Brave browser blocks GA4, Adobe Analytics, Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel, and virtually every major analytics and advertising tracker by default. According to Brave’s own Ads documentation, the browser “blocks third-party tracking including Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, and other third-party reporting and measurement vendors.” With over 100 million monthly active users as of 2025 (Brave, 2025), this isn’t a niche problem—it’s a data hemorrhage affecting every platform you rely on.

Server-side tracking is the only reliable solution. By capturing data on your server before it reaches browsers, you recover what privacy browsers hide. Here’s the complete breakdown of what Brave kills and what it means for your WordPress analytics.

What Brave Browser Actually Blocks

Brave uses multiple filter lists to identify and block trackers, including EasyList, EasyPrivacy, uBlock Origin filters, and Brave’s own blocklists. When an outgoing request matches these lists, Brave blocks it before the resource ever loads.

Here’s what gets killed:

• Google Analytics (GA4): The entire google-analytics.com domain is blocked, preventing the gtag.js library from loading
• Adobe Analytics: Blocked by default as confirmed in Brave Ads documentation
• Meta Pixel (Facebook Pixel): The connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js script is blocked, killing all pixel tracking
• TikTok Pixel: Blocked through EasyPrivacy filter lists
• Google Ads conversion tracking: Blocked alongside other Google measurement tools
• LinkedIn Insight Tag: Filtered through tracking prevention lists
• Pinterest Tag: Blocked as third-party tracking

The blocking mechanism is simple but devastating: Brave intercepts network requests, checks them against filter lists, and blocks anything that matches. Your tracking scripts never load. Your pixels never fire. Your data never arrives.

Why Standard Ad Blocker Bypass Tactics Fail

You might think you can outsmart Brave by hosting tracking scripts on your own domain. Brave thought of that too.

According to CookieStatus.com’s Brave documentation, version 1.17.73 introduced CNAME uncloaking. Brave resolves the DNS of any domain and identifies if there are CNAME records pointing to blocked domains. If your measure.yoursite.com is a CNAME record pointing to a blocked tracking domain, Brave blocks it anyway.

Translation: The common workaround of routing tracking through first-party subdomains doesn’t work against Brave.

Even cookies face restrictions. For JavaScript-set cookies (like those from analytics tools), Brave caps expiration at 7 days maximum. For server-set cookies via HTTP headers, the cap is 6 months. If you’re trying to track returning visitors with client-side cookies, you’re losing everyone who takes more than a week between visits.

The Scale of Data Loss Across Platforms

This isn’t just about Brave. According to Backlinko’s analysis of GWI data, 31.5% of internet users worldwide (ages 16-64) use ad-blocking tools at least sometimes. Blockthrough estimates 912 million ad-blocking users globally across desktop and mobile as of 2023.

Here’s where it compounds across your analytics stack:

GA4: Every Brave user is invisible. Your traffic numbers are understated. Your conversion paths are incomplete. Consent Mode already reduces your data—add Brave blocking and you’re flying blind.

Meta Pixel: Your Facebook Ads optimization suffers. The Pixel can’t track page views, add-to-carts, or purchases from Brave users. Your Custom Audiences are missing a significant chunk of your actual customers. This is why CAPI implementation is critical—it bypasses the browser entirely.

Google Ads: Enhanced Conversions and standard conversion tracking both fail when the underlying Google tags can’t load. Your ROAS calculations are wrong because you’re not seeing all the conversions.

Attribution: Multi-touch attribution becomes impossible when you can’t see user journeys. First-touch, last-touch, linear—none of them work when the data has gaps the size of Brave’s user base.

Why Server-Side Tracking Is the Only Fix

The fundamental problem with client-side tracking is where it runs: in the browser where it can be blocked. Server-side tracking flips this entirely.

When a visitor takes an action on your site—views a page, adds to cart, completes a purchase—that event is recorded on your server first. Your server then sends the data directly to analytics and advertising platforms through their APIs. No browser scripts. No pixels. Nothing for Brave to block.

This is why Meta’s Conversions API (CAPI) exists. It’s why Google offers server-side tagging. It’s why every major platform now has a server-side option. The platforms themselves know client-side tracking is dying.

According to Stape’s analysis, server-side tracking can recover significant portions of data lost to ad blockers and tracking prevention. One case study showed clients recovering 35% of users who had previously been invisible due to ad blockers after implementing proper server-side tracking with ad-block bypass techniques.

What Server-Side Tracking Recovers

With proper server-side implementation, you can send data to multiple destinations that Brave normally blocks:

• GA4 via Measurement Protocol: Events sent server-to-server, bypassing browser blocking
• Facebook via Conversions API: Purchase and lead events from your server to Meta
• Google Ads via offline conversions: Conversion data sent through the API, not the browser
• TikTok Events API: Server-side event tracking for TikTok campaigns
• LinkedIn Conversions API: B2B conversion tracking without browser dependencies

The key difference: Brave can’t block requests it never sees. Server-to-server communication happens outside the browser entirely.

The WordPress Server-Side Tracking Solution

For WordPress sites, implementing server-side tracking traditionally required GTM Server-Side containers, cloud hosting, and significant developer time. Coded UTM parameters help with attribution, but you still need the infrastructure to send data server-side.

The Transmute Engine™ eliminates this complexity for WordPress. It’s WordPress-native server-side tracking that:

• Captures events before they reach the browser
• Sends data directly to GA4, Facebook CAPI, Google Ads, and more
• Requires no GTM knowledge or container setup
• Works automatically with WooCommerce events

Because data collection happens server-side, Brave’s blocking—and all other ad blockers—become irrelevant. Your GA4 shows real traffic. Your Facebook attribution works. Your Google Ads optimization has complete data.

Key Takeaways

• Brave blocks GA4, Adobe Analytics, Meta Pixel, and all major tracking platforms by default
• 100+ million monthly active users are invisible to your client-side tracking (Brave, 2025)
• 31.5% of global internet users use some form of ad blocking (GWI, 2024)
• CNAME uncloaking defeats first-party subdomain workarounds—Brave checks DNS records
• Server-side tracking is the only reliable solution—it bypasses browser blocking entirely
• WordPress sites need WordPress-native solutions—GTM complexity isn’t the answer for most stores

Ready to stop losing data to privacy browsers? Explore Transmute Engine and see how WordPress-native server-side tracking recovers what Brave hides.