Brave Browser

Brave's Shields provide the main reason to consider it here. Ad and tracker blocking, third-party storage restrictions and fingerprinting protections come with the browser, rather than relying entirely on extra extensions. It also supports importing favorites from an existing browser, which gives a straightforward first migration step.

The paid Firewall + VPN is a separate feature for routing device traffic. The browser's built-in blocking does not provide that network service by itself. Brave publishes desktop and mobile versions, so check the controls in the version you intend to use instead of assuming every platform is identical.

Brave Sync stores encrypted browser data, with the decryption key kept on your devices. Brave says it cannot recover synced files if you lose those devices or keys; unused Sync chains expire after twelve months and their server data may then be deleted. Crash reporting and product analytics have settings controls, while the Web Discovery Project is opt-in. Review these choices separately from Shields and the paid VPN.