Brave Debloater Scripts

These scripts disable non-core Brave Browser features to replicate the Brave Origin debloated experience — without paying for it.

Disclaimer

Brave, Brave Browser, Brave Origin, Brave Search, Brave Shields, Brave Rewards, Brave Talk, Brave VPN, Brave Wallet, Brave News, Leo, Speedreader, and all related product names, logos, and trademarks are the property of Brave Software, Inc. and are used here for identification purposes only.

This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Brave Software, Inc. in any way.

These scripts are independent community tools that configure existing, officially documented Group Policy settings. They do not modify, reverse-engineer, or redistribute any Brave software.

What Gets Disabled

Feature	Policy Key
Brave News	BraveNewsDisabled = 1
Brave Rewards & Ads	BraveRewardsDisabled = 1
Brave Wallet & Web3	BraveWalletDisabled = 1
Speedreader	BraveSpeedreaderEnabled = 0
Telemetry (P3A, daily ping, metrics)	BraveP3AEnabled = 0, BraveStatsPingEnabled = 0, MetricsReportingEnabled = 0
Brave Talk	BraveTalkDisabled = 1
Tor Private Windows	TorDisabled = 1
Brave VPN	BraveVPNDisabled = 1
Wayback Machine	BraveWaybackMachineEnabled = 0
Web Discovery Project	BraveWebDiscoveryEnabled = 0

Not Disabled (causes crashes in Brave v147+)

Feature	Why Skipped
Leo AI Chat	BraveAIChatEnabled = 0 triggers CHECK assertion crash. Disable manually at brave://settings/leo
Sync	SyncDisabled = 1 breaks browser state restoration on startup

What you keep: Brave Shields (ad/tracker blocking), Brave Search, core browser speed & security updates.

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macOS — debloat-brave-macos.sh

Requirements

• macOS 10.14 or later
• Brave Browser installed

Why Two Files?

On macOS 14+, raw plist files in /Library/Managed Preferences/ are removed on reboot by mdmclient unless delivered via a configuration profile. To solve this, we provide two files:

File	Purpose	Persistence
debloat-brave-macos.sh	Script that applies policies immediately and installs the profile	Temporary (plist) + Permanent (profile)
debloat-brave.mobileconfig	macOS configuration profile with all policies	Permanent — survives reboots

Method 1: Script (Recommended)

The script applies policies right now and automatically installs the .mobileconfig profile for permanence.

1. Close Brave completely (Cmd+Q)
2. Open Terminal and run:

cd /path/to/this/folder
chmod +x debloat-brave-macos.sh
sudo ./debloat-brave-macos.sh              # Apply debloat + install profile
sudo ./debloat-brave-macos.sh --dry-run    # Preview changes only
sudo ./debloat-brave-macos.sh --restore    # Restore from backup
sudo ./debloat-brave-macos.sh --uninstall  # Remove all policies + profile

3. Restart Brave and visit brave://policy to verify.

Method 2: Configuration Profile Only

If you prefer not to run the script, you can install the profile directly:

1. Close Brave completely (Cmd+Q)
2. Double-click debloat-brave.mobileconfig
3. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Profiles
4. Click Install and authenticate
5. Restart Brave and visit brave://policy to verify

Undo

sudo ./debloat-brave-macos.sh --restore    # Pick a backup to restore
sudo ./debloat-brave-macos.sh --uninstall  # Remove all policies + profile

Or manually remove the profile:

• System Settings > Privacy & Security > Profiles > Brave Browser Debloat > Remove

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Windows — Option A: PowerShell Script

Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• Brave Browser installed
• PowerShell run as Administrator

Usage

1. Close Brave completely
2. Right-click PowerShell → Run as Administrator
3. Allow script execution (one-time):

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope Process RemoteSigned

4. Run the script:

cd C:\path\to\this\folder
.\debloat-brave-windows.ps1              # Apply debloat
.\debloat-brave-windows.ps1 -DryRun      # Preview changes only
.\debloat-brave-windows.ps1 -Restore     # Restore from backup
.\debloat-brave-windows.ps1 -Uninstall   # Remove all policies

5. Restart Brave and visit brave://policy to verify.

Undo

.\debloat-brave-windows.ps1 -Restore      # Pick a backup to restore
.\debloat-brave-windows.ps1 -Uninstall    # Remove all policies directly

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Windows — Option B: Registry File (Easiest)

If you prefer not to use PowerShell, just double-click the .reg file.

Usage

1. Close Brave completely
2. Double-click debloat-brave-windows.reg
3. Click Yes on the UAC prompt
4. Click Yes to confirm adding to registry
5. Restart Brave and visit brave://policy to verify.

Undo

Double-click debloat-brave-windows-undo.reg to remove all policies.

Or open Registry Editor (regedit), navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\BraveSoftware\Brave

Delete the value names you want to revert, or change 1 → 0 (and 0 → 1 for *Enabled keys).

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How It Works

macOS

Writes managed policy preferences to /Library/Managed Preferences/com.brave.Browser.plist using PlistBuddy with correct data types. This is the proper macOS enterprise policy path for Chromium-based browsers.

CRITICAL: On macOS, Brave boolean policies must be written to the managed preferences location with proper types via PlistBuddy. Writing them to the user plist via defaults write -bool causes Brave to crash on startup with EXC_BREAKPOINT. The script handles this correctly.

PERSISTENCE: On macOS 14+, mdmclient removes raw plist files from /Library/Managed Preferences/ on reboot unless they are delivered via a configuration profile. The script installs a .mobileconfig profile (debloat-brave.mobileconfig) to ensure policies survive reboots permanently. The profile uses the com.apple.ManagedClient.preferences payload type with Brave's bundle ID as the managed domain, which is the officially supported method for browser policy management on macOS.

Windows

Writes Group Policy registry values under HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\BraveSoftware\Brave. This is the officially supported method to manage Brave in enterprise environments — it completely disables the targeted features rather than just hiding them.

Note: After applying these policies, you may see "Your browser is managed by your organization" in Brave's settings or menu. This is normal and expected — it simply means policy values are active.

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Safety & Backups

Both the macOS and PowerShell scripts automatically back up your existing settings before making changes:

• macOS: Backups saved to ~/.brave-debloat-backups/<timestamp>/
• Windows: Backups saved to %USERPROFILE%\.brave-debloat-backups\<timestamp>\

You can restore from these backups using the --restore (macOS) or -Restore (Windows) flags, or remove all policies directly with --uninstall / -Uninstall.

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References

• Brave Support — What is Brave Origin?
• Brave Support — Group Policy
• Brave Group Policy Templates

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AI-Generated Code

This project includes code that was generated or assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) tools, including small language models.

Contributions

We welcome AI-assisted contributions via pull requests. When submitting AI-generated code:

• Manual review is required. All code must be reviewed by a human maintainer before merging.
• You are responsible for any code you submit, regardless of how it was generated.
• Test your changes. Ensure scripts run correctly on the target platform before submitting.
• Explain the logic. PR descriptions should explain what the code does and why, especially for complex changes.

Using AI for Review

AI tools may be used to assist with code review (e.g., catching syntax errors, suggesting improvements, or explaining changes). However:

• Human oversight is mandatory. AI suggestions should be verified and validated by a human reviewer.
• Keep an eye on what is changing. Reviewers must understand and approve every line that is modified.
• AI can hallucinate. Always verify that suggestions are accurate, safe, and appropriate for the codebase.

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Disclaimer

Brave, Brave Browser, Brave Origin, Brave Search, Brave Shields, Brave Rewards, Brave Talk, Brave VPN, Brave Wallet, Brave News, Leo, Speedreader, and all related product names, logos, and trademarks are the property of Brave Software, Inc. and are used here for identification purposes only.

This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Brave Software, Inc. in any way.

These scripts are independent community tools that configure existing, officially documented Group Policy settings. They do not modify, reverse-engineer, or redistribute any Brave software.