Debunking misinformation about Opera’s browsers
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A Former User last edited by
Thank you for publishing this original Tweet as a blog post.
After using Opera for almost one and a half year I still see myself being confronted with those „information“ about Opera. Still I‘m trusting you with my browsing and I hope, that I won‘t be disappointed by you. And that your own information like this one is for real. -
A Former User last edited by
Adding another thank you for this intriguing post. It's very helpful that Opera handles privacy and security concerns very transparently.
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edu2703 last edited by
The 'Opera sends its data to the CCP' myth is something that unfortunately is being widespread on Reddit.
There's a guy there that I don't know whether he's a bot or a normal person, who in any post or comment on Reddit where Opera is mentioned positively, he spreads his nonsense like 'Opera is owned by a Chinese company', 'Chinese companies are obliged by law to send their data to the CCP, so your Opera data is sent there.
I think this is subject to a lawsuit, as he's managing to damage Opera's image on Reddit and many users are parroting his nonsense. If I speak well of Opera in some subs, they call me 'CCP shill'.
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A Former User last edited by
@edu2703 I don‘t know, why browsers and especially Opera in my view, evoke such heated responses. As I see it, it‘s mostly from users of other non mainstream browsers that have a strong following like Brave, Vivaldi and in the meantime even Firefox.
Brave‘s main selling point is its strong focus on user privacy, so they especially have their users attack competing offerings as not being private. It‘s part of their self consciousness, so to say.
But that doesn’t mean, that they aren‘t attacked by other tribes as well.
Of course, it‘s true that Opera Software‘s greatest stakeholder is Kunlun Tech from China. But that doesn’t mean, they‘re selling or transferring data to China mainland.
I‘m using Opera right now for it fits my needs and is platform independent and not bound to one of the big three directly. -
canadagoose4everreturns last edited by
@celticcross I doubt very much that the makers of other browsers are encouraging their users to spread false information in order to dissuade people from using Opera and bolster their own numbers. It's probably a case of a few disgruntled, conspiracy theorists who simply are afraid of Opera because of its Chinese connections. Is there anything to this "gossip"? I honestly don't know. I'd prefer that Opera was still fully owned by a Norwegian company but that's no longer the case. So in the end, every person must decide for him/herself what to believe. Period.
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A Former User last edited by A Former User
@canadagoose4everreturns said in Debunking misinformation about Opera’s browsers:
@celticcross I doubt very much that the makers of other browsers are encouraging their users to spread false information in order to dissuade people from using Opera and bolster their own numbers. It's probably a case of a few disgruntled, conspiracy theorists who simply are afraid of Opera because of its Chinese connections. Is there anything to this "gossip"? I honestly don't know. I'd prefer that Opera was still fully owned by a Norwegian company but that's no longer the case. So in the end, every person must decide for him/herself what to believe. Period.
You’re certainly right. It‘s not the browser makers themselves but users who swear by them. Some of them behave like zealous missionaries. But I agree, most if not all people don‘t bother that much about which browser they use.
Just use, what you like. If Opera were spying on us, you would have probably heard from a major tech site or from one of their devs who‘d disagree. -
canadagoose4everreturns last edited by
@celticcross said in Debunking misinformation about Opera’s browsers:
@canadagoose4everreturns said in Debunking misinformation about Opera’s browsers:
@celticcross I doubt very much that the makers of other browsers are encouraging their users to spread false information in order to dissuade people from using Opera and bolster their own numbers. It's probably a case of a few disgruntled, conspiracy theorists who simply are afraid of Opera because of its Chinese connections. Is there anything to this "gossip"? I honestly don't know. I'd prefer that Opera was still fully owned by a Norwegian company but that's no longer the case. So in the end, every person must decide for him/herself what to believe. Period.
You’re certainly right. It‘s not the browser makers themselves but users who swear by them. Some of them behave like zealous missionaries. But I agree, most if not all people don‘t bother that much about which browser they use.
Just use, what you like. If Opera were spying on us, you would have probably heard from a major tech site or from one of their devs who‘d disagree.Right on. If Opera were doing these claimed things, we'd have heard about it from many different quarters and there would be plenty of proof forthcoming. Zealous missionaries? haha... exactly... especially from Vivaldi and Brave.
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lancealot last edited by
When using any software you have to build a trust in it, and I trust Opera for the exact reasons explained in this article. Anyone that has any questions about trusting Opera or scared by the "Opera is owned by a Chinese company" smear campaign, should read this post before believing in any of the negativity being spread.
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rekz last edited by
Reddit saying Opera VPN can be read by Chinese govt and that it's security protection can be byapssed by China govt. I'm suspect of those claims, but also surprised this article completely missed the chinese ownership discussion / concerns.
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leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by
@rekz Who owns Opera is not really relevant.
What is relevant is that Opera is a Norwegian company and follow European laws on privacy and data protection.
If one (still) believe that "China is bad, spy on you and steal your data" even with the information above, nothing that Opera says will change it. -
A Former User last edited by A Former User
@rekz I‘d say, if there were something about it, Opera would have been banned in Europe or the US. I suppose that every website you visit is more of a threat than this particular piece of software.
There‘s no way denying, that Opera has to earn money, too. So they like other companies try to gain some data from you for advertising reasons. Opera is a advertising company as well.
You can of course opt out from most of their services like cashback or shopping center and they are very open about it. Every major browser tries to monetize and has to.
And there‘s an important reason, too. As I understand it, browsers have become very complex these days. And you need a lot of workpower to keep them secure. So if don‘t want to rely on a hobbyist project, you need a company or an organization that‘s big enough to keep pace. And that is the reason, too, that there‘s no other browser engine than Chromium (Google), Gecko (Mozilla) and Webkit (Apple).
Opera is, compared to Google or Apple, a rather minor player. Others are even smaller and are even more dependent on the bigger ones, although they declare, they‘re not. But without Google there wouldn‘t be neither Brave nor Vivaldi, and almost certainly no Opera. And Google‘s money also keeps the light on at Mozilla. -
Tyler67877 last edited by
@opera-comments-bot said in Debunking misinformation about Opera’s browsers:
At Opera, we take the privacy and security of our users very seriously. Even so, we have recently noticed some articles that spread misinformation about our browser, labeling it as “spyware”. In this post, we aim to debunk these misconceptions and reaffirm our commitment to user privacy and security.
Describe the security measures Opera has in place to protect users from online threats like malware and phishing.
Mention any partnerships with cybersecurity organizations. -
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Mark877 last edited by
@tyler67877 said in Debunking misinformation about Opera’s browsers:
At Opera, we take the privacy and security of our users very seriously. Even so, we have recently noticed some articles that spread misinformation about our browser, labeling it as “spyware”. In this post, we aim to debunk these misconceptions and reaffirm our commitment to user privacy and security.
It's great to see Opera stepping up to address these rumors. Privacy and security are hot topics these days, so it's crucial to clear the air. I've been an Opera user for a while now, and I've always felt secure using it. It's awesome that you're taking the time to set the record straight and reassure users.
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Zebsound1 last edited by leocg
2 Questions.
- Do you send any data to the chinese part of Opera?
- Do they have the rights to see any data from European customers?
Because we all know the Law in China. The CCP is allowed to see the userdata of every company in china! Thats a fact
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A Former User last edited by
@zebsound1 I‘m sure if they were doing it, it would have been laid open to the public by someone.
I‘d just take them by their privacy policy. You are ok with it, then use it. If not, just leave it. There are alternatives at hand.
But spreading rumor and misinformation doesn’t help, IMHO. -
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A Former User last edited by
The more people are telling: Stop using Opera, because it’s spyware, the more I find pleasure in using it.
The louder they have to shout, the less they actually have to say.
Google, Edge or Safari, they all have their stengths and shortcomings, as they relate to some of the big companies. Hardly anyone does call them spyware whatsoever. Firefox might be an alternative for someone looking for a more private experience .
But people calling Opera spyware only to promote some tiny project that only does promote itself as private, is ridiculos. They don‘t even have the ressources to keep their peoject safe. They are totally relying on Google, that they despise, to do the hard job for them. Remember: without Google there wouldn‘t be anything like Brave or Vivaldi, as they don‘t have enough people or money to maintain the source code. Same goes for all these Firefox forks, maintained by one or two people. It‘s quite annoying that these projects are called browsers, as they are only variations of browsers.
Opera in my mind is the only OS independent Chromium variant, which isn’t only a fork but offers really something different and has more than hobbyist ressources.
As long as there‘s no proof, for Opera doing something shady, I‘ll be using Opera gladly.
But I‘m glad, you‘re addressing these allegations. -
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