What is Brave Talk 【 】

While people appreciate the variety of features offered by popular video calling platforms like Google Meet and Zoom, there is always concern about an extra layer of privacy and security. Find out what Brave Talk is, and how to use it. Brave Talk vs. Zoom and Google Meet

Addressing this need, Brave Browser has jumped on the bandwagon of video conferencing services with BraveTalk . In this article, let’s see what Brave Talk is, how it works, and how it compares to Zoom and Google Meet.

What is BraveTalk

What is BraveTalk? How does it work?

Brave is acclaimed everywhere for offering unique privacy features in its flagship product, Brave Browser. Following its product ethic of putting privacy first, Brave has introduced an integrated service called Brave Talk.

Built on , Brave Talk is an open source video conferencing platform . It claims not to save user data, so it adds a good amount of security to the audiovisual elements involved in a video conference.

Brave Talk is built directly into the browser, so there is no need for a browser extension, third-party app, or software. Calls must be initiated with the Brave browser, although connections to calls can be made with any browser that supports the required technologies.

It offers encryption for video chats, and the company says it doesn’t store call metadata, unlike some other video providers.

Along the same lines, Brave CEO Brendan Eich stated: “ Connecting with colleagues and friends via video conferencing channels is now the norm, and as users become increasingly aware of privacy concerns online, there is a growing need for an option that puts privacy first. ”.

How to use Brave Talk to make private video calls

Let’s walk through a step-by-step procedure to set up a private video call using Brave Talk.

1- Install Brave browser

So far, Brave Talk only works in the Brave browser. Therefore, you need to install Brave Browser if you haven’t already, as shown below.

Step 1: Go to the .

The main option says “Download Brave for Windows 64 – Bit” and if you are sure that your system type is 64-bit then go ahead and click on the option. Otherwise, select the given option for the other alternative versions, also depending on your operating system.

If you are not sure what your type of system in Windows, open Run pressing the key Windows + R. Write and enter msinfo32 . Then take note of the type of system (as shown in the picture below)

Now that you know your system type, go ahead and download the correct version of Brave Browser.

Step 2: Click on the downloaded Brave setup and tap Yes in the dialog that appears.

Step 3: Wait for the download and installation process to complete.

Post that, Brave Browser will open automatically.

Step 2 – Start a Brave Talk video call

Step 1: Once Brave Browser opens, type in the address bar and press enter. Alternatively, you can visit .

Step 2: Click on start free call .

In the later section of this guide, we will learn the differences between the free and premium versions of Brave Talk, but for now, let’s stick with the free option.

Step 3: Grant permissions for Microphone by clicking Allow . A similar dialog will appear once you try to turn on your video later; click on Allow at that time too.

Step 4: Enter your name in the box provided, as shown in the screenshot below.

Step 3- Invite people to call

Step 1: click the button Invite people .

Step 2: Then click on the icon Copy to clipboard. This will copy the link to your clipboard.

Step 3: Now paste and share the copied link with the people you want to join the meeting.

This is what the interface will look like, once the participants have joined.

Brave Talk features, compared to Google Meet and Zoom

Brave Talk comes with all the important and commonly used features that an average user needs in a video conferencing platform such as:

• Share screen with audio
• Waiting room / Participant entry control
• Chat/Communication between participants
• rest rooms
• Carrying out surveys through chat
• Live broadcast of the meeting

Meeting duration and number of participants

Now, let’s look at some key things that distinguish Brave Talk from Google Meet and Zoom.

To begin with, the free version of Brave Talk It has no time limit, but rather a participant limit of just four. This can be skipped by purchasing the premium version, which is priced at $7 per month.

zoom has a time limit of 30 hours for 1 to 1 meetings. In case the number of participants exceeds two people, the limit is reduced to 40 minutes. This can be bypassed by purchasing the pro version or other paid versions.

Secondly, google-meet allows users to make one-to-one calls for 24 hours. But the time limit for group calls with 3 or more participants is now reduced to 60 minutes. Supports up to 500 participants.

Ease of access

It can access Brave Talk, such as Google Meet and Zoom, directly from your web browser without installing any tools/software on your computer. One small drawback though is that as the host of the meeting, you need to have the Brave browser installed on your PC.

User interface

Brave opted for a slightly more colorful interface compared to Google Meet and Zoom. Personally, I found the user interface a bit more charming and a bit less boring compared to Zoom, and especially Google Meet.

It also felt a bit more fluid when navigating through different UI elements. Brave Talk also doesn’t skimp on features that help customize the look and feel of the interface, whether that’s adding custom images or custom backgrounds.

What I liked the most about the user interface in Brave Talk is the easy-to-access settings menu. It is available on the meeting screen and is more descriptive.

Settings menu in Brave Talk

Plus, it has more settings that can be changed quickly compared to Zoom and Google Meet, without having to jump to a different page.

Performance settings in Brave Talk

Brave Talk comes with an easy-to-use slider to set the performance, depending on what you’re using it for. You can adjust it for best performance or best quality with the slider.

Privacy features in Brave Talk

What sets Brave apart from its counterparts are the much-hyped and talked about privacy features. Brave states that it does not collect any data from meetings.

transport layer encryption is used to encrypt all video and audio data sent through Brave Talk. This is similar to how many websites use HTTPS to make sure their traffic isn’t intercepted on public networks (for example, a coffee shop’s WiFi).

The video/audio of your call is sent to other participants with the help of a Video Bridge server managed by the Brave partner “8×8”. Your browser exchanges keys with other call participants when you enable Video Bridge Encryption in Security Options, and these keys are used to encrypt video and audio streams.

To enable video bridge encryption :

Step 1 : Click on the icon more actions on the main screen, as shown below.

Step 2 : Click on Security options .

Step 3 : Scroll down to find the function Enable Video Bridge Encryption and turn on the toggle for the same.

Please note that Video Bridge Encryption will not take effect if you have more than 20 participants and are using incompatible browsers; unfortunately, Safari is one of them, among most iOS browsers and Chromium version 83 browsers.

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Brave Talk Free vs. Premium

Let’s quickly review what the Talk Premium version offers compared to the free version.

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Prices

The Premium version of Brave Talk is currently priced at $7 per month .

Additional features offered by Brave Talk Premium

Brave Talk Premium offers:

• recordings of calls: all your meetings can be recorded and stored on your computer for future use.
• Mute/unmute participants : As the meeting host, you can mute/unmute the participants using this feature.
• More than four participants – With Talk Premium, you can have more than four participants in your meeting.
• Groupwatch for YouTube – With this feature, all participants can view the YouTube videos shared in the meeting simultaneously.
• Meeting Access Codes – With Premium, you can add passcodes for your meeting to make sure no one unauthorized tries to enter your meeting.

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Ending

While it is a commendable move that Brave Talk has focused more on privacy features, it may only appeal to a few people and organizations as most people now have their own favorite video conferencing service and are well used to it.

I hope this guide helps you understand what Brave Talk has to offer and helps you choose if you want to use it on a daily basis. Stay tuned for more articles related to the latest developments in such video conferencing services.

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