I've been using Opera for a few years now and I've been enjoying its features, UI and everything. However, I (surprisingly to me) haven't noticed many people mentioning it. Also, when I was on Reddit and mentioned that I use it I got downvoted which left me somewhat confused haha.
So I'm wondering if there's anything wrong with it and/or if I should give another browser a go (I noticed Firefox is mentioned a lot on here)
It has been awesome until 2013 when they decided to make their browser a skin on top of Chromium. Now they had more UI revamps and it doesn’t work or feel like Opera at all. I tried using it sometimes ago and now they even got those weird huge buttons…
If you really want to use a chromium browser, Vivaldi is the only one I’d trust to not maliciously use my data. It was made by the people that used to own and develop opera and it has a big focus on both customization and privacy.
Also the android version of it allows you to stack tabs just like in the desktop version, and I don’t know of any other browser on android that let’s you do that so that’s pretty cool too.
Opera’s always been a niche browser. One of the first to have tabs long before Firefox existed. But it was paid or you could have a perminant huge banner ad in the toolbar. That stink never entirely went away.
Then they switched engines (twice), “modernized” the UI, and sold the company. Most Opera fans switched to Vivaldi which was made in the style of classic Opera by some of the original devs.
Nothing wrong with Opera. It’s based on Chromium, which means it’s based on the same engine as Chrome and Edge. It has a built-in VPN function; so, you can have that sort of privacy protection built in to your web browsing, depending on your trust for the company behind Opera (also called Opera). They have been involved in some questionable dealing in the past; but, there is no evidence that they are harvesting data with the VPN. The tl;dr is that it’s another way to have Chrome without directly using Google Chrome.
As for FireFox. It’s a great browser, I use it myself. It’s based on it’s own engine, Gecko. The Mozilla Foundation seems to care more about privacy and web standards than any other browser author. Though, this has pros and cons. On the plus side, FireFox can be configured to be very privacy preserving and some extensions (e.g. UBlock Origin) tend to be better at privacy on FireFox than Chromium based browsers. That said, some websites will expect Chromium and may break on FireFox (though, this is often because of explicit by web site developers. User agent spoofing often shows that the problem is fictitious).
Years ago, Opera has been my main browser and I really liked it. Back then, it was the only browser (to my knowledge) that had tabs. It was a novelty back then. Over the time they added more features, like the conversion tool. Then they added more features I didn’t need or want, like the side bar, and it quickly became bloated. I switched to firefox, which offered a greater variety of add-ons. I still use firefox as my main browser. The only thing I miss is the conversion tool. There is nothing comparable like the one Opera has built in. I later learned that the original developers sold it to a chinese consortium. In hindsight, that explains the constant changes to the worse, which pushed me to another browser.
I use it on mobile for the fast action button (basically fancy gesture controls). I know its ownership is pretty sketchy, and I'd prefer to be using Firefox or some other browser, but I haven't found any other browser with similar gesture controls.
There’s not much of a point in the base Opera when Opera GX exists, besides having a less gimmicky UI. If you value your privacy, don’t use it, but if you don’t, it’s a decent Chromium based browser
I’ve tried to use opera on several occasions and it just never sticks with me for one reason or another ultimately I have for more privacy options and privacy focus browsers and those that have abilities for add-ons to achieve even greater security in privacy so Firefox tends to be the direction I go or brave.
My opinion as well. Edge is actually being pretty decent (I’m required to use it at work), but at home it’s Opera on mobile and Firefox on the desktop.
This was my exact opinion in probably 15 years ago when I’m still using my Sony Walkman phone and my first laptop. Not anymore now. I’d stick with Firefox for both desktop and phone, and use Chrome if necessary as last resort.
Vivaldi is definitely cool — except for the amount of RAM it uses. If it weren’t for that, I would use it a lot more, but for me, Firefox is just faster all around.
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