Opera adds a free VPN with built-in adblocker to its iOS browser

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iOS
Opera has added a free VPN to its iOS browser for users to browse the web privately and avoid data collection.




People can be susceptible to data gathering from websites and online services when browsing the internet. Unfortunately, many companies aren't transparent about storing and using the data.

It's enough of a security issue that Apple has iCloud Private Relay, which keeps browsing private with features such as withholding a user's precise location. Private Relay requires a paid iCloud+ account, however, and as well as not being a full VPN, it solely works within Safari.

While a true VPN doesn't make someone anonymous, it can safeguard web browsing from prying eyes if the VPN provider doesn't retain data. For example, Opera says its new addition is a no-log service that doesn't collect personal data or information related to users' browsing history or originating network address.

Opera's VPN -- which is free -- also includes a built-in adblocker that can speed up browsing and shield users from unwanted advertisements. And with Opera's Cryptojacking Protection already in the browser, users will be safe from having their device's resources hijacked for crypto mining.

Users only need to download the Opera Browser for iOS and enable the VPN in the app to begin using it. It requires iOS or iPadOS 12.0 or later.

The entire rollout will be finished in the coming weeks, making VPN accessible to all customers.

Other updates

Alongside the new VPN service, two more updates are coming to Opera Browser for iOS.

Users can manage their online lives more effectively thanks to the Bookmarks function, which gives quick access to the most crucial information when used with the browser's Speed Dial feature. Also, the browser's homepage now has a new Live Scores option for football lovers.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    GrannySmith99GrannySmith99 Posts: 47member
    Very interesting. Is this VPN available on the desktop application too? If not, will it be an upcoming feature?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 7
    antiprotestantiprotest Posts: 7member
    GrannySmith99 said:
    Very interesting. Is this VPN available on the desktop application too? If not, will it be an upcoming feature?
    Yes. It has been on the desktop version for many years. However, do a search on who owns Opera and decide for yourself if it can be trusted with your data and web traffic. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 7
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,792member
    I like the Opera browser, I keep wondering though, nothing on the internet is free. If you aren't paying, you are the product. So how do they pay for this free VPN? Just how secure is it? How anonymous is it? Running a worldwide VPN network isn’t cheap, I would want to know more before I went to them.
    edited April 2023 watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 7
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,792member
    antiprotest said:
    GrannySmith99 said:
    Very interesting. Is this VPN available on the desktop application too? If not, will it be an upcoming feature?
    Yes. It has been on the desktop version for many years. However, do a search on who owns Opera and decide for yourself if it can be trusted with your data and web traffic. 
    I took your advice. Dabbling in crypto, and in 2016 acquired by a Chinese consortium. 
    I guess I won’t be moving over to them. 
  • Reply 5 of 7
    boingboing Posts: 5member
    DAalseth said:
    Very interesting. Is this VPN available on the desktop application too? If not, will it be an upcoming feature?
    Yes. It has been on the desktop version for many years. However, do a search on who owns Opera and decide for yourself if it can be trusted with your data and web traffic. 
    I took your advice. Dabbling in crypto, and in 2016 acquired by a Chinese consortium. 
    I guess I won’t be moving over to them. 
    Yes that is true, but Opera HQ is still in Norway and bound by Norwegian laws. Additionally, Opera is traded on the stock exchange, so I doubt they would do anything nefarious to hurt their stock price which has gone up 141.28% in the past 6 months.

    I always find it interesting how people attack Opera because it is owned by a     Chinese consortium, and most of their electronics (including iphones) they own are built in China yet nobody has an issue with that and seems to trust it. Until someone actually monitors the Opera browser traffic and can see nefarious traffic taking place, I don't see what all the derogatory comments are about.
  • Reply 6 of 7
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,590member
    boing said:
    DAalseth said:
    Very interesting. Is this VPN available on the desktop application too? If not, will it be an upcoming feature?
    Yes. It has been on the desktop version for many years. However, do a search on who owns Opera and decide for yourself if it can be trusted with your data and web traffic. 
    I took your advice. Dabbling in crypto, and in 2016 acquired by a Chinese consortium. 
    I guess I won’t be moving over to them. 
    Yes that is true, but Opera HQ is still in Norway and bound by Norwegian laws. Additionally, Opera is traded on the stock exchange, so I doubt they would do anything nefarious to hurt their stock price which has gone up 141.28% in the past 6 months.

    I always find it interesting how people attack Opera because it is owned by a Chinese consortium, and most of their electronics (including iphones) they own are built in China yet nobody has an issue with that and seems to trust it. Until someone actually monitors the Opera browser traffic and can see nefarious traffic taking place, I don't see what all the derogatory comments are about.
    The company that owns the factories in China that make iPhones is not a Chinese company, it's from Taiwan. Did you know that Taiwan is a democracy? Did you know that Taiwan's score on the Democracy Index is 10% higher than the USA's own democracy score? (Taiwan scores 8.99 vs the US's 7.85.) When Foxconn delivers an iPhone from Taiwan to the USA, it's delivering that product to a LESS democratic country. How does that make you feel?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

    But to back up your point, I am indeed concerned that things are manufactured in China. Whenever I buy something, I do my best to avoid any product that's made in China, because I don't want to support dictatorships. But sometimes there's no option to purchase a product from a democracy. When it comes to iPhones I can try to pressure Apple to make them elsewhere. Did you know Apple has been making iPhones in India since 2017? (It even says "Made in India" on the back of the iPhone.) Roughly 5% of iPhones are made in India. India scores 7.04 on the Democracy Index. The next time I buy an iPhone I'll try to buy a model that's made in India.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    boingboing Posts: 5member
    boing said:
    DAalseth said:
    Very interesting. Is this VPN available on the desktop application too? If not, will it be an upcoming feature?
    Yes. It has been on the desktop version for many years. However, do a search on who owns Opera and decide for yourself if it can be trusted with your data and web traffic. 
    I took your advice. Dabbling in crypto, and in 2016 acquired by a Chinese consortium. 
    I guess I won’t be moving over to them. 
    Yes that is true, but Opera HQ is still in Norway and bound by Norwegian laws. Additionally, Opera is traded on the stock exchange, so I doubt they would do anything nefarious to hurt their stock price which has gone up 141.28% in the past 6 months.

    I always find it interesting how people attack Opera because it is owned by a Chinese consortium, and most of their electronics (including iphones) they own are built in China yet nobody has an issue with that and seems to trust it. Until someone actually monitors the Opera browser traffic and can see nefarious traffic taking place, I don't see what all the derogatory comments are about.
    The company that owns the factories in China that make iPhones is not a Chinese company, it's from Taiwan. Did you know that Taiwan is a democracy? Did you know that Taiwan's score on the Democracy Index is 10% higher than the USA's own democracy score? (Taiwan scores 8.99 vs the US's 7.85.) When Foxconn delivers an iPhone from Taiwan to the USA, it's delivering that product to a LESS democratic country. How does that make you feel?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index

    But to back up your point, I am indeed concerned that things are manufactured in China. Whenever I buy something, I do my best to avoid any product that's made in China, because I don't want to support dictatorships. But sometimes there's no option to purchase a product from a democracy. When it comes to iPhones I can try to pressure Apple to make them elsewhere. Did you know Apple has been making iPhones in India since 2017? (It even says "Made in India" on the back of the iPhone.) Roughly 5% of iPhones are made in India. India scores 7.04 on the Democracy Index. The next time I buy an iPhone I'll try to buy a model that's made in India.
    Yes I knew about everything you stated when you kept saying "Did you know" sarcastically. How does it make me feel? It makes me feel that the USA has room for improvement, and that if you find the democracy score of Taiwan appealing, you should consider moving there.

    What you fail to mention is the fact that when you do business in China regardless of the owner of the company (being Taiwanese or whatever), you have to play by Chinese rules, and at times put up with its failure to protect intellectual property (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/27/business/economy/china-trade-intellectual-property.html). That is why several large tech companies left China in the past because even though they were owned by foreign entities, the Chinese laws were in many ways against the companies in question. So why does it even matter what country owns the company, when the business itself is being conducted in China, under Chinese governmental rules?

    At least we both agree on the fact that moving production to other countries other then only China is a good thing. Having the option to make purchases of a product that is produced in a place that agrees with your moral standing is a good thing. I do applaud the fact you have went this direction by avoiding any product that's made in China because you don't agree with their government standing.



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