Opera Introduces Free VPN Built Right Into Your Web Browser
Windows / Mac / Linux: Opera users just got a free unlimited VPN that you can use to encrypt data or bypass location-based content restrictions . It is currently in the developer version of Opera, but turning it on is as easy as flipping a switch.
The latest versions of Opera are built on Chromium so you can expect a similar browsing experience, but today’s big change is the introduction of this free VPN service. After the upgrade, all you have to do to enable it is toggle it in the toolbar. Once enabled, you can specify your location to log out of servers in the US, Germany or Canada and use it as much as you like. Specifically from the Opera blog:
To activate it, Mac users simply need to click the Opera menu, select Settings and turn on the VPN feature, while Windows and Linux users just need to go to the Privacy & Security section in Settings and turn on VPN there. A button will appear in the browser address field with which the user can see and change the location (other locations will appear later), check if their IP address is open, and view statistics of the data used.
Once enabled, all your browsing data (no distinction between a real VPN and a proxy or web browser tools that call them their own VPNs) is encrypted and sent through Opera’s VPN Hubs. This gives you most of the benefits of a good VPN .
Of course, Opera’s VPN only encrypts and protects traffic inside the browser. This means that you are not receiving encrypted data in all of your applications across the entire system. You also don’t get the number of egress servers and protocols that most other VPN providers offer you (Opera currently offers three, and hopefully there will be more soon). Likewise, we are not aware of Opera’s position on data privacy. and logging, which are important to keep in mind if you want to be a reliable VPN provider .
Opera’s new VPN is great for people who want to make sure their data is private in a coffee shop, hotel, airport or Wi-Fi library, who just doesn’t like the idea of third-party attacks stealing their credentials, or those who want to stream a movie, video on YouTube or an audio track not available in their country. It looks more like a browser tool replacement than a full-featured system-wide VPN, and it certainly can’t compare to some of the best full-featured VPNs you can choose from. However, this is a step in the right direction and we cannot argue with free and unlimited use.
If you want to give it a try, you’ll need the developer version of Opera, which you can download here . If you’d like to know more about this (and about the recently introduced ad blocker in Opera), click on the link below.
Free VPN Integrated into Opera for Better Online Privacy | Opera Blog via The Verge