Brave’s premium, minimalist 'Origin' browser reaches stable channel for desktop users

Brave has launched the first stable builds of Brave Origin, a stripped-down version of its browser that removes built-in AI, crypto wallets, and VPN features.

The new edition, listed as version 1.91.165 on the official Brave GitHub release page, introduces an unusual platform-split pricing system. Windows and macOS users have to pay a one-time license activation fee inside the system settings, while the Linux packages are entirely free.

I grabbed the stable build for free on Linux to see what it’s all about. The difference from the standard Brave Browser is immediate.

There is absolutely no bloatware like Brave Rewards. You do not see any pushes for Brave’s built-in VPN subscription, and the Leo AI assistant is completely gone. It feels like a basic, clean browser with the trusty tracking shield turned on and set to “Standard” right out of the box.

The release fixes the very issues that got the company into trouble recently. Brave Origin essentially strips out the clutter that many pointed out when Brave tried to mock Firefox for default ads, a marketing stunt that blew up when users reminded Brave of its own heavily sponsored default new tab page.

Another thing worth mentioning is that this minimalist build preserves Manifest v2 extension support. So extensions like uBlock Origin continue to run natively without tinkering with developer flags.

The rollout behavior is a bit awkward. Users cannot simply press an upgrade button in the regular browser. They have to manually look under the assets section of the code repository to find the standalone installers.

While the stable is out on desktop platforms, users on Android can still try out the Origin experience with the beta version of Brave Browser. You can try it out by downloading the app from the Play Store. Just keep in mind that the mobile setup for getting Brave Origin is different. Rather than a separate app, it’s an in-app purchase.

In case you aren’t interested in being a guinea pig and running a beta build, then you won’t have to wait much longer for Brave Origin to hit the stable channel on Android. More details on that here.

Keep in mind that Brave Origin doesn’t bring anything extraordinary; at its heart, it’s still the usual Brave Browser you might already be familiar with, just that it gets rid of all the “junk”.

We stand out from the tech-media crowd because we break news stories; we mainly bring you stuff that you won’t find anywhere in the mainstream tech media. Our stories have been picked up by some of the world’s most popular websites and media outlets—more info is available here.