Brave 1.38 launches with improved Shields panel and De-AMP privacy feature

Brave Software released Brave 1.38, a new stable version of the company's Chromium-based browser, on April 27, 2022. The new version of Brave introduces De-AMP, a technology to redirect Google AMP pages to their real destinations among other things.

Brave 1.38 is already available. Most installed copies of Brave will receive the update automatically. Users who don't want to wait for it to arrive may select Menu > About Brave to run a manual check for updates. The new update should be installed automatically at this point by the browser.

De-AMP Functionality

De-AMP is part of desktop and mobile versions of Brave. It is an attempt to redirect Google AMP pages to the website that the content was published on originally. Brave Software considers AMP to be harmful to user privacy, security and the experience.

Brave redirects AMP pages automatically when they are encountered. Brave Browser parses AMP links to redirect requests automatically if possible. If not, Brave will intercept requests to redirect these to the publishers website instead.

Brave users may disable the functionality under Menu > Settings > Shields.

Brave Shields panel refresh

Brave Shields is the browser's main protective feature. It is used to block advertisement, trackers, fingerprinting attempts and other tracking techniques and annoyances on the Internet.

The Shields panel is displayed on the right side of the address bar. A click displays Shield-related information, including whether Brave's blocking functionality is active on the given site.

The panel gives users control over the blocking functionality. Users may turn off Shield functionality completely, or modify some options instead.

Brave Software added design components to Shields and switched to using the mojom API.

From a user perspective, one of the main changes appears to be that the full Shields menu is not displayed anymore by default. Users need to activate the "advanced controls" button to display customization options. A link to the Filter lists has been added to the full Shields panel.

There does not seem to be an option to load the full panel on activation of the Shields icon.

Other changes in Brave 1.38

Brave 1.38 was updated to a new Chromium build. Brave users who use the crypto-features of the browser may now connect a Gemini account to Brave Rewards.

Most changes listed in the changelog are related to Brave Wallet and the browser's crypto implementations.

Closing Words

Brave 1.38 is a solid release. The main new feature is the implemented De-AMP redirection option that is enabled by default. The redesigned Shields panel lacks an option to display the advanced controls automatically, like it was before.

Now You: Do you use Brave? What is your opinion on these changes?

Brave 1.38 launches with improved Shields panel and De-AMP privacy feature