Brave browser installs VPN service without permission, working on fix

Brave’s privacy-focused browser installs its VPN service on Windows without user consent. Brave indicates that it will resolve this in a future fix. The VPN service is then only installed when you purchase Brave VPN.

On Windows PCs, Brave’s VPN service is automatically downloaded by the browser and remains in a dormant mode until the user subscribes to the services, notes Ghacks. This concerns the Firewall+VPN service that was released in 2022, consisting of Brave VPN and Brave Wireguard. The service emerged from a collaboration between Brave and Guardian.

Vice president of engineering, Brian Clifton, gives in a post on GitHub indicates that Brave intends to change the browser’s current behavior. In the future, the VPN service will only have to be downloaded if a user has paid for it. However, it is not clear whether the VPN service will also be removed on Windows PCs where the Brave browser is already installed. However, users can manually uninstall the VPN service or reinstall the browser without administrative rights.