Brave is a great internet browser, but one of the company’s practices is now raising eyebrows, as the browser has been found to be installing its VPN service on Windows computers without users’ consent.
Privacy-focused web browser Brave has been silently installing VPN services on some users’ Windows computers. This could have been good news, but apparently it is The company acted without the consent of its users.
This initiative, launched in 2022, attached Brave’s VPN service, known as the Firewall + VPN service, to install the browser on Windows devices, without taking into account user preferences. Although a VPN service remains inactive unless explicitly subscribed by the user, this approach has emerged Concerns about transparency from a browser company that prides itself on privacy.
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Brave does not require user feedback to install the Services
This strange behavior appears to be limited to the Windows version of the Brave browser at the moment. According to the company’s vice president of engineering affairs, Brian Clifton, who explained in a post on the GitHub website, users can check the presence of VPN services on their Windows devices through the service manager, where they Listed as “Brave VPN” and “Brave Wireguard”.
However, the company admits thisThe most ideal approach would be to download these services after the user has actively participated in and subscribed to these servicesThus ensuring a more transparent and consensual process.
As of now, it’s unclear whether or not Brave will change its policy to require user consent in the future. Although it is possible to remove the VPN manually, any future updates may reintroduce it unless Brave changes its installation process.
For the more concerned among you, the workaround suggested on GitHub consists of: Uninstall Brave and then reinstall it without administrator rights, which may prevent the program from installing additional services. In fact, Clifton claims that the browser started integrating the Brave Vpn Wireguard service from version 1.57.47, but only for users with administrator privileges.
