Ads aren't inherently bad, but modern digital advertising has been co-opted by bad actors. Brave offers an ad-free experience by default; this is necessary for your privacy and safety online.
But users are increasingly more aware that protecting themselves from harmful ads also means stripping their favorite creators of support. This is where Brave steps in to offer a complete solution, rather than the partial solution of "just block and forget".
Brave Ads are opt-in, entirely private (data never leaves your device), and pay the user 70% of the ad revenue. By default, that 70% will flow out to the sites/properties you visit on a monthly basis. If you like, you can choose to keep some (or all) of it for yourself.
So we don't necessarily want a Web full of ads. We want a Web full of empowered users who have control over their data and attention.
Did Brave ever claim to reduce the use of ads? As I understand, they want to shift the revenue model and put control back in hands of users. You can use their browser and ignore ads (also not receive Bats) or you can see ads and receive compensation for it.
Are you serious? Ad-blocking by default is a core part of the marketing and self-description. I'm actually amazed they replace ads instead of just "uBlock"-ing them. Sounds like a joke.
However, they do nag you a bit about it. There's an icon for Brave Rewards in the address bar with a "1" badge asking if you'd like to opt-in (Toggle in Settings to hide this icon). It also asks you during setup and then if you skip (no Deny, Disagree, etc.; just skip), it shows a pop-up on the new tab page immediately after asking for the same thing.
Brave's business reminds me of Adblock+. They started all "we are cool, we make the web a better place" (which they did by the way), then they didn't know how to monetize, so they introduced "non invasive ads". Which is still ads, except this time, it's up to them to choose how ads should look like.
It's the first time I read more about Brave, and despite the fact I like that they try with a new model, I think I'll keep using Firefox and the usual add-ons, as I have been doing for years.
I think they want users to be able to control the web through their attention. It's a great idea that acts as indirect pressure on websites to behave. As things are now, users have no way to slap a site on the wrist for being horribly slow and invasive. Brave seems to want to change that.
If this is the case, it seems that Brave fosters the use of ads, not reduce it.
Is my understanding right?