- Your other devices decide this
- How they line up
- Tracking prevention and ad blocking are different jobs
- What Apple's built-in tools do for you
- Who should stay with Safari
- Who should make the switch
- The VPN question
- Before you decide, ask yourself
- Shared devices and family use
- A one-week switching test
- Frequently asked questions
Stick with Safari if your phone, tablet and computer all come from Apple and built-in tracking prevention plus a Privacy Report feel like enough. Move to Brave if you'd like ads blocked from the start, fingerprinting and phishing protection on by default, and the same browser on Android and other computers. Your device mix matters more than any single feature.
If you're on a Mac or an iPhone, you already have a capable browser, so the question is whether a third-party privacy browser deserves the spot instead. That's usually what people searching this want to know: is it worth the bother of switching, and what would they gain or lose?
It depends less on features than on which other devices you use. Both take privacy seriously in their own way, so you're not choosing between a safe browser and an unsafe one. You're choosing which kind of protection, and how far across your devices you want it to reach.
Your other devices decide this
Apple's page positions Safari for all your Apple devices. Brave publishes downloads for desktop, Android and iOS. If you only ever touch Apple hardware, that difference barely matters. If you also use a Windows laptop at work or an Android phone, it becomes the whole decision.
A browser you can only use on half your devices means two sets of bookmarks, two sets of habits and two places to check your settings. That's the friction worth weighing, much more than any single privacy feature. If you're unsure, jot down each phone, tablet and laptop you touch in an ordinary week, including any your employer hands you.
How they line up
| Brave | Safari | |
|---|---|---|
| Main privacy tool | Shields | Intelligent Tracking Prevention |
| Second thing it leads with | Ad blocking | A report of trackers stopped |
| Where you can run it | Desktop, Android and iOS | All your Apple devices |
Tracking prevention and ad blocking are different jobs
People often treat these as one thing, but they solve different problems. Tracking prevention stops companies following you around the web and building a picture of what you do. Ad blocking stops the adverts themselves from loading. You can have one without the other.
Safari leads with the first: Intelligent Tracking Prevention limits cross-site tracking. Brave leads with both at once. It stops third-party adverts on any site, with video, search and social feeds included, and its Shields cover trackers, cross-site cookies, phishing and fingerprinting. Decide which problem bothers you more, and the choice gets much easier.
Neither approach needs you to understand the technology. What matters is noticing which loss you'd feel first: adverts creeping back into videos and feeds, or the sense of being followed by the same product from one site to the next.
What Apple's built-in tools do for you
There are three privacy tools worth knowing about before you look elsewhere. Intelligent Tracking Prevention works in the background to limit cross-site tracking, so the sites you visit find it harder to compare notes about you. A Privacy Report gives you evidence the protection is doing something, without any digging. And Private Browsing locks your private windows when you're not using them, a small detail that matters on a shared Mac or iPad.
None of the three needs installing, and none adds an account to manage. For plenty of people that's reason enough to stay.
Who should stay with Safari
- You use a Mac, iPhone and iPad and nothing else.
- Tracking prevention matters to you more than blocking every ad.
- You'd like a quick way to see what's been kept away from you.
- Locked private windows give you peace of mind on a shared machine.
All three come built in, so there's no download and no extra account to look after. If adverts are the one thing that bothers you, our list of ad blocker extensions for Safari is worth reading before you change browsers.
Who should make the switch
- You want ads in video, search and social feeds blocked with no setup.
- You'd like fingerprinting and phishing protection on by default.
- Your devices include an Android phone or a non-Apple computer.
- You might want a VPN that protects every app on your device, not only the browser.
Shields switch on everywhere from the very first launch, so there's no checklist to work through.
If your week mixes Apple and non-Apple devices, one browser with the same Shields on each keeps things simple. If you're still undecided between privacy browsers, our head-to-head with Firefox covers another common pairing.
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The VPN question
Brave also sells a VPN, a separate product its page says protects every app on the whole device. Treat it as its own decision: fewer trackers and ads don't depend on it, so weigh its terms only if you want that wider cover.
Before you decide, ask yourself
- Which phones, tablets and computers did you use this week, and who made each one?
- Is it the adverts that annoy you, or the feeling of being followed around the web?
- Does anyone else share your Mac or iPad?
- Would you rather keep what's already installed than add one more app?
If every device is Apple-made, tracking is the bigger worry and the iPad is shared, the built-in browser already answers most of that list. If an Android phone or a Windows laptop turns up in your first answer, or adverts are the real irritation, the trial week below is worth your time.
Shared devices and family use
If the computer or iPad is shared, think about who else uses it. Apple's Private Browsing locks windows when you're not using them, which helps on a family device.
Whichever you choose, keep the setup simple enough that everyone in the house can use it without calling you. A two-minute chat about which sites matter most, such as school portals, banking and streaming, tells you what to test first.
A one-week switching test
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Install the new browser on your iPhone and Mac, import your bookmarks and make it the default for one week only |
| Days 2 to 3 | Visit your banking, shopping and work sites and note anything that breaks |
| Day 4 | Watch a few videos and check whether ads still appear |
| Day 5 | If you use an Android phone or another computer, install it there too and use it for two days |
| Day 7 | Decide which browser you missed less |
If you go back, nothing is lost: your old browser will be exactly as you left it.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Privacy Report show?
It sits in the browser's menu and lists the cross-site trackers that have been prevented.
Is Private Browsing the same as a VPN?
No. They do different jobs: Private Browsing is about the window on your device, locking it when you're away, while a VPN changes how your connection reaches the internet.
Can I change the default browser on my iPhone?
Check Apple's help pages for changing the default browser, then confirm that links from email and messages open where you expect.
Will my Safari extensions come with me?
Each one has to exist for the new browser too, so check the maker's site for a version of every extension you rely on that works in the new browser.
Will my saved passwords come across to Brave?
Check Brave's help pages for importing passwords before you switch, and keep your old browser until you've confirmed everything arrived.
