<![CDATA[WhatsApp on sidebar using much memory]]>I've been using Opera for Mac for many years, primarily because of the sidebar feature — it's really convenient to have WhatsApp, Instagram, and ChatGPT always accessible without needing separate apps or additional tabs.

However, recently my MacBook started running its fans so intensely that I thought it might take off! I used Activity Monitor to investigate what was causing this and discovered one Opera process consuming over 500% CPU (screenshot attached). After closing it, I found that WhatsApp in the Opera sidebar was the culprit.

This has never happened before, and it doesn't occur when I use WhatsApp Web in a regular browser tab or through the standalone app. I'm running macOS Sequoia 15.6.1 on a MacBook Pro M1 Pro 16Gb RAM and have updated to the latest Opera version (122.0.5643.92), but the issue persists.

Is anyone else experiencing this? Is this a known bug?

If this can't be fixed, I won't have any reason to continue using Opera... so I really hope it's just a temporary issue. 🤞🏼

Screenshot 2025-09-30 at 15.37.12.png

]]>https://forums.opera.com/topic/86453/whatsapp-on-sidebar-using-much-memoryRSS for NodeSat, 07 Mar 2026 10:32:20 GMTTue, 30 Sep 2025 18:54:25 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to WhatsApp on sidebar using much memory on Tue, 30 Sep 2025 22:37:21 GMT]]>@leocg sorry, it's CPU. I got confused because the page shows "Out of memory" after it's stopped.

I just tested again and discovered that the same happens if I open as a regular tab (+500%CPU usage).

I opened the web version on Safari and the usage is regular/very low (screenshot), so it looks like it's an Opera-related question.

Screenshot 2025-09-30 at 19.33.43.png

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/393488https://forums.opera.com/post/393488Tue, 30 Sep 2025 22:37:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to WhatsApp on sidebar using much memory on Tue, 30 Sep 2025 22:20:19 GMT]]>@bagadefente Any difference if you open the page in a regular tab?

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/393487https://forums.opera.com/post/393487Tue, 30 Sep 2025 22:20:19 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to WhatsApp on sidebar using much memory on Tue, 30 Sep 2025 22:19:57 GMT]]>@bagadefente So it's about CPU usage or it's about memory usage?

]]>https://forums.opera.com/post/393486https://forums.opera.com/post/393486Tue, 30 Sep 2025 22:19:57 GMT