This new browser aims to save you two different types of hassle when you're online: unwanted ads, and unwanted regional limitations. It's an ad blocker and it's a VPN service, both for free.
Opera VPN 1.0 sits on your iPhone, running interference for you about these problems.
You may not find either issue much of a problem. For instance, maybe it's just us, but we don't find adverts to be the scourge of the web the way some do. Okay, that one where you'd go to a website and an ad you hadn't even seen yet bounced you off to the App Store to buy some asinine game, that was a bit of a scourge. It was a loophole that was fixed though, so it's a long time since we've seen that.
Then you'll notice we casually threw in the term VPN without saying what the initials stand for. That's because it's as useless as knowing what all the letters mean in CD-ROM. VPN means Virtual Private Network, and if that tells you what this does, you already knew.
If you have a VPN service running on your phone, iPad, or computer, then you can set it to tell the Internet that you're in a different country. Say you're an American travelling in the UK: there shouldn't really be a reason why you can't watch the Netflix account you pay for, or the CBS News that is aimed at you. You can't, though, if they or just about any service recognizes you're outside the States. It's the latter-day equivalent of how DVDs were region-coded, and it's all because it used to be that TV companies and film distributors were the only people who could get shows and movies around the world. Now you can practically email yourself a movie, but the deep-rooted contractual rights agreements concerned with the imaginary borders between countries aren't budging.
You've already twigged that if, using a VPN, an American in Paris can watch US videos online, then an Englishman in New York can watch UK services. Equally, you've already twigged that anybody, anywhere can watch anything with a VPN, but we didn't say that to you.
What we would say is that VPN is usually something you pay for. It's also usually a service that is intended for security: in principle you could be using a very dodgy hotel Wi-Fi in safety because your VPN is protecting you. It prevents anyone monitoring that Wi-Fi from getting your data, and clearly that's something worth paying for. It's just not what Opera VPN is for.
The online viewing in different regions is practically a byproduct of the VPN idea, but it is useful, and it is half of what this Opera VPN offers. The other half is this ad-blocking. This just doesn't feel like it's as big a thing as it sounded when ad blockers first appeared, but then we would say that: take a look around you, we've got ads. It's what keeps the lights on around here.
Still, we've yet to bother with ad blockers for our own browsing, and of course we never watch video from regions we shouldn't. Consequently the following is entirely hearsay.
Opera VPN is an app you run that installs this VPN ability via what's called a profile: it's then part of iOS 9 on your device, so when you've done that, you can go browse the web through Safari as normal. We were expecting to have to use Opera VPN to browse, as Opera is a web browser, but no. Opera VPN is an enabler, like you're running a separate Preferences app. We spent a little while staring at it, wondering what to do next, before we realized.
We worked out what to do, and it works, so we're sticking with it -- but we'll branch away from entirely recommending Opera VPN. That's only because it's like half a VPN: if you genuinely need a virtual private network, then this isn't enough. Yet solving a common issue, it's entirely valid and it's also completely free.
Opera VPN 1.0 requires iOS 8.0 or later, and
is free in the App Store.
Who is Opera VPN 1.0 for:
Travellers who have their Netflix account in another country will find this useful.
Who is Opera VPN 1.0 not for:
If you've never had that error message saying that video is not available in your country, or you've never cared when you did, then this is of no use to you.
-- William Gallagher (
@WGallagher)
Readers: do you have an app that you'd like to see us review? Developers: do you want us to take a look at your app? Send your suggestions to our Tips email.
Top