How to Disable the Private with Tor Option in Brave Browser: Step-by-Step Guide

Brave Browser is well-known for its privacy features, including its Private Window with Tor option, which routes traffic through the Tor network to provide anonymous browsing. While this is beneficial for users seeking extra privacy, it can pose challenges for administrators responsible for content filtering, especially in environments like schools, workplaces, or libraries. Since the Tor network bypasses traditional DNS and web filters, it can be used to access restricted content and circumvent security policies.

For administrators aiming to enforce compliance and ensure safe browsing, disabling the “Private with Tor” option in Brave is crucial to maintain control over network activity and prevent unauthorized access to unfiltered content. In this guide, we’ll explore several methods to disable this feature effectively.

To disable the “Private with Tor” browsing option in Brave, you need to adjust a setting in the browser’s configuration. Here’s how you can do it:

Method 1: Disable in Brave Settings (using brave://flags)

1. Open Brave and type the following in the address bar: brave://flags
2. In the search box at the top, type: Tor
3. Locate the “Private Window with Tor” option.
4. Change the setting from Default to Disabled.
5. Click Relaunch at the bottom of the page to restart the browser.

Method 2: Modify Brave Configuration Files

If the above method does not work, or you prefer a more direct approach, you can modify the browser’s configuration file:

Close Brave completely before proceeding.

1 – Open the Brave Browser profile folder:

On Windows:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\User Data\Default

On macOS:

~/Library/Application Support/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/Default

On Linux:

~/.config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser/Default

2 – Locate the file named Preferences and open it with a text editor. Recommend doing this an administrator.

3 – Search for the entry related to Tor:jsonCopy code"tor": { "enabled": true }

4 – Change "enabled": true to "enabled": false.

5 – Save the file and reopen Brave.

Method 3: Use Group Policy (Windows Only)

If you’re managing Brave on multiple systems (e.g., in a school or company environment), you can enforce this setting using Group Policy.

1. Download the Brave Group Policy templates from Brave’s GitHub repository.
2. Install the templates on your system.
3. Open the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc).
4. Navigate to:Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Brave → Brave Browser
5. Find the “Enable Tor” policy and set it to Disabled.
6. Apply the changes and restart Brave.

Notes

• The brave://flags method may not be available in some managed environments or on older versions of Brave.
• Modifying the configuration file or using Group Policy may require administrative access.

These steps should effectively disable the “Private with Tor” option in the Brave browser, preventing users from accessing that feature.