Privacy-oriented browser Brave launches 'Brave Ads,' a service that rewards you for viewing...

[Polycount]

Regardless of how you feel about advertisements, they clearly aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Although the use of adblockers is on the rise, advertising companies continue to find different ways to get products in front of potential customers. Promoted videos, livestreams, and viral marketing are just a few of those methods.

Now, advertisers are working with privacy company Brave to actively reward users for viewing ads, without compromising their privacy. This idea comes in the form of Brave Rewards, a feature exclusive to the Brave browser.

Android or Desktop users can now earn a "70% revenue share" for all "Brave Ads" they view. Unlike traditional web ads, Brave Ads do not interrupt your browsing experience. They come in the form of notifications, so you won't see them plastered throughout website side bars or banner areas.

User earnings are delivered in the form of "Basic Attention Tokens" (BAT), a form of cryptocurrency that can be stored in an in-browser wallet and used to tip your favorite content creators or websites.

If that doesn't sound like much of a reward to you, don't worry. Soon, you'll be able to convert them into more useful "premium" rewards, such as hotel stays, restaurant coupons, and gift cards. Eventually, Brave will also make it possible to convert BAT into real, usable cash.

Brave Ads will be targeted to you based on the websites you visit, but that data is local to your device - none of it will be shared with Brave or advertisers themselves. As Brave puts it, "Users see rewarding ads, without web-wide mass surveillance."

If Brave Rewards sounds like your cup of tea, simply download Brave on your device of choice and visit the Rewards menu, which is located in the browser's settings menu.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/79791-privacy-oriented-browser-brave-launches-brave-ads-service.html

 

[axiomatic13]

Sounds like a double dip scheme to me? We view their ad's to get BATS, and BATS likely represent real bitcoins for Brave. So we watch their ad's while they use our PC's to mine bitcoin. I would have to have full transparency of what goes on in the backend to even consider this.

 

[psycros]

This is the sort of innovative thinking that Eich is known for. At first review I like what I hear - it seems like a good balance between privacy and supporting the sites we visit anyway. If the sites are getting a 70% split of the ad revenue that's better than anyone else is doing AFAIK. Obviously they'll be some administrative overhead which Brave will have to make up for somehow..I'm sure they have some kind of agreement with the advertisers. Since the browser is an intrinsic part of this new ad network that should keep costs pretty low. Who knows, if this catches on maybe other browsers can support this system via extensions.

 

[Mister_K]

So it's crypto then...

 

[Hardware Geek]

I'd need to know what kinds of rewards they are offering, when they plan to start offering them, how many ads I need to watch for a $25 gift card to Amazon (for example purposes only), and if that is expected to directly translate to cash when/if it does. I also need to know how I can be certain my browsing data is staying on my computer. How do I know the data the companies get to verify views is randomized and stays encrypted at all times? Many questions come to mind.

 

[Uncle Al]

Boy, there is a prerequisite for a real sham!

 

[wiyosaya]

Another example of marketing at work?

IMO, IF I were likely to sign on, and I see no real reason to sign on because virtually all ads I see these days do not influence my buying habits, I would investigate this in depth before doing so. IMO, anyone considering this would be wise to investigate it first.

 

[Cubi Dorf]

I am likes good web site get paid for content. I also block everything because the internets too aggressively tracking. Maybe this can be solution but previous version not really doing it. There is still hopes

 

[rrwards]

Sounds like a double dip scheme to me? We view their ad's to get BATS, and BATS likely represent real bitcoins for Brave. So we watch their ad's while they use our PC's to mine bitcoin. I would have to have full transparency of what goes on in the backend to even consider this.

It's not double dipping at all. I think you're getting caught up on the crypto part of this. They're not mining on your device. BAT is a crypto token that's not even built on bitcoin. It's not related to bitcoin, nor is it mined.

They're paid by advertisers to be part of the Brave ad network. Those ads are then shown to viewers who have opted in. You get BAT. The dollar value of BAT could be subtracted from what they were paid by advertisers. It's pretty simple really.

 

[regiq]

This is a pretty tempting idea.

There's no way I would let all those tracking scripts associated with ads run in my browser and I'd like to have a simple way of supporting sites I value (like techspot)

But it will take some time before this Brave idea earns my trust. My usage data is safe only when it's not collected at all...

 

[axiomatic13]

It's not double dipping at all. I think you're getting caught up on the crypto part of this. They're not mining on your device. BAT is a crypto token that's not even built on bitcoin. It's not related to bitcoin, nor is it mined.

They're paid by advertisers to be part of the Brave ad network. Those ads are then shown to viewers who have opted in. You get BAT. The dollar value of BAT could be subtracted from what they were paid by advertisers. It's pretty simple really.

All fair points. I was making a "what if" and I think my final sentence is the key? "I would have to have full transparency of what goes on in the backend to even consider this." I would really need to understand the back end, with proof, before I would ever use this. My job is High-Performance Computing, both in CUDA and OpenCL. I know exactly what is possible. It is in fact the EXACT scheme Razer is doing with their "Razer Gold & Silver." We mine bitcoin for them, they return a portion of the mining in credit for Razer items. It's not such a far leap to be worried Brave is attempting the same? (Edit: Full disclosure, I like Razers products and own plenty of them so I am not dissing Razer as the option to mine Razer Gold & Silver is optional.)

 

[James00007]

On top of some of the revolutionary advertising features Brave is an outstanding and reliable web-browser. Great privacy/security, faster, less buggy and much more professional looking than chrome. Highly recommend trying it out, I binned chrome within 5 minutes of using it.