Brave is one of the most admired and consequential browsers and a worthy alternative to Google Chrome.
I switched long ago and have mostly loved using the browser. But lately, I've been using Chrome more often because of issues I keep running into.
Because of these issues, I've realized I can never fully switch to , even if I wanted to.
Brave breaks websites more often than it should and gets annoying after a while
Shields can be quite unreliable
Brave's Shields are a godsend for blocking ads on websites, but they often break sites, especially when shopping online.
Aggressive or even Standard Shield settings can be jarring because they break checkout pages, embeds, Amazon product pages, and even basic news websites.
While I can use Dynamic Shields to fine-tune ad-blocking settings for each website, lately I've had to do it for every site I visit.
This creates friction, especially when I need to visit a site for urgent information or to buy something as basic as groceries.
It might not sound like much, but on a busy day I want my browser to work flawlessly and not have to adjust settings to get a website working.
It causes unnecessary friction and breaks the flow when I least expect it. Brave's Shields often causes more frustration than I would like to admit.
Even after adjusting settings via Brave's Dynamic Shields, certain residual issues such as fingerprint protections, cookie controls, and script blocking interfere with the browsing experience.
Many times, a simple website like Levi's wouldn't work properly or refused to load the checkout page.
I would then copy the link and open it in Chrome to complete the purchase, since it was faster than tweaking Brave settings.
Brave's constant battle with YouTube can get frustrating over time
The cat-and-mouse game is getting tiring
For what it's worth, Brave's Shields do a solid job blocking ads and other annoying YouTube features.
One of Brave's hidden settings also lets me queue up videos in a playlist for offline playback.
Brave essentially removes the need for YouTube Premium, but since Google is always updating YouTube, Brave sometimes can't keep up.
Google has found new ways to insert ads on YouTube, and they often slip through when using Brave.
But during this phase, I have constantly updated settings and tweaked content filter options just to get YouTube running again.
I waste more time fine-tuning the experience than I do watching YouTube before bed or during my break.
Don't get me wrong: I love not paying for YouTube's premium features thanks to Brave, but that doesn't mean everything works flawlessly.
Since I deleted the YouTube app because Brave sufficed as my primary way to consume content from the platform, there have been times when I had to default to Chrome when I couldn't figure out which setting to tweak to get YouTube running normally in Brave again.
Brave can sometimes cost me valuable battery life
Brave has some bloat too
Most of the time, Brave works well without overheating my phone, but recently I've been experiencing unusual battery drain when I heavily all day.
Brave isn't exactly bloat-free, and I've noticed some of its background processes can cause more battery drain than they should.
The browser uses a Wallet, Leo AI, News, Rewards, and Sync, which sometimes use more CPU than they should.
I initially doubted that Brave was draining my battery, but when I checked battery stats, Brave always ranked high in consumption.
I thought I was the only one, but many users have reported similar issues in community forums and on Reddit.
Like these reports, I noticed my phone heating up even during casual browsing. But on days when I browse heavily, I've seen Brave climb the battery usage list dramatically.
That's when I have to switch to Chrome or a different browser to conserve battery life.
Brave can't be my only browser until it resolves its issues
Even though Brave is an incredible browser, it has flaws that keep me from ditching Chrome on my phone.
While it works as a default browser most of the time, I still need Chrome as a backup when shopping online or if YouTube breaks in Brave.
I don't see myself deleting and switching to Brave completely in the near future, but hopefully these issues will be resolved one day so I can finally let go of Chrome.