I tried Brave's new stripped down Origin browser, and now it's my top Chromium-based pick

Jack Wallen/ZDNET

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ZDNET's key takeaways

Brave Origin is a stripped-down version of the browser.

Brave Origin is available for Linux, MacOS, and Windows.

MacOS and Windows users pay $59.99, while Linux users get it for free.

Brave is often seen at the top of lists highlighting browser security and privacy, thanks to Brave Shields, tracker protection, HTTPS everywhere integration, malicious script blocking, private browsing via Tor, and device-wide VPN/firewall. With Chrome killing ad blockers, the heightened security of Brave is even more important. Although I really love the idea of heightened security, I'm not in love with all of the bells and whistles that come with the browser.

There's the rewards program, the crypto wallet, and the VPN, all of which are there, just sitting idly, waiting for your curiosity to get piqued. Those features can take up space and resources and also clutter up the UI.

Also: I've used nearly every browser out there, and these are my top 4 (spoiler: Chrome is out)

Now, Brave is offering an alternative.

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