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How to use AI privately at Brave browser (2 methods)

How to use AI privately with Brave browser (local or Cloud AI)

5 months ago   •   2 min read

By Aquasp
Table of contents

Introduction

Brave Browser 1.69 introduced a game-changing feature: you can now connect Leo (Brave’s built-in AI assistant) to any model you want — including fully local models or third-party APIs.
This means you get an always-available AI sidebar with zero subscription and total control over privacy and cost.

Here are the two best methods I’ve tested (one ultra-private, one smarter but cloud-based).

Method 1 – Maximum Privacy: Run a Local Model with Ollama (No GPU Needed)

You can run a surprisingly capable model completely offline, even on very modest hardware.
The current sweet spot is Google’s Gemma 2 2B — it’s tiny (~1.4 GB), runs great on CPU, and works perfectly even with just 4–6 GB of RAM free.

Step 1: Install Ollama

Download and install Ollama from the official site: https://ollama.com
(It has native packages for Windows, macOS, and Linux.)

Step 2: Download Gemma 2 2B

Open a terminal and run:

ollama pull gemma2:2b

(If you use Docker: docker exec -it ollama ollama pull gemma2:2b)

Step 3: Verify it’s running

Open http://localhost:11434 in your browser.
You should see “Ollama is running” — that’s all you need.

Step 4: Add the model to Brave Leo

  1. Open Brave → Settings → Leo
  2. Click Add new model
  3. Fill in the details exactly like this:
  • Label → anything you want (e.g., “Gemma 2 2B Local”)
  • Model Request Name → gemma2:2b
  • Server Endpoint → http://localhost:11434/v1/chat/completions
  • API Key → leave empty
  1. (Optional but recommended) Set this model as your default for new chats.

Done! You now have a fully private, offline AI inside Brave that uses almost no resources.

Method 2 – Smarter Answers (Cloud): Use CryptoTalks.ai (Pay-as-you-go, No Subscription)

If you want access to the absolute best models (GPT-4o, Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Gemini 1.5 Flash, Llama 3.1 405B, etc.) without creating accounts at OpenAI/Anthropic/Google, CryptoTalks.ai is currently the best option.
You pay only for what you use and can fund the account with Bitcoin or Lightning.

Step 1: Create an account & get your token

Go to https://cryptotalks.ai/signup → sign up → copy your API token (keep it safe!).

Step 2: Add a tiny amount of credit

Deposit any amount via Bitcoin or Lightning. Even $1–2 lasts a very long time for personal use.

Step 3: Add the model(s) to Brave Leo

Same process as before, just different values:

  • Label → e.g., “Claude 3.5 Sonnet”, “GPT-4o”, etc.
  • Model Request Name → exact model ID from their docs, examples:
    • openai/chatgpt-4o-latest
    • anthropic/claude-3.5-sonnet
    • google/gemini-flash-1.5
    • meta-llama/llama-3.1-405b-instruct
  • Server Endpoint → https://cryptotalks.ai/v1/chat/completions/
  • API Key → paste your token

You can add as many models as you want and switch between them instantly in the Leo sidebar.

Pro tip: Check current model rankings at https://artificialanalysis.ai/models to pick the best one for your needs.

Real-World Use

With Leo + your own model you can:

  • Summarize long articles or YouTube videos in one click
  • Explain complex code snippets
  • Draft emails or messages
  • Translate on the fly
  • All without ever leaving the browser and without sending data to big tech

When I’m on battery and want zero extra power draw → I switch to the local Gemma 2 2B.
When I need maximum intelligence → I switch to Claude 3.5 Sonnet or GPT-4o via CryptoTalks.

Conclusion

Brave just turned every browser into a private, customizable AI workstation.
Pick Method 1 for 100% privacy and zero cost, or Method 2 when you want the absolute best answers available today.

Either way — welcome to the future of browsing.

If this guide helped you, feel free to share it or subscribe to The Self Hosting Art. Thanks for reading! 😊

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