I’ve been using Brave Search supplemented by Startpage for the past 2+ years. When I search for something, I want to get results for credible webpages, not a summary of unknown quality. I liked the previous AI inclusion because it was instant, didn’t take up much space, and I could quickly navigate to the websites referenced in it, but with the new feature it takes up more space, is slower, and not really what I want out of a search engine.

As soon as the feature was rolled out I disabled it in settings, but the AI button stays visible, I get autocomplete specifically for Answer with AI and I get frequent notifications to try out the new AI feature. An opt-out toggle should not mean that I still am pestered to use the feature I opted out of.

This is really annoying, and I’m probably going to end up switching to Startpage or SearXNG or something.

Some images (opted out of AI features):

  • @touristEnglish
    20•6 months ago

    If you want a privacy-focused web browser, use Firefox or Vivaldi.

    I thought Vivaldi was also shady? Did I maybe confuse it with Opera?

    • MentalEdgeEnglish
      21•6 months ago

      Probably.

      Opera is shady. Vivaldi is developed by the people who used to develop Opera, back when it was its own thing and before it sold out to Chinese investors.

        • MentalEdgeEnglish
          17•6 months ago

          I dunno. Everything I’ve seen and heard seems perfectly legit.

          But it’s yet another chromium fork, and I don’t use it.

          I did for a while, as it has some very nice features, but it would consistently open without resuming my session. It would work for months and then just out of nowhere it would open up as if it was just installed. Everything gone. Utterly unacceptable.

    • MagnorEnglish
      2•6 months ago

      I don’t think you’re replying to my comment though, I never mentioned nor used Vivaldi.

      Edit: brainfart, my bad.

      • @touristEnglish
        2•6 months ago

        Don’t stress over it. I didn’t read the entire thing either. It’s a relatively long article.

        I Read the first few paragraphs and then when the ADHD kicked in I skim scrolled all the way to the bottom where “Vivaldi” caught my eye

        • MagnorEnglish
          2•6 months ago

          Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated and have a great day.

          On topic, I have no opinion on Vivaldi, never used it. But then again I’ve been on Firefox for the last 15 years so… I’m a bit of a lost cause!