
    • For example, it might be C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default
  3. From your OS, do a backup (copy/paste) of your entire \brave-browser folder
  4. If using Brave Wallet and you don’t have your phrase saved, go to brave://wallet/crypto/backup-wallet and you can get it.

At this point, all of your information will be backed up. Overall it should work with no issues but the \brave-browser information could potentially have issues if the browser version lags behind the current too much.

Option 2 Restore Method

  1. Install Brave and then replace the \brave-browser folder with the one you saved prior.
  2. Go to brave://settings/passwords and Import Passwords, choosing the file you exported earlier.
  3. Click on Brave Wallet, click Restore, enter your phrase and create a password. (if needing to restore your Wallet)

This should restore everything on your browser just as you had it at the time of the backup. Keep in mind that if the backup folder is from a much older version, there could be issues. Otherwise this should give you all your extensions, settings, bookmarks, passwords, history, etc.

Unofficial (Short-term) Method:

Before I share the method, let me give this warning. It is important to realize is that officially, Brave does not support sync as a form of backup. To put it in the exact words of the developers:

Warning: Brave does not officially support using the Sync code as a backup and you should not rely on this continuing to work in to the future. Use the export functionality in bookmarks and the password manager instead.

Backup Method:

  1. Go to brave://settings/braveSync/setup (settingssync) and either create a sync chain if you don’t already have one. Then make sure to write down the phrase.
    • -NOTE- This phrase changes daily. So don’t rely on this as a permanent method.
  2. If using Brave Wallet and you don’t have your phrase saved, go to brave://wallet/crypto/backup-wallet and you can get it.

Restore Method:

  1. Go to brave://settings/braveSync/setup (settingssync) and choose I have a Sync Code and then enter the code you previously saved.
    • -NOTE- If this code is older than a day it will no longer be valid. Hence why this isn’t a recommended option.
  2. Click on Brave Wallet, click Restore, enter your phrase and create a password. (if needing to restore your Wallet)

-NOTE-

I just want to emphasize again that the sync codes change daily. So if you try to keep it as a backup, you risk losing info. It is always good to manually Export and Import passwords and bookmarks if you want to make sure these stay safe.

5 Likes

How to backup on Mobile


Sadly there is no official way to do a backup of your data on Android or iOS. The only way to do a backup of your BAT is to have it connected to Uphold or Gemini.

iOS

You can go Hamburger MenuBookmarks to then Export Bookmarks or Import Bookmarks but that’s the only thing you can import/export or have as a backup. All other information needs to be done using Sync.

Android

Has an option in SettingsPasswords to Export Passwords but there’s not an option to Import Passwords. Therefore, only way to do anything is via Sync.


The Mobile Product Manager recently spoke that they were working on developing further options. Until then, the ONLY real form of backup for Mobile is Brave Sync. However, that’s not officially supported and the sync phrase changes daily. This means it’s not a long term or reliable form of backup.

To set up sync, go to SettingsSync and then Start a new Sync Chain if you don’t have one yet. Then make sure you choose to sync everything and write down the code.

To then have all the data moved to new or formatted device, you’d then go to SettingsSync and then I have a Sync Code where you’d put in the code you had just written down.

–NOTE–

I just want to emphasize again that the Sync Code changes daily. Also, as the developers have said:

Warning: Brave does not officially support using the Sync code as a backup and you should not rely on this continuing to work in to the future.

It should be fine as long as you have other devices on the sync chain or if you can set everything up and transfer right away. But unfortunately there’s no satisfactory way to do a backup of Mobile data at this time.

6 Likes

Sync is not a backup


This is important enough to make its own little FAQ topic. Let me quote one of the developers:

Warning: Brave does not officially support using the Sync code as a backup and you should not rely on this continuing to work in to the future. Use the export functionality in bookmarks and the password manager instead.

Let me be very clear here, the Sync Code changes daily. It’s always possible they may change how that works again in the future. The vital part here is that everyone realize you won’t be able to just write down the phrase, stash it away, and be able to rely on it to restore your information in the future. Unfortunately, that’s not what they want Sync to be used for.

Temporary Solution for expired phrase

At the time of writing this FAQ, there is a workaround for anyone who might not have been aware of this in the past. However, there’s no guarantee of when this link will stop working. So I highly recommend you don’t rely on it. The workaround at the time of writing this is that only the 25th word changes and you simply need to replace it. The current 25th word is found at https://alexeybarabash.github.io/25th-brave-sync-word/

–NOTE–

Don’t rely on that link. I know it’s tempting and it might last a while, but it will eventually change. Anyone who relies on it and thinks it lasts permanently might be in for a rude awakening if one day they come to use it to restore their data and they can’t.

Why does this code expire on a daily basis?

There have been a lot of instances where people have accidentally shared QR codes or phrases, whether it be here or on other platforms. They even had people who were scanning the QR code listed at https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/articles/360021218111-How-do-I-set-up-Sync- which had been an active QR code to a dummy account, but as people scanned it they shared and accessed information with other users.

Seeing that lack of common sense and the security risk, Brave decided it was necessary to have it expire on a regular basis so that information is better protected. Unfortunately it’s always the small percentage of people who ruin it for the majority.

4 Likes

How to start a new sync chain


Step 1:

  • Go to SettingsSync

Here you’ll see something like the image below:

Settings - Brave 1_19_2023 18_55_54

NOTE If you don’t see these options, it likely means you have already started a chain. If that’s the case, you don’t need to progress further. Your page when you navigated to Sync should show your device and then also buttons that say View Sync Code and Add New Device. Both of those do the same thing but take you different ways to access the sync code or QR.

Step 2:

  • Click/tap Start a new Sync Chain

At this point you’ll get to a screen like below:

Settings - Brave 1_19_2023 19_00_19

Step 3

  • Choose the type of code you’d like. If you click on Phone/Tablet it will show you a QR Code you can save to use. If you choose Computer it will give you a 25 word sync code.

(screenshot below, though with some words blotted out. Temporary/blank profile anyway, just FYI.)

Photos 1_19_2023 19_02_36

Step 4

  • Write down the code or in some way save it so it can be used on the second device (code changes daily, so what you see now won’t be able to be used tomorrow). Then hit Ok.

Step 5

  • Choose what type of information you want to be synced. (design will be different on Mobile, with fewer options of what can be synced, but all is similar)

From here, you’re all set. Just need to add devices to your sync chain.

-NOTE-

Keep in mind that, as I mentioned in Step 4, this Sync Code changes daily. If you hadn’t seen it, make sure you read Sync is not a backup

4 Likes