Can't stop Aria extension from running
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Robertiano last edited byAria Extension for Opera – I have a problem: for at least three updates now I’ve disabled this because I don’t need it—I’ve turned off all AI features and every setting. Yet the process remains active: your extension does not actually shut off, it can’t be uninstalled, and it keeps running in the background, consuming system resources even when disabled.
Previous “hacks” no longer work, because you’ve removed the option that would let us disable this extension through the settings menu. The point is, hiding the Aria AI Extension icon does nothing—the extension continues to run and constantly eats resources. Manually deleting its folder is useless, because Opera simply re-downloads the extension. Some people suggest deleting the folder and making it unwritable, but that’s also unacceptable. Why should I be forced to use something I don’t want?
My own workaround—always starting Opera with
Opera\opera.exe --disable-extensionsis clumsy and only temporarily solves the problem. Please give users the ability to see this extension in the list (like AdBlock) so they can disable it properly. Reddit and other forums have been discussing this since the beta test, but you continue to ignore it.
As a developer, I don’t want to see a constantly active add-on in my console that repeatedly logs messages like:
Mounting Writing Mode event listeners :: writing_mode_assistant.js:2 Writing Mode event listeners mounted :: writing_mode_assistant.js:2on every page—dozens of times per site—and the process stays active even with AI turned off. Everything related to ARIA AI and GPT is disabled in settings, yet the extension still runs in the background! Fix this urgently! This violates my right to choose my working environment and imposes unwanted functionality on me.
I’ve already deleted my profile and created a new one—nothing changes. It’s exactly as described here:
https://blogs.opera.com/news/2024/05/produce-better-text-with-aria-writing-mode-new-ai-feature-drop/“Strofl 10 months ago
I’ve been using Opera for nearly two years, but I’m thinking of switching to another browser. I can’t believe there’s no option to disable the writing assistant. I’ve tried everything, but it keeps popping up, and I can’t even see what I’m writing. This isn’t a feature—it’s a bug. If I need a writing assistant, I’ll activate it, but no, Opera forces me to use it, and I can’t see anything except the large ARIA logo in the text box.”Users are unhappy about this—including me—and I’m seriously considering switching browsers if you continue to force a service that I cannot disable through standard means.
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pilis00 last edited byAria can't be turned off, it's part of the browser.
I'm afraid that you might need to switch to another browser if Aria annoys you so much.
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leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by
@Robertiano There is a command line to show hidden extensions. However, built-in extensions usually can't be disabled since they are used to provide features and its options and removing them mighty cause issues.
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Robertiano last edited by
@leocg said in Can't stop Aria extension from running:
Opera One,
Opera One - yep -
Robertiano last edited by
@leocg And what’s the problem?) Dude, I disable the extension via command line and everything runs perfectly—no issues, the browser flies! But with that extension enabled, it constantly consumes resources, even up to 80%, and it injects itself into every site. I think people should have the right to choose whether they need this or not, rather than being forced to use something they don’t want. I’d understand if it was meant for new users, but when you’ve been using Opera since the Presto days, you don’t want your familiar environment messed with, and you don’t always need new features. That’s why I believe everyone should have the freedom to choose what suits their usability.
LOL, it’s not even an essential browser feature—it’s just an overlay on top of the UI that tracks interactions and then acts like an extension (or plugin) to provide its capabilities. Disabling it doesn’t cause any issues or errors. It just sits there, and if a user disables all AI-related features in the browser, it should disappear—not keep running in the background.
Why should I give away system resources or allow unnecessary tracking of my interactions with the page for a feature I don’t even use? Why can I disable ad blockers or crypto wallets, but I can’t disable this? Right—because it’s a hyped-up feature being pushed on everyone. But some people really don’t want or need it, and if you keep telling users to just switch browsers instead of giving them control, you’ll lose them all. What kind of company doesn’t give people freedom—especially when your product is built on an open-source Chromium base?
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pilis00 last edited by
Nobody enforces you to use Aria.
And you're among the very few who complain about Aria when at one point all browsers will have AI in them.That's how tchnology evolves, no matter what.
Again, you're free to switch to something else if Aria annoys you a lot.
Also,
Where are the 80% you're talking about? -
Robertiano last edited by
@pilis00 What does that have to do with anything? What are you even talking about!?)) That’s funny. I don’t even use this Opera Aria AI, yet it still takes up my resources—so why would I need it?
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pilis00 last edited by
@Robertiano if 33.8 MB of memory is a lot, then there is nothing more to comment about.
Again, feel free to switch to something without AI if you detest it that much.
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Robertiano last edited by
@pilis00 It seems like you're not approaching this thoughtfully, so let's skip the discussion
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andrew84 last edited by andrew84
Personally, I totally agree with author.
Something that I don't use/don't need should be switchable off. I posted many times that there should be a hard switch to disable the AI (and the small resource consumption is not an argument for me).
I don't understand what's the problem to implement the switch.
The AI extensions can be enabled by default after installing and there're are tons of hype regarding the AI, so users (fans of AI) can't miss it and leave unnoticed. But there are still people who really don't need it.*And the same relates to the 'Themes' and 'Tab Islands' features.
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Robertiano last edited by
@andrew84 Yes, you’re absolutely right — that’s exactly what I’m trying to express: there should be a choice.
For some reason, when I decline cookie policies, services still work — they just stop collecting data. But in this case, a very simple implementation — like an extension that barely did anything just a few versions ago — now suddenly becomes more intrusive. In the latest versions, it keeps popping up and interfering.
For example, when using Suno AI, if you open the track generation page, the console turns into complete chaos due to recursive page loading. The Aria AI by Opera script goes into a boot loop — loading itself over 20 times. Instead of initializing once and logging that it’s loaded, it keeps reloading on every single request to Suno AI’s servers, which are handled by Cloudflare.
As a developer working with performance-heavy websites, I definitely don’t need these AI widgets from Opera. I have my own tools, and they’re all outside the browser. What I need is a clean console and conflict-free modes — when I’m tracking site behavior, I want to see only the relevant resources. It’s not about memory usage here, it’s about CPU overhead, which spikes unnecessarily during the page startup because of ARIA AI scanning the DOM and mounting event listeners like:
Mounting Writing Mode event listeners :: writing_mode_assistant.js:2
Writing Mode event listeners mounted :: writing_mode_assistant.js:2I’ve come to realize that there are futuristic fans of Opera who love every shiny AI feature and innovation — and that’s fine. But there are also realists and conservatives who just want a clean, fast product. There are already enough pop-up players, notifications, dropdowns and so on — most of which can't even be disabled properly — and we manage to tolerate them. But when it comes to add-ons that overlay content or inject themselves into the page without being asked, that’s crossing a line.
That behavior violates user privacy and control. It essentially removes user choice and forces AI features onto people who either don’t need them or don’t even understand what they are or why they’re being used. This might benefit the developers, sure — but why should it come at the expense of users?
Is it really worth losing users not for what’s being built, but for how it’s being imposed?
What if, tomorrow, they decide to start collecting user data without consent — should we just accept that too? Or maybe it’s better to think through these things before that happens?Even Google, as aggressive as they can be about data, still respects some level of anonymity and provides users the right not to share their data.
So yes, I agree with you — and sure, we’ll probably be "hated" here by AI industry fans. But this is our opinion, and we have a right to express it. Especially since Opera itself rolls out branches and experiments — so what’s the point of all that, if not to listen to feedback?
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andrew84 last edited by andrew84
@Robertiano I don't very much familiar with all these AI related stuff and I don't want to be. I just opened 'News' section in the Opera blog and 80% of the recent posts there relates to AI.
I could understand if some always running AI stuff in the background process would be involved into existing (or new) features functionality improvements. For example the poor themes feature, it's quite easy to understand that dark blue text looks bad on the dark blue background. -
Robertiano last edited by
@andrew84 said in Can't stop Aria extension from running:
@Robertiano I don't very much familiar with all these AI related stuff and I don't want to be. I just opened 'News' section in the Opera blog and 80% of the recent posts there relates to AI.
I could understand if some always running AI stuff in the background process would be involved into existing (or new) features functionality improvements. For example the poor themes feature, it's quite easy to understand that dark blue text looks bad on the dark blue background.Yep i too)
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Moved from Opera for Windows by
leocg
