Brave Talk: All You Need to Know (What It Is, Usage, Etc.)

The current online landscape has made video conferencing applications necessary for people and businesses of all sizes. A large body of tools provides such services with powerful features. However, I often talk with customers having security and privacy concerns.

The developers of the Brave browser recently introduced video conferencing, which is possible directly in the browser through Brave Talk. Protected with Transport Layer Encryption based on blockchain technology, it is virtually impossible to be hacked by a malicious perpetrator..

As we will have a look at a lot of things here is the table of content to allow you convenient navigation in case you are searching something specifically:

How to use Brave Talk and Enable Private Video Conferencing

Brave Talk is a feature that is exclusive to the browser. If it is not installed on the PC, be sure to download and perform the instructions necessary. Afterward, follow these general steps:

1. Open either the Brave browser or navigate to talk.brave.com
2. Click on the option that says Start free call (up to 4 people)
3. Enter one's name in the required field
4. Join the meeting

Here is a list with more specific steps:

On your PC, open the Brave browser and type talk.brave.com in the address bar. Another option is to select the camera widget, which you can find at the bottom right of the browser landing page. Alternatively, you can go directly to talk.brave.com.

This will take you to the Brave Talk page from where you can start a video conference. Depending on your choice, select Start free call (up to 4 people) or Start free trial to start a meeting.

Als Nächstes wirst du gefragt, ob du die Nutzung des Mikrofons und der Kamera deines Computers für den Brave-Browser erlauben möchtest. Erlaube die Erlaubnis und wähle dann die Seite „Am Meeting teilnehmen“. Gib in das Textfeld, das erscheint, den gewünschten Namen ein (1.) und klicke auf Join meeting (2.). You can also pre-define if your mic and/or camera are switched on or off when joining the meeting (3.) but it can be changed in the actual meeting at any time. The other icons (4.) give you the means to invite further people, set a background, and access the settings, where you can adjust the language for example.

Once inside, you will be greeted with the standard array of features found in other video conferencing applications that are available. Furthermore, you will easily understand the functionality if having used a conferencing app before.

How to change the language in Brave Talk

Für den Fall, dass du eine andere Sprache als Englisch bevorzugst, unterstützt Brave Talk eine große Auswahl an Sprachen, die du in den Einstellungen und im Abschnitt „Mehr“ auswählen kannst.

Here is a screenshot showing the settings icon specifically:

Nachdem das Einstellungs-Pop-up erschienen ist, kannst du zum Abschnitt „Mehr“ wechseln, wo du die Sprachen bequem über ein Dropdown auswählen kannst. Wenn du sie ausgewählt hast, bestätige sie mit „OK“.

Should you find yourself already in a call and have not selected the correct language upfront you can simply click the 3-dot symbol to access the menu like shown in the screenshot. The settings can be reached in it.

Which Languages Does Brave Talk Support?

Brave Talk does support a large variety of languages, such as English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese, and many more.

How do I invite people to my call or join an existing Brave Talk call?

Upon joining a meeting after following the previous steps, copy the link in your browser's address bar and share it with the person you need to add as a participant to the call or meeting. In a similar way, you can join a call using the host's shared link.

Due to the fact that Brave Talk is a service exclusively hosted in the browser with no dedicated standalone application, the link will work to invite others.

How many people can be added to my Brave Talk meeting?

If using Brave Talk for free, only meetings and video calls for four people are permitted. It used to be just two for simple one on one calls but the company decided to grant us a little more possible participants.

However, if you desire to add more than four participants, you must upgrade to the company's premium plan, which allows over 100 members simultaneously in a call or meeting.

How good is Brave Talk?

I tested with Brave Talk's default settings from various notebooks and mobiles and from various internet connections. WiFi for notebooks and smartphones, ethernet for notebooks, mobile network for smartphones. This is what I found.

Summary: Brave Talk's quality was stable on all tested devices and Internet connections. Video quality was crisp and audio was clear in all cases. I didn't notice any delays or interruptions, but as expected, the strongest and newest hardware with an Ethernet connection performed best.

Device	WiFi	Ethernet	Mobile Network (4G)
Notebook DELL XPS- 15 16GB RAM	good	ideal	–
Notebook HP 17by0205ng 8 GB RAM	slight lags during fast movements	good	–
Fairphone 4 8GB RAM	good	–	slight lags during fast movements

Brave Talk Features

Brave Talk does offer a lot of features. Most are rather intuitive. Let's have a look at the maybe less obvious:

Performance settings: Here you can decide whether you prefer performance or quality. If you have a weaker internet connection, it might be better to choose a performance-oriented setting.

To be found during the call via the 3-dot symbol in the console bar or right beside the session timer at the top.

Screen sharing: Gives you the option to share either your entire screen, the window you are currently using, or a specific Brave Browser tab. This can be handy if you don't want participants to see everything on your screen.

You can also select if you want to share your device's audio or not. Just tick the box or leave it unticked.

To be found directly in the console bar during the call.

Create a poll: When you access your call's chat (via the speech bubble icon in the console bar), you can switch from "Chat" to "Polls" and create a poll that fits your intent. Participants can then answer it in the same area.

To be found in the chat section during the call.

Ich möchte dich ermutigen, auch die anderen Funktionen zu erkunden, denn sie können bei Gesprächen sehr praktisch sein – wenn du weißt, dass sie da sind.

Brave conversation problems and how to solve them

I found that Brave Talk is just as reliable as Brave Browser itself. However, this does not mean that it will never have issues. In fact, I found one minor issue (which is actually a technical limitation). Besides that, there are rather generic issues like with the installation of the Browser.

Can't give mic and camera permissions to Brave Talk:

On mobile, I observed that the permissions for using mic and camera can't be granted when a screen time counter is active. According to the browser notification, this is the same with any bubble or overlaying element. It tested it with the bubble of Facebook Messenger and the toolbar of XRecorder; the issue was indeed the same. Just close the app before you try to proceed and you will be fine.

Brave Browser is can't be installed:

If you are invited to Brave Talk and you are not a Brave user, you will need to download the browser. Although it is rare, you may have problems with the installation. I have an article for you that will help you solve the Brave installation problem.

Conclusion

Brave Browser has seen immense growth in popularity primarily due to features responsible for protecting the privacy of the user from unwanted trackers. It delivers improved speeds and is a contender for the best browser available today.

Brave Talk allows video conferencing to be 100% secure and fast between either two or more individuals. It is exclusive to the browser itself, so although you can use a desktop or mobile device to access it, there is no standalone application.

Und für normale Nutzer wie dich und mich ist die kostenlose Version in so gut wie allen Fällen ausreichend und daher definitiv ein solides Tool. Der einzige Nachteil, den ich gefunden habe, ist, dass alle Teilnehmer Brave benutzen müssen – aber da der Browser generell sehr stark ist, könnte Brave Talk genau der richtige Anstoß in die richtige Richtung sein.

Here are several interesting features Brave is offering:

• Earn money with Brave Browser: how much you can expect to earn
• Was ist Brave’s BAT Token genau

Problems with Brave?

Brave Browser Blurry: Why Is It So and How to Fix It

What to do if Brave Browser is slow, crashes, etc.

Brave Browser Issues Solved: Installation and Others

Brave Browser does not launch? 8 solution methods

Brave Browser Recaptcha Not Working: Here's How to Fix It

How good Brave is?

Brave: Is It Legit, Tracking Me, and State of the Art?

How Brave Browser Does Earn Money (all ways explained)

RAM-consumption of Brave Browser Tested

Further Brave Features

Brave Offers: What it is and how it works