Latest Opera Browser Promises More Privacy, Faster Page Loads

In a bid to entice you to start using Opera, the latest version of the browser is focused on offering lots of privacy while promising to speed up your browsing experience.

As Engadget reports, a new version of the Opera browser (version 68) just launched and it combines a built-in ad blocker, tracker blocker, and rounds things out with a free, unlimited VPN. On top of that, the browser maker claims it can now load web pages up to 20 percent faster. Considering the ad/tracker blocking it provides, faster page loads should be expected.

Opera advertises its ad blocker as a way of not only preventing malicious ads from compromising your security, but also as a way of limiting the data consumed if you're on a data plan. The tracker blocker (using the EasyPrivacy Tracking Protection List) will "guard your privacy" by not allowing any personal data to be collected or tracked through a range of common tracking techniques including "analytic scripts" and "tracking pixels." Cryptomining scripts are also blocked by default.

Finally, there's the free VPN which Opera says is perfect for use on public Wi-Fi. It encrypts all data while hiding your IP and location from anyone listening in. As with all VPNs, nobody should be able to tell what internet destinations you're visiting, either.

The ad and tracking blocking can be turned on for all sites and disabled per site if you decide to trust them. It's also free and easy to try without messing with your existing browser setup, so why not give Opera a go and see if it lives up to its faster browsing experience...

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About Matthew Humphries

Senior Editor

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

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