Opera looks Norwegian. It is owned by a Chinese consortium based in Beijing. The "free VPN" routes your browsing through Chinese-owned servers. China's intelligence law requires companies to cooperate with state intelligence operations. Every website you visit through Opera's VPN passes through infrastructure controlled by a company that cannot legally refuse a Chinese government data request. Opera's parent company ran predatory lending apps in Kenya, India, and Nigeria charging up to 438% interest. When borrowers couldn't pay, the apps contacted everyone in their phone to shame them publicly. Google pulled the apps from the Play Store. The company that makes your browser was running a loan shark operation funded by the data it collects from you.
What they claim: Opera promotes itself as a fast, secure browser with built-in VPN and ad blocking
What we found: Opera was acquired by a Chinese consortium led by Kunlun Tech (Beijing) for $1.2 billion in 2016. The company is now headquartered in Norway but controlled from Beijing. Opera's "free VPN" routes traffic through servers operated by a Chinese-owned company. Users trust a browser owned by a Chinese company subject to China's National Intelligence Law with all their browsing data.
What they claim: Opera describes its VPN as protecting user privacy
What we found: Opera's "VPN" is technically a proxy, not a full VPN — it only covers browser traffic, not the entire device. Security researchers found Opera's proxy did not provide the same level of encryption as commercial VPNs and logged more metadata than advertised. The proxy routes through servers under Chinese corporate control, making it a privacy liability rather than a privacy tool.
What they claim: Opera promotes its product line as ethical technology services
What we found: A 2020 Hindenburg Research investigation found Opera was operating predatory lending apps in Africa and South Asia — OKash, OPay, CashBean — that charged interest rates up to 438% APR, used aggressive debt collection tactics including contacting borrowers' phone contacts to shame them, and harvested personal data from phones. Google removed several of these apps from the Play Store.