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Security report for brave.com

Brave Software Inc · Technology · United States

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view.

Security score

85/100

Risk levelLow

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

Brave Software Inc is a technology company specializing in privacy-focused web browsing and search solutions. Their flagship product, the Brave browser, offers users a fast, secure, and private browsing experience by blocking ads and trackers by default. Complementing the browser is Brave Search, an independent and privacy-respecting search engine. The company also provides additional services such as a VPN, AI assistant (Leo AI), and a digital wallet, targeting privacy-conscious consumers and businesses. Brave positions itself as a user-first alternative to mainstream browsers and search engines, emphasizing transparency and user control over data. Technically, the website is built using modern web technologies including the Hugo static site generator, JavaScript, and Lottie animations for interactive content. Hosting and DNS services are provided via Cloudflare, ensuring performance and security. The site is well-optimized for mobile and desktop platforms, with comprehensive multilingual support. Analytics are handled via Matomo, reflecting a privacy-conscious approach to user data collection. From a security perspective, Brave demonstrates strong practices such as HTTPS enforcement, open-source codebase transparency, and domain registration consistency. However, there is room for improvement in enabling DNSSEC, publishing explicit security policies, and implementing cookie consent mechanisms. The company maintains an active vulnerability disclosure program via HackerOne, indicating a mature security posture. Overall, Brave Software Inc presents a trustworthy and professional online presence with a strong emphasis on privacy and security. The website quality, business credibility, and technical implementation are excellent, supporting a high AI-assessed score. Strategic recommendations include enhancing DNS security, publishing detailed security policies, and improving cookie consent transparency to further strengthen compliance and user trust.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of brave.com. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

2 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Cookie Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

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Keep watching brave.com

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  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

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Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
95
Security headers
75
Email security
95
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
85

Not counted

  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

Brave Software operates in the competitive technology sector, focusing on privacy-centric web browsing and search services. Their business model combines free software distribution with optional subscription-based premium services and a privacy-respecting advertising ecosystem that rewards users. This model differentiates Brave from traditional ad-supported browsers by prioritizing user privacy and control. The company targets a broad audience including individual users concerned about privacy, enterprises requiring secure browsing solutions, and developers interested in privacy-first technologies. Brave's partnerships and related domains, such as Basic Attention Token and Brave Search, create an ecosystem that supports user engagement and monetization while maintaining privacy standards. The company's growth is supported by active community engagement, open-source development, and a transparent security culture.

Security posture

Brave Software exhibits a mature security posture with HTTPS enforced across its website and products, use of reputable DNS and hosting providers, and an open-source codebase that allows community scrutiny. The presence of a HackerOne vulnerability disclosure program demonstrates proactive incident response readiness. However, the absence of DNSSEC and explicit security policy documentation on the website are areas for improvement. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the website content. Privacy compliance is strong, with comprehensive privacy policies and GDPR considerations evident. Overall, Brave balances strong security practices with user-friendly privacy features, though formalizing some policies and technical controls would enhance their security maturity further.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to improve DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Publish a detailed security policy or framework adherence statement on the website.
  3. Implement a cookie consent mechanism if cookies or tracking technologies are used.
  4. Add or verify security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options.
  5. Publish a security.txt file to facilitate vulnerability reporting and improve transparency.

Contact details published on the site

Addresses
Legal name
Brave Software Inc
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Brave Software Inc
Description
Brave Software Inc develops the Brave browser, a fast, private, and secure web browser for PC, Mac, and mobile devices. They also offer Brave Search, a privacy-focused search engine, and additional privacy and security products such as VPN and AI assistant.
Key services
Brave Browser, Brave Search, Brave Rewards, Brave Ads, Brave Firewall + VPN, Leo AI assistant, Brave Wallet
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Hugo (static site generator), JavaScript, Lottie animations, Matomo analytics, Cloudflare DNS
Platforms
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status clientTransferProhibited
  • Open source codebase allowing community review
  • Use of Cloudflare DNS
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Matomo
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Brave Private Ads
Tracking pixels
Matomo
Transparency
good

Site quality

Design
excellent
User experience
excellent
Content relevance
excellent
Navigation
excellent
Professionalism
excellent
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking.
  2. Strong focus on privacy and security in product offerings.
  3. Comprehensive multilingual support with hreflang tags for many languages.
  4. Use of open source and community transparency as trust signals.
  5. No suspicious or malicious content detected.
  6. Active presence of contact and support information.
  7. Use of Matomo analytics indicates privacy-conscious tracking.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using the Hugo static site generator, leveraging modern JavaScript and Lottie animations for interactive and engaging content. Hosting and DNS are managed via Cloudflare, providing performance and security benefits. The site is optimized for multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, with excellent mobile responsiveness and accessibility features. SEO is well addressed through comprehensive meta tags, Open Graph data, and multilingual hreflang tags. Analytics are conducted via Matomo, reflecting a privacy-conscious approach. The technical implementation is robust, with no visible technical debt or performance bottlenecks. Opportunities exist to enhance security configurations and formalize privacy compliance mechanisms.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 70/100 −16Medium16 findingsView report
  2. 86/100Low17 findingsView report
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