Privacy issues with Opera??

prabha01

prabha01

I would like to try using Opera rather than Chrome as my main browser to see if it is less resource intensive. I have read many opinions about the browser regarding its supposed lack of privacy now that it is owned or partly owned by a Chinese company. I can't find anything credible to make me anymore suspicious of the browser than I am of Chrome (which I currently use). I know Google is interested in my browsing behavior and, for the most part, I'm ok with that (it's free after all- they need to get something out of it). Is there any real, verified reason to not use Opera, including for online shopping and banking? I see this has been addressed in this sub a couple of times but not recently (most posts are a year or more old). I'd love others' opinions and, even better, I'd like to know if there is anything real I should be aware of? Thanks in advance.

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @prabha01

@prabha01 See:

https://www.opera.com/privacy

https://www.opera.com/terms

https://blogs.opera.com/security/2023/07/debunking-spyware-misinformation/

Opera-Security

Opera-Security Opera

Hello! Please note that there is a lot of misinformation online about Opera, usually from anonymous and unreliable sources.

In fact, Opera puts user privacy front and center.

First and foremost, we do not know who you are. We do not see individual users, but only browser installations. Our users are anonymous to us.

You can choose to share some data with us, which we use to improve our services and to monetize our free products. If don't share this data with us, we don't get this data.

Secondly, as a company headquartered in Oslo, Norway, we are subject to GDPR regulations, which means that we have to be transparent about what data we collect, for which purpose, and with the user's consent.

Thirdly, we offer built-in privacy-enhancing features such as native ad blocking and VPN, which protect your online experience and are not offered by most mainstream browsers out there.

We hope this helps! If you have any specific questions, we'll be happy to help answer them. You can also refer to our Privacy & Security page and our blog for more information about our efforts on privacy and security.