You can now tip Twitter users in BAT via the Brave browser

Brave, the Chromium-based browser that sports the Basic Attention Token (BAT) has brought in a new feature that lets users tip any creator they’d prefer.

Tipping is the new normal

While the feature, similar to Tippen, is a great one, it’s only in a beta format for now. That’s right, it’s a form of Brave’s “experimental features” which you must opt-in to use. So, participate at your own discretion.

It’s easy to use, too. Essentially, while browsing through Twitter, users will see a “tip” button next to the “favorite” and “retweet” ones. They can simply click the button and the browser will automatically send a tip to the creator. Of course, you’ll have to buy BAT from cryptocurrency exchanges first.

According to the website, those who have verified themselves as a Brave creator will receive a tip almost instantly.

As The Next Web notes, this feature is similar to Brave’s tip feature from last year. When it first came out, the browser ensured users could tip creators of their choice. This could be producers on YouTube, Twitch, or even websites. However, there’s some gray area surrounding this practice.

Questionable practices

The Block reported last year that even if a creator doesn’t opt into owning BAT tokens, they’ll still receive tips. Yet, if someone is unaware of the Brave browser, they’ve got no way of knowing they got tipped.

This happened to one Tom Scott, a YouTube creator. Brave put up his image to promote the token and browser without his awareness. The advertisement made it look like Scott agreed to this and was promoting Brave, but he had never heard of it. So, people were tipping the creator with BAT and he had no idea this was happening. Scott receiving tips without opting in isn’t a mistake, either.

Late last year, Brave creator Brandon Eich tweeted that he doesn’t like opting in. He claims that it “kills user-driven growth”. While he’s technically right, the ability to opt-in respects a user’s rights, which is especially important in the online world.

Opt in kills user-driven growth. We have many happy creators who came because their fans tipped ahead. Not enabling that growth is destructive.

— BrendanEich (@BrendanEich) December 21, 2018

Regardless, Eich and team have modified the Brave experience since this drama. Now, a tip to an unregistered user will be held in the tipper’s Bitcoin wallets for 90 days until the creator registers. That said, we’re unsure if the company plans to notify creators that a tip is waiting for them.