Brave Browser Launches News Recommendations Engine that Protects Users’ Privacy

Privacy-centric browser, Brave, announced the launch of Brave Today, a new privacy-preserving content stream, aiming to offer news recommendations without using users’ data. Instead, the platform uses an algorithm to rank stories with several factors, such as the publishing date and browser history.

Nearly every social networking app recommends content, whether YouTube videos, Spotify music, or Google News. The feature, which is popular on most websites and apps, uses recommendation algorithms mainly focusing on your online behavior.

According to a release from Brave, the newsreader will preserve users’ online privacy by sourcing content from popular RSS feeds using a custom algorithm using different factors. The statement reads,

“This stream is designed to help people discover interesting new content throughout the day while respecting the user’s privacy.”

“By using Brave’s new private CDN to deliver RSS feeds to the browser anonymously, there is no data trail available for third parties to collect or track.”

The stream will allow readers to choose from up to 15 categories of news, including global news, business and finance, sports, fashion, food, lifestyle, tech, and crypto news. Users will also be able to customize their own news streams on Brave Today.

According to the statement, Brave is looking to beat top browsers such as Chrome and Safari via the new framework that bypasses checking users' private browsing information. Using the Federated Learning with Privacy, a technique to improve machine learning while maintaining the data on the local device, Brave Today will keep users’ data away from third parties (including Brave), which suggests news stories.

The privacy-enabled news stream will be supported by two exclusive offerings at launch – Brave Offers and Brave Promoted Content. The former launches a marketplace on the browser that allows users to indulge in e-commerce while curating their shopping experience across various “deals of the day” promotions.

The Promoted Content stream will focus on advertisements and influencing brands as part of the Brave Ads campaign. The product is yet to launch to the wide market.

“It [Promoted Content] provides brands and media partners with a new unit to promote relevant content seamlessly to Brave Today readers.”