When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Brave for Android now lets you block elements, just like on desktop

The Brave browser on Android now lets you select any page elements that you'd like to block. This could come in handy if a certain part of the web page is causing a website to lag.

Brave browser logo

The Brave web browser is perhaps best known for its ad blocking capabilities and allowing users to earn BAT crypto. In a new update for Android, the browser wants to take things further by allowing users to block any page elements, not just ads. This update to the Android browser brings it up to par with the desktop version which already has a Block Elements feature.

Block Elements is quite buried away in the Android implementation. To find it, you need to tap on the Shields menu, go to “Advanced controls”, select “Block element”, tap the unwanted element, and then confirm with the “Block Elements” button. On the desktop, it’s arguably easier to find this feature as you just have to right click.

If you ever want to clear your list of blocked elements, it’s possible to do that by pressing “Clear all blocked elements” in the Shields menu. This option only clears the blocked elements list for the page being viewed currently but it’s a quick way to reset everything to default. You can also see your per-site rules by heading to brave://settings/shields/filters.

While blocking elements may provide you with some relief from annoying features of web pages, it can also introduce issues with the page. If you do experience any issue, it is best to “Clear all blocked elements” for the problematic page.

The block elements feature is available with Brave for Android 1.78, you can update to this version using the Google Play Store.

As an online publication, Neowin too relies on ads for operating costs and, if you use an ad blocker, we'd appreciate being whitelisted. In addition, we have an ad-free subscription for $28 a year, which is another way to show support!

Windows 10 logo on gray with a text saying Shutting down
Next Article

A Linux-backed project shows how to save unsupported Windows 10 PCs by installing Linux

Opera 89 for Android
Previous Article

Opera 89 for Android comes with loads of tab improvements