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Opera is available for MacOS, Linux, and Windows devices. In private browsing mode, once you close out of the window, your history, cookies, and form data are automatically deleted. These include options to clear your browsing history and block cookies, as well as permissions settings that will prompt Opera to ask for your go-ahead with location sharing and camera/microphone functions. On the plus side, Opera offers an assortment of privacy (opens in new tab) customizations that are standard with most web browsers. Also, it lacks encryption (other than HTTPS) and a tunneling protocol, leaving a lot to be desired in terms of privacy. That seriously limits you when it comes to accessing services like Netflix anywhere in the world – with most VPNs, you can choose your desired country. However, Opera’s VPN only allows you to choose between the Americas, Asia, and Europe for IP masking. Opera is one of the only browsers with an onboard VPN, allowing you to mask your device’s IP address (opens in new tab), and you can toggle the VPN on and off as you please. Toggle the integrated ad blocker on and off.
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Functionality is limited, though, so if you need to take or edit screenshots in a more advanced way, you’ll need an extension.
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