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Brave Leo’s end-to-end encrypted chat is available when you select GLM 5.3 Flash. Open Leo in a current Brave browser, choose that model from Leo’s three-dot menu, and send a prompt. Before the prompt leaves your device, Brave says the browser verifies an attested NEAR AI Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), obtains a key only after successful verification, and encrypts the prompt and conversation context. Brave’s relay forwards ciphertext while the TEE decrypts and processes it.
This guide shows the exact desktop and Android paths, explains what each service can and cannot see, covers tab sharing and local history, compares the free and Premium tiers, and provides recovery steps when encrypted chat or history is unavailable.
What Brave Leo’s encrypted chat does
Leo is Brave’s built-in AI assistant. The encrypted-chat mode changes the path your prompt takes to the model: the browser encrypts the prompt before transmission, a relay carries the encrypted data, and an attested NEAR AI TEE handles decryption and processing. The design is intended to prevent the relay from reading the text while separating your network identity from the plaintext prompt.
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Brave says the feature is available in its Nightly, Beta, and Release channels. You do not need a separate app or browser extension: Leo is built into Brave. The free Leo experience also does not require an account or signup.
Before you start
- Install or update Brave to a current build in the Nightly, Beta, or Release channel.
- Use a normal Brave window. Leo conversation history is unavailable in Incognito and Tor modes.
- Decide which browser tabs, if any, Leo needs to read. Tab context is shared only when you select it, but a selected page can contain private text, account details, or other data you did not intend to include.
- Remember that encryption protects the transmission and processing path described by Brave; it does not make Leo’s answers automatically correct. Verify important results independently.
Open Leo on desktop
- Launch Brave and open the page where you want assistance.
- Click the Leo icon in the toolbar or sidebar. You can also type your question in the address bar and choose Ask Leo from the suggestions.
- In the Leo panel, open the three-dot settings menu.
- Choose GLM 5.3 Flash. This is the model Brave identifies for encrypted chat in NEAR AI TEEs.
- Type your prompt and click Send. The browser seals the prompt and any conversation context before transmission.
If GLM 5.3 Flash is not listed, the encrypted mode is not available through that Leo session at that moment. Confirm that Brave is current, that you are not in Incognito or Tor mode, and that you have selected the model rather than another Leo option. Do not assume that another model has the same end-to-end encryption treatment.
Open Leo on Android
- Open Brave on your Android device.
- Tap the address bar and choose Ask Leo, or open the main menu and tap Leo.
- Open Leo’s three-dot settings menu and select GLM 5.3 Flash.
- Enter your question and tap Send. Brave encrypts the prompt and conversation context before sending them.
The labels can appear in slightly different locations as Brave updates its Android interface, but the required sequence is the same: open Leo, select GLM 5.3 Flash, then send the prompt. Leo is part of the browser, so installing a separate assistant application is not required.
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Brave’s published design uses several separate protections rather than one generic “private mode.” Understanding the sequence helps you judge what encrypted chat does and does not protect.
1. The browser verifies the computing environment
Before the browser receives an encryption key, it checks an attestation from the selected TEE. Attestation is a cryptographic statement that the expected protected service is running. Brave says that if verification fails, the browser will not receive the key and will not relay the message.
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2. The browser encrypts locally
After successful attestation, the browser encrypts the prompt and the relevant conversation context. The published flow names ephemeral X25519 keys, HPKE, and AES-128-GCM. In practical terms, the plaintext is sealed on your device before it is sent across the network.
3. The relay carries ciphertext
Brave’s relay forwards the encrypted payload. The relay can see the source IP address because it is handling the network connection, but it cannot read the prompt content. The relay therefore has network metadata without the message plaintext.
4. The attested TEE processes the prompt
The NEAR AI TEE receives the encrypted request, decrypts it inside its protected environment, and runs GLM 5.3 Flash. Brave says the TEE does not receive your IP address. This separation means the component that can process the plaintext is not the same component that sees your direct network address.
5. The response returns through the encrypted path
The model’s response is returned to Leo through the same protected design so the browser can display it. Encryption does not change the model’s ability to make mistakes, omit context, or produce misleading text. Treat the answer as assistance, not as an authority for medical, legal, financial, security, or other high-consequence decisions.
What each party can see
| Component | What Brave documents it can see | What it is designed not to see |
|---|---|---|
| Your Brave browser | Your prompt, selected tab context, conversation display, and local history settings. | Nothing on your device outside the data you allow Leo to use; browser encryption begins before the prompt is transmitted. |
| Brave relay | Your source IP address and encrypted network traffic. | The plaintext prompt and response content. |
| Attested NEAR AI TEE | The decrypted prompt and context needed to run GLM 5.3 Flash. | Your source IP address, which is separated by the relay design. |
| Leo model | The text and selected page context supplied for that request. | Any tabs or information you did not attach to the request. |
This is a boundary model, not an instruction to paste secrets freely. A prompt still leaves your device in encrypted form, and the TEE must decrypt it to answer. Avoid sending passwords, recovery codes, private keys, or regulated personal information unless your own risk assessment permits that use.
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Use multiple tabs without oversharing
Leo can answer questions about open pages when you explicitly attach their context. The paperclip context selector controls which tabs are included.
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- Open Leo on the desktop or Android interface.
- Click or tap the paperclip context selector.
- Select the tabs Leo should read. Deselect every tab that is irrelevant or sensitive.
- Review the selection before sending the prompt.
- Ask a question that clearly identifies the pages or facts you want compared.
For example, select two public documentation tabs and ask Leo to list differences between their installation steps. Do not select a webmail, banking, health, work-admin, or password-manager tab merely because it happens to be open. A page can expose its visible text, private account details, or embedded information to the model when included as context.
Keep tab context narrow
- Attach only the pages needed for the current question.
- After a comparison, reopen the paperclip selector and remove those tabs before asking an unrelated question.
- Prefer a short pasted excerpt when a page contains unrelated private sections, provided the excerpt itself does not contain sensitive data.
- Check the final prompt for names, email addresses, order numbers, internal URLs, and quoted text that may identify another person.
Manage Leo conversation history
Leo’s history is a local-device feature. Brave says history is encrypted at rest and can be managed from the dedicated Leo page or the sidebar.
Open history
- In the address bar, enter
brave://leo-ai, or open Conversation History from the Leo sidebar. - Select a conversation to review it on that device.
Brave documents history support in version 1.75x and later on desktop and Android. The exact minor version represented by “1.75x” is not specified in the help-center wording, so update Brave rather than relying on an old build if the history interface is missing.
Disable or clear history
- Open Brave Settings.
- Choose Leo.
- Disable history if you do not want new conversations stored locally, or choose Clear Leo data to remove stored Leo data.
Clearing local history does not retroactively erase a prompt that you deliberately shared with the model during processing. It removes the browser’s local record, so use it as a device-retention control rather than as a substitute for careful prompt selection.
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Incognito and Tor behavior
Chat history is unavailable in Incognito and Tor modes. If you need a persistent local conversation list, use a regular Brave window. If you intentionally use a private browsing mode, plan to save any non-sensitive notes outside Leo only when your own policy allows it.
Free Leo and Leo Premium
Brave documents different service limits and model access between free Leo and Leo Premium. The core privacy description is the same for both tiers in the cited model information, but encrypted-chat eligibility still depends on selecting the documented model.
| Feature | Free Leo | Leo Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Price | No account or signup is required for the free Leo experience. | $14.99 per month, according to Brave’s 2026 help-center information. |
| Rate limits | Lower limits than Premium; the exact allowance is not stated in the available product information. | Higher rate limits than free Leo; the exact allowance is not stated. |
| Model availability | Access depends on the models Brave makes available to the free tier; select GLM 5.3 Flash for the documented encrypted mode when listed. | Broader model availability may be included, but the encrypted treatment described here is tied to GLM 5.3 Flash. |
| Account requirement | No account or signup required for the free experience. | Premium requires the subscription arrangement Brave specifies; the cited material does not state additional account details. |
| Device coverage | Leo is built into Brave on supported desktop and Android installations. | Uses the same Leo browser surfaces on supported devices. |
| Privacy treatment | Brave describes the same core privacy protections for the documented encrypted model. | Brave describes the same core privacy protections for the documented encrypted model. |
Premium is therefore primarily a choice about limits and model access, not a reason to assume stronger encryption. If your goal is encrypted Leo chat, first confirm that GLM 5.3 Flash is available and selected.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshooting encrypted chat
GLM 5.3 Flash is missing
- Update Brave and restart it.
- Confirm you are using Nightly, Beta, or Release rather than an unsupported or unusually old build.
- Open Leo’s three-dot menu and inspect the model selector again.
- Check whether you are in Incognito or Tor mode, then retry in a regular window.
- Do not substitute another model and call it end-to-end encrypted; Brave’s documented guarantee applies to the named GLM 5.3 Flash mode.
Attestation fails or the message will not send
Attestation occurs before the browser receives the encryption key. If verification fails, Brave says it will not hand out the key or relay the message. Retry after updating Brave and checking your connection. If the failure persists, leave the model unselected rather than sending sensitive material through an unverified path, and consult Brave’s current support documentation for a build-specific issue.
Leo cannot answer about a tab
- Open the paperclip selector and confirm the intended tab is selected.
- Make sure the page has finished loading and that its important content is visible in the browser.
- Ask a focused question naming the selected page.
- Remove and re-add the tab if the context list is stale, then send a new prompt.
A selected tab supplies context; it does not guarantee that Leo will quote every section or interpret dynamic content correctly.
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History is missing
- Use a regular browser window instead of Incognito or Tor.
- Check
brave://leo-aiand the sidebar’s Conversation History. - Verify that history has not been disabled under Settings → Leo.
- Remember that clearing Leo data removes local records, so a previously deleted conversation cannot be restored from that device.
Privacy limits worth understanding
Encryption does not hide your IP from every component
The relay can see the source IP address. The protection is that the relay cannot read the prompt, while the TEE can process the plaintext without receiving that IP. This is metadata separation, not complete network anonymity.
Encryption does not cover unselected services
The documented flow applies to the GLM 5.3 Flash encrypted mode. Other Leo models, future features, browser diagnostics, and unrelated websites may follow different data paths. Read the model name shown in Leo instead of assuming that every assistant response is covered.
Local encryption is not device security
History is encrypted at rest on the device, but anyone who can unlock your browser profile or operating system may be able to use the same account or profile. Use a strong device lock, keep Brave updated, and clear Leo data on shared computers.
Model output still needs checking
Brave warns that Leo can produce inaccurate or misleading answers. For a technical command, inspect the referenced documentation; for a consequential decision, obtain an appropriately qualified human review. Privacy and accuracy are separate properties.
Quick Recap
A practical operating checklist
- Update Brave to a current Nightly, Beta, or Release build.
- Open Leo from the toolbar, sidebar, address bar, or Android menu.
- Open the three-dot menu and select GLM 5.3 Flash.
- Check the paperclip selector and attach only necessary tabs.
- Remove passwords, tokens, personal identifiers, and unrelated private text from the prompt.
- Send the question and treat the response as unverified assistance.
- Review or remove local history through
brave://leo-ai, Conversation History, or Settings → Leo. - If attestation fails, do not send sensitive content through an unverified model; update Brave and retry.
Key takeaways
- Encrypted Leo chat is the documented GLM 5.3 Flash mode, not an automatic setting for every Leo model.
- Attestation precedes key delivery; a failed verification should stop the request.
- The Brave relay sees your source IP but not prompt plaintext, while the attested NEAR AI TEE processes plaintext without receiving that IP.
- Tab context is opt-in through the paperclip selector, so review attachments before every request.
- History is local, encrypted at rest, configurable under Leo settings, and unavailable in Incognito and Tor modes.
- Leo can be wrong; verify important answers independently.
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