Opera hasn’t made much of a splash lately, with its most recent innovation being a new Paste Protect feature from July 2026 that blocks clipboard hijacking attacks. Indeed, it seems Opera is playing catch-up.
The browser’s latest move is an improvement to its free, built-in VPN, according to this announcement post. As part of its “commitment to free, zero-friction browser privacy,” Opera wants to protect you while using your browser on public Wi-Fi networks—and so the browser will automatically enable its VPN protection when it detects you’re on public Wi-Fi.
Public Wi-Fi has long been risky, with many establishments failing to put up strong enough guardrails to protect users who hop on. It recently got even riskier to use, with hackers now targeting airports and hotels in an attempt to steal credentials and private data. When you’re on public Wi-Fi, you never know who might be eavesdropping—malicious users can intercept your data, see what you’re doing, and even install malware.
That’s why it’s important to take security measures when using public Wi-Fi, and one such measure is to use a VPN. A VPN routes your traffic through its own servers, effectively masking your activity and preserving your privacy. VPNs also add a layer of security between you and hackers.
Opera was the first major browser to include a free VPN, initially launching this feature back in April 2016. But now, that same built-in feature is now automatically enabled on public Wi-Fi. For it to work, you’ll have to go to settings and enable “Always use VPN on public Wi-Fi”—but be aware that this feature is being rolled out so you may not see it right away.
Further reading: Big reasons to switch from Chrome to Opera
