Summary
- Vivaldi 8.3 adds a rebuilt Ad & Tracker Blocker with four levels (off, light, strong, aggressive) and per-site control.
- New vertical-tab features (expand-on-hover, slim favicon bar), faster Reader Mode, and bulk open links.
- Privacy-first: copy sanitized links, add custom filters, control tracking; free on major OSes.
Vivaldi, a highly customizable web browser from Opera Software’s former CEO, has just launched Vivaldi 8.3 for desktop, which includes an anticipated upgrade to its Ad and Tracker Blocker.
This rebuilt Ad and Tracker Blocker lets users decide how much of the web gets through, for the whole web or for individual sites, which is great for anyone looking for more nuanced power over what data is collected by websites and advertisers, amid widespread anxiety about how online activities are monitored and monetized.
What’s changed in Vivaldi’s Ad and Tracker Blocker?
The updated blocker now has four levels of protection: off, light, strong, and aggressive. You can set it for the whole web or on a site-by-site basis. The aggressive blocking level may break some sites, as it blocks ads and trackers and may also block some of the site’s features and content. If you find a site is broken, you can always go in and change the blocker setting for that site. I’m so tired of running third-party extensions to do this for me, which no other browser has been able to solve so far, so this is a major win in my eyes.
The best part is that it can be changed for different websites. Users can pick a default level during onboarding or in Settings, but then can then set a different level for any site by clicking the Shield icon in the Address Bar, which Vivaldi will remember for next time. It’s a nice level of control that some users will appreciate. For example, you could run Aggressive on a video site, keep online banking on Light so every form works, and turn protection down on a small independent site they trust and want to support.
Advanced users can, of course, add their own filter lists from remote sources or from local files, baked right into the Vivaldi 8.3 browser experience, rather than a third-party extension. This is also available on the Vivaldi mobile apps for Android and iOS.
What else is in the Vivaldi 8.3 update?
The update also brings new features for Vivaldi’s vertical tabs, faster Reader Mode, and the ability to open a whole list of links at once. The latter here is particularly exciting — this will be so helpful for researching topics. Even better, there’s an update that removes tracking parameters from a link before it is copied, so no more link gore in chats, while keeping your internet activity safer and more in your control.
Version 8.3 also adds two new features for users who keep their tabs on the side, so for users of Firefox this will be welcome news. With Expand Tab Bar on Hover, the vertical Tab Bar can stay slim and show only favicons, giving the web page as much screen space as possible. When the user moves the cursor over it, the Tab Bar smoothly expands to show full tab titles, and slides back when the cursor moves away.
Vivaldi 8.3 is now available as a free download for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.
- OS
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Android, Windows, iOS
- Developer
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Vivaldi Technologies