Opera Browser Added New Feature With Free Built-In VPN.
The desktop browser Opera has been around for a long time, however, it has lost ground to the likes of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Opera is doing a lot to attract users back, and its most recent feature is a doozy. Now Opera comes with unlimited, free VPN forever.
Opera has declared it's integrating an unlimited and free virtual private network (VPN) into its browser, which will permit users to maintain their privacy online and easily access blocked websites.
A Virtual Private Network or VPN mainly masks our online identity and tricks the site we are visiting into thinking we are in a different location than where we actually are. It’s an important security element and we should be using VPNs more often than we think.
This new feature will remove the necessity for users to, pay for VPN subscriptions or download third-party browser extensions.
For now, the feature is only available in the Opera developer incarnation , and it features 256-bit encryption. To activate it, the user has to click the “O” menu, hit “Settings,” choose “Privacy & Security,” and then tick “Enable VPN.”
Opera said, the main benefits of having a VPN client assembled into the browser include improving public Wi-Fi security, hiding the IP address, and bypassing website access restrictions.
"Right now we are releasing VPN in the Developer/alpha channel to gather feedback from users," a spokesperson for Opera Software told Ars. "Based on this feedback we will estimate on how much time we need to develop the stable version. Our usual release cycle is six weeks."
"On iOS, Opera will offer a free VPN app named 'Opera VPN.' This is however not limited to the browser but offers VPN service for all apps on the device. We are thinking about developing a VPN for Android as well. Stay tuned," the company said.
The VPN function will be accessible within its desktop browser with a simple flick of a toggle switch — making it one of the first mainstream browser makers to offer this.
After users flip the VPN on, they will be permitted to change the country that they are showing to websites, and the browser will demonstrate other information like how much information has gone through its VPN servers. Opera does not need a sign-in to toggle the feature.
More generally, Opera’s built-in VPN will be able to shield user true IP address, allow user enjoy a more private online existence and unblock firewalls or geo-restricted content.
Everyone deserves to be private online if they want to be,” said Krystian Kolondra, senior vice president at Opera. “By adding a free, unlimited VPN directly into the browser, no additional download or extensions from an unknown third-party provider are necessary. So, today, our Opera desktop users get a handy way to boost their online privacy, as well as easier access to all their favorite online content no matter where they are.”
Opera's native VPN has no data limit and is completely free while it's only presented in the developer version of the browser, where the company tests out features before presenting them to all users.
The VPN is now live on the latest version of the developer browser. If the user wants to make sure user are browsing securely, it could be worth trying out.