Vivaldi 8.0, the next iteration of the Vivaldi web browser, is about a week or so old. And for all of its new, updated, visual polish, it simply does one thing with brutal effectiveness: it blocks ads.
I’ve used Vivaldi for several years now, and I still consider it to be a superior browser. I still find myself wandering between Chrome, Edge, Vivaldi, Opera, Firefox, and even Brave, just to see what advantages each browser offers. When it comes to my daily use, one of my preferred browsers is Vivaldi.
Vivaldi 8 represents what the company considers to be a major change to the interface: “a new unified design that makes every element of the browser speak the same visual language and respond as one cohesive whole.” Put another way, Vivaldi made some adjustments to unify the tabs, toolbars, panels, and other content into a cohesive surface. In reality, it’s just a cohesive way to let themes and backgrounds flow across the entirety of the browser. Pretty, and useful, but not wholly groundbreaking. (And fully reversible, according to Vivaldi.)
That’s all well and good. But what I love about Vivaldi’s new update is that it simply blocks every ad in existence.
Honestly, I don’t know exactly how. Vivaldi’s Privacy settings (click the “V” icon in the upper right, then navigate down to “Settings”) have a ton of options, and I know I skimmed the page.
My settings currently have Vivaldi’s built-in Proton VPN turned on (for anonymity’s sake, rather than region hopping for Netflix or other streaming media) and then multiple options to block ads, including on “abusive sites,” and so on. At the very bottom of the page, I have the “Block Trackers and Ads” option turned on. Did I make any tweaks? I honestly don’t remember. But the results speak for themselves.
I typically use Edge for my daily browsing, but the lack of ads has slowly pulled me closer and closer to Vivaldi as my daily driver. I have no extensions installed except for a disabled McAfee plugin that apparently shipped with this Lenovo laptop. I receive no warnings at all about the need to turn off ad-blocking software. YouTube? Clean and clear. I almost feel like I should be whispering this to a few trusted friends, as it’s been so effective.
Vivaldi’s not perfect. Why doesn’t it sync my feeds? Its mobile app could use some attention. But nifty little features like tab tiling help make up for it. Even then, eliminating nuisance ads makes me truly happy, even if, yes, a curated combination of browser plugins can accomplish the same thing on other browsers.
Yes, ads help pay my salary. Yes, the general public’s distaste for paying for the media it consumes drives me insane. (Why couldn’t we as a society demand something like dentistry should be free, instead?) But, as they say, I’m also a client.
For right now. Vivaldi is winning the war on ads, allowing me to surf more effectively and get stuff done. Consider me part of the team.
