General reliability, security and privacy of Opera
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A Former User last edited by
I‘m really liking to use Opera for its modern design, fantastic features and nice performance.
But I‘ve also read and heard some worrying stuff about it.
I know that Opera has been refuting all these allegations as wrong and misleading.
Yet, I wonder if there‘s some neutral and serious review of the browser from an independent side which would calm any worries.. And yes, I‘ve read through the privacy statement. -
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A Former User last edited by A Former User
@leocg Thank you for responding. I think of so many reviews and videos by people, who highlight the Chinese owners and massive data collection.
I actually don't know how serious they are. As one example from Germany, my home country, I could name Kuketz Blog, claiming that Opera is the outright contrast to privacy
https://www.kuketz-blog.de/opera-datensendeverhalten-desktop-version-browser-check-teil13/You will probably have heard about other examples as well.
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leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by
@TheCelticCross Never saw any of those articles, I only keep seeing people posting here and there asking if Opera is really safe because they heard somewhere that Opera is owned by Chinese and all Chinese companies are spies of the government and, because of that, users information is sent to China, what doesn't make any sense.
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pilis00 last edited by@leocg said in General reliability, security and privacy of Opera:
all Chinese companies are spies of the government
I've had enough to hear people saying that. Google Chrome who is American and owned by Google, doesn't spy? Let's be honest.
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A Former User last edited by A Former User
@leocg I've read the most recent artikel on pockpc.ch, a Suisse tech magazine: https://www.pocketpc.ch/magazin/editorial/beste-browser-handy-97559/#opera_millionen_schweres_marketing_und_verkauf_nach_china
The part about Opera reads (English translation by Aria, highlights by me:
"Opera: Millions in Heavy Marketing and Sales to ChinaAt Opera, we need to take a step back, because many people here don't have some very important points on their radar, but let's first work through the technical aspects. Just like Chrome and Brave, Opera is also based on the Google Chromium engine. This makes the browser fast in loading websites and allows it to use some extensions from the Chrome Store. By the way, a free VPN service is integrated, as well as messengers from different platforms.
So you can easily work with messengers like WhatsApp in the left sidebar via the browser without installing any additional programs. A practical option is also one that can significantly reduce the data traffic of websites and thus load them faster. Mobile devices, particularly mobile phones, benefit from lower data consumption.
Opera and the China Case are Particularly Critical The majority of Opera's shares are held by the Chinese company Kunlun Tech, which is obliged to transfer data to authorities under the Chinese National Intelligence Law. This raises concerns about data security, especially since the integrated VPN only acts as a proxy without full encryption and stores connection data. This ultimately ends up on Chinese servers.
In addition, ownership influences editorial content (e.g., censorship of critical China reports in the Opera News app), which is currently a topic in Africa, in particular. The dependence on Kunlun Tech leads to compromises and very limited transparency. As you could see in the past, especially on YouTube, the manufacturer launched a huge influencer marketing strategy to further distribute the browser. Particularly among gamers, the gaming browser Opera GX should gain a foothold.
Please click here to accept marketing cookies and activate this content Video: The Morpheus
Why you should also avoid Opera in our eyes is shown quite clearly in the video above by the IT security specialist Morpheus.
Some Advantages at a Glance:
High speed through Chromium on Android Great functionality with many integrated tools, also with AI Free VPN without data limit. Modern interface on all platforms Some Disadvantages at a Glance:
Chinese ownership (Kunlun Tech) raises data protection questions. Manipulated content of the news app depending on the region. VPN acts more like a proxy and delivers data to Chinese servers. Fewer extensions than Chrome or Firefox."
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Opera-Security Opera last edited by Opera-Security@TheCelticCross Hello! A lot of information in that article is either not true or has been distorted by misinformation that proliferates online. We have addressed such misinformation on multiple occasions in the past, and you can find some of our statements in our blog.
In summary:
Opera is headquartered and registered in Norway. This means we comply with Norwegian and European regulations, including the GDPR. As a public company that trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange, Opera has investors from all over the world, and Kunlun Tech is the largest one. However, Kunlun's shares in Opera do not give Kunlun access to Opera's data, nor make it a part of the Opera group of companies. Therefore, any issues of jurisdiction to Chinese laws do not apply to Opera in any way.The video they link to is full of inaccuracies and misinformation which we also have addressed.
Specifically about the VPN mention: Opera's VPN actually does have full encryption - AES-256 encryption, specifically. It does not send data to Chinese servers or to any servers, nor does it store data because it is a no-log service. To support this fact, the VPN has been independently audited by Deloitte - a Big Four auditor that has audited several other trusted VPN services. You can find more information about that here. In addition, we publish a Transparency Report twice a year that outlines how many requests for data we get from authorities, how many are granted (so far: zero), and how this process works.
We hope this information helps. Please let us know if you have any further questions.
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A Former User last edited by
@Opera-Security Thank you very much for clarifying. So I can still use Opera confidently.
