By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 26th, 2024
Despite the fact that Brave has announced its image and video search options, the feature is still being improved.
Brave Search, the privacy-focused search engine, has announced the launch of its own image and video search features. Consequently, users will now be served image and video search results directly from the search engine’s index.
According to Brave, the new feature will allow its users to enjoy a censorship-resistant and privacy-preserving search experience. This was previously impossible with available search engines like Google and Bing.
Recall that Brave’s plans for its image and video search option began after Reuters reported that Microsoft Bing served no image results for the Tiananmen Square protests Tank Man. While Microsoft attributed this to human error, Brave rejected their explanation. By April, the browser had removed the Bing API from its search engine.
Major Milestone for Brave Search
The launch of image and video search is a significant milestone for Brave Search, which was first introduced in June 2021 as a beta version. At that time, 13% of its queries used third-party provider indexes. Within a year, it had reduced that number to 7% of all query results.
However, in April 2023, the search engine announced that it had severed ties with all third-party APIs and became fully independent. However, users who wanted to search for images or videos had to be redirected to Google or Bing while the company developed its own solution.
According to Brave, the redirect option was not popular with some of its users.
“This was a temporary decision to help users find results with minimum hassle, while we worked to offer a sustainable, privacy-preserving, and independent image and video search option,” the company said.
Now, users can access as much content as they want without leaving the Brave ecosystem. Additionally, users will enjoy greater speed and privacy than when they relied on third-party providers.
In the Cocoon of Development
Despite the fact that Brave has announced its image and video search options, the feature is still being improved. The company noted that advanced filters like license type or aspect ratio are still unavailable. “For now, we believe offering a clear alternative is more important than complete feature parity,” it concluded.
Again, Brave said it will continue to listen to user feedback and improve its search engine based on user preferences. Currently, the search engine is available for use at search.brave.com. It is also the default search engine in the Brave browser.
In the future, Brave plans to provide more products for users who want choice and transparency while they search for information online.
