Pardon, if you and others may, where I am blunt . . . Your concern, issue, is presently a convenient place for me to address the Brave Browser for iOS Sync BUG(s). (Please do not take this, personally; tx.)
The Brave Browser for iOS Bookmarks function, has bugs. BB iOS Bookmarks is NOT STABLE.
The net result, is that the BOOKMARKS file of BB iOS, cannot be relied upon, to be READ WRITE -able, and STRUCTURALLY SOLID . . . in the event of a Sync process being generated . . . from iOS device to desktop computer . . . that the Sync would then succeed.
The Bookmarks file of BB iOS – if the file has FEW bookmark entries – might work, iOS device to desktop computer.
But, a Bookmarks file of BB iOS with hundreds (and esp. thousands) of entries - including dozens (or hundreds) of folders AND SUB-FOLDERS . . . just might be one of the causes for the long-suffering Sync issue / problem / troubles: iOS device to desktop computer.
The reason I am blunt about all that, is because, as a tech. rep. observer of things, I was around (customers issues with, and) for the teething of Apple’s .mac, then .me, then .icloud . . . Sync efforts.
The occurrence of duplicate and triplicate records of entries and / or events, soon taught us, that in order to survive the mess, an Apple Mac and / or iOS user, MUST routinely back up their involved data, such as their Bookmarks file.
Our backup method, was to nightly (while nobody was around), initiate a compression of certain parent folders, such as a .zip compression, or using tar - a .tgz file would result. And next, such compressed files of, for example - the BraveSoftware folder at:
/Users/your_username/Library/Application\ Support/BraveSoftware
compressed result:
“20220213_Sunday_BB_Bookmarks_bkup.zip”
that would be copied to some external hard drives (plural) . . . so that, the valuable Bookmarks were not lost – they would survive the machinations of the never reliable Sync.
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That said - re the need for manual backups - the need to fix the Sync problem, might include the establishment of Which Device shall be the home nest, the senior or most reliable home for your Bookmarks.
FIRST
Disable BB Sync on all devices involved.
In the case of BB iOS Sync, choose the desktop or laptop computer, as the home nest for Bookmarks: Make sure that you approve of its (the home nest) Bookmarks. Export a copy of those Bookmarks. Save an extra copy to some external drive(s).
SECOND
Delete or remove all the entries / records of Bookmarks on the iOS device.
Clear the cookies that you can, all the cache, and whatever website data, and history, from all devices.
Restart your iDevices, following Apple’s guidance:
“https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201559”
THIRD
For the Sync settings of all devices, allow ONLY the Bookmarks, to be subject to Sync’ing.
FOURTH
Enable Sync, first, on the desktop computer - the “home nest” for Bookmarks.
FIFTH
Enable Sync on the iOS device.
The Bookmarks of the “home nest” should Sync / flow to the iOS device.
SIXTH
If that worked OK, now add just one new bookmark to the BB Bookmarks of the iOS device.
Did that single, new bookmark show up at the “home nest?”
If “Yes” then good. If “No” then (for now) the problem is more likely to be with the Sync processing, than the Bookmarks file. (But, if Chromium Sync v2 is working, then probably the Bookmarks function needs attention)
But I still am not satisfied with the BB iOS Bookmarks lack of stability and support.
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Brave Browser Sync Design - at GitHub:
Brave Browser Sync v2 - at GitHub
Note, in that last link (Sync v2; Brian Clifton edited this page on Oct 11, 2021):
Sync v2 is fully live on Desktop and Android. iOS supports sync also - but only bookmarks and history at the moment. We’re working on more types now - you can click here to see open issues tracking that work.
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Might help: