Brave update stops auto-installation of VPN services and allows disabling of Leo AI

Brave Software has unveiled its latest update, version 1.64.109, for the Brave browser, which includes a significant modification to its VPN service installation process. The company has ceased the auto-installation of its VPN services during the browser's installation. This change comes in response to user feedback, as many of the browser's users are not utilizing the VPN service, but were still finding it installed on their systems without their explicit consent.

The release notes for version 1.64.109 specify, “Fixed Brave VPN to not install VPN services until VPN is purchased or enabled.” This issue has been highlighted by multiple news outlets since last September. From now on, these VPN services will only be installed when a user purchases the VPN or enables it on their device. Furthermore, these services will be removed from systems where the VPN is not in use.

The Brave team has also introduced a way to disable Leo, the Brave AI assistant, using admin policy in this update. A new feature has been added as well, a “bring all tabs to this window” option, which allows users to move all tabs from other windows to the active one.

In terms of security and privacy, Brave Software has made two key improvements. The first one enhances Tor functionality in Brave to achieve feature parity with Tor browser in terms of stream isolation for third-party subresources. The second one enhances the Chromium storage partitioning feature by “making it compatible with Brave's ephemeral storage implementation”.