What is Vivaldi Browser?
Vivaldi is a free-to-use web browser available on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android devices. It comes with built-in privacy features as it Blocks Trackers and also includes an optional Ad-blocker. Vivaldi browser is based on Chromium, so users don’t have to worry about their experience of loading their favorite websites in a new browser. Vivaldi also has support for Chrome Extensions, meaning that all the extensions available for Google Chrome work completely fine with Vivaldi. Moreover, the browser adds in better customization features for a true made-for-you browser experience.
Vivaldi 5.0 for Windows, Linux, and macOS
Vivaldi has focused on giving users the complete flexibility to choose their browser looks with a new revamped theme engine. The Vivaldi 5.0 update has also brought in support for live translation, theme sharing, new UI elements, and more.
More Powerful Theme Engine
Vivaldi now lets you create your custom themes with a background image of your choice. You can also select accent colors from the color palette, which work adaptively. In addition, themes can now be scheduled based on time, so you have two different themes in a ‘Work by the day, play by the night‘ style. Themes can also be shared by users by exporting them, which creates a .zip file. This zip file also acts as a backup for your custom themes and can be imported on any other machine running the Vivaldi browser. Alternatively, themes can also be uploaded to the new Themes Gallery, where users can select and install themes created by other Vivaldi browser users. This platform works as a theme community for customization.
New Automatic Translations
Vivaldi 5.0 comes with a new Translate Panel, which can instantly translate snippets of a web page. Users can copy the text from the page and paste it into the Translate Panel that opens with a single click, and the translation is carried out quickly. Lingvanex powers Vivaldi’s Translate Panel. The Translate Panel also saves the history of all the translations done by the user. This should make things easy if you are trying to learn a new language. However, Vivaldi says that this data is stored in servers located in Iceland, and the company does not use this data for any other purpose.
Addition of Download Monitor
Vivaldi’s latest update also brings in a new Download Monitor, which presents you with a graph of your ongoing download speeds, a progress bar, and estimated time left to complete the download. This menu shows up as a popup over web pages, and users can choose to enable/disable it based on their preference. The company says that a new Download Monitor was a feature requested by many existing Vivaldi users. Hence they have rolled out a new way to let users view their downloads. Vivaldi 5.0 update is available to download on Windows, macOS, and Linux-based systems.
Vivaldi 5.0 for Android Smartphones and Tablets
Vivaldi 5.0 update has also rolled out to Android smartphones and tablets. The browser, however, is not available for iOS devices at this point. The new update carries a highly liked Desktop feature of Vivaldi – “Two-Level Tab Stacks” or Double Decker Tabs so that users can work with more tabs at once.
Double Decker Tabs on Android
Vivaldi 5.0 on Android now has support for Two-Level Tab Stacks, where an additional row of open tabs will be shown above the traditional tab row. This feature is appreciated by a majority of Vivaldi Browser for Desktop users and has been brought to Android on popular demand. However, this is not the only way to view tabs. Vivaldi browser also comes with the regular Tab Switcher, which is commonly seen on mobile browsers. In addition, Vivaldi says that Two Level Stacks adapt to the space available on the screen and show only favicons when multiple tabs are open. It also comes with an option to hide the X symbol, the tab close option, for more real estate of open tabs.
Dark Mode Toggle
Vivaldi browser now gets a quick Dark Mode Toggle, which instantly converts any regular web page into a dark mode. Users don’t have to search through the settings app every time to toggle the dark mode. Instead, a simple tap on the toggle will change the page’s theme from light to dark.
Panels for Tablets
Vivaldi 5.0 update narrows the gap between Desktop and Tablets when it comes to features, with Panels’ introduction. These are shown on the left side of the browser and can be used to open the new Translate Panel, take notes, launch a plugin, access bookmarks, etc. Furthermore, the panel menu does not stay permanently on the screen and can be hidden with a simple click. This ensures that your web-viewing experience is not hindered. Vivaldi browser with the 5.0 update is available to download for free on the Google Play Store. Unfortunately, the browser is currently not available for iOS devices.
Why Should You Use Vivaldi Browser?
Vivaldi browser is free to use and includes a lot of privacy features such as blocking trackers, advertisements, etc. The browser also comes with better features such as Double Decker Tabs so that users can have a better glance at all the open tabs. Furthermore, since it is Chromium-based, you get a similar web browsing experience like Google Chrome with all the Chrome Extensions support and the added advantage of UI customizations in Vivaldi. This makes Vivaldi an excellent refreshing change for your browser, and it is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android.
Is Vivaldi Browser Safe?
Vivaldi Browser uses Google Safe Browsing API, which protects users from malicious and fishy websites. In addition, the built-in blocking of trackers prevents websites from collecting too much information from the user. Since Vivaldi Browser is based on Chromium, it is very safe to use Vivaldi as your primary web browser.
