Tag: privacy

Tip #547

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Choose which websites can see your exact location.

Geolocation can be a convenient feature, but not every service provider needs to know where in the world you are. That’s why, in Vivaldi, you control which websites can access your location.

By default, every new website that wants to access your location will ask for your permission and you can either allow or block access. You can update the default setting and review which sites have requested permission in Settings > Privacy and Security > Website Permissions.

Open Street Maps open in Vivaldi Browser. The website is asking for permission to access the user's location.

Tip #534

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Keep your browsing private and clean by turning off Typed History.

Suppose you want to hide your recent searches and typed web addresses from view, for example, because you often have people peaking at your screen or you like to keep the information in the drop-down menus to the minimum. In that case, you can disable Typed History from showing up.

To hide typed history from the Address Field and Search drop-down menus:

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Privacy > Show Typed History.
  2. Untick the “In Address Field” and/or “In Search Field” boxes.
Typed History displayed in Address Field Drop-Down menu

Tip #527

— Posted inCommunity Services, Vivaldi Tips, Webmail — 1 min read

Encrypt emails you send via Vivaldi Webmail.

To ensure top-notch privacy for your email correspondence, you can encrypt the emails you send from Vivaldi Webmail.

To set up encryption in Vivaldi Webmail:

  1. Enable encryption options in Settings > Preferences > Encryption.
  2. Create or import PGP keys.
  3. Share public keys with people you want to have encrypted conversations with.
  4. Encrypt emails when composing new messages.

For detailed instructions for each step, check out the article about email encryption on Vivaldi Help.

Key passphrase dialog in Vivaldi Webmail shown to decrypt an incoming email.

Tip #464

— Posted inAndroid, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Close all Private Tabs in Vivaldi on Android from your phone’s Notifications.

When you open at least one private tab in Vivaldi on Android, a little icon of a ghost will appear on your mobile device’s Status Bar. The ghost lets you know that there are Private Tabs open and allows you to close them quickly even when you’re using other apps.

To close all Private Tabs:

  1. Swipe down from the Status Bar to view your Notifications.
  2. Tap on Vivaldi’s notification “Close all private tabs”.
Android phone with Notifications open. There's one notification about Vivaldi browser's private tabs.

Tip #450

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Review and update global and per-site Website Permissions in Privacy and Security Settings.

One website wants access to your location, another wants to send you notifications, a third wants access to your camera and microphone, and so on. It’s not easy to remember to which websites you’ve given which permissions. Luckily, you’ll find all websites and their permissions listed neatly in Vivaldi’s Settings.

To review and update Website Permissions:

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Website Permissions.
  2. Select either Global Permissions to review the defaults or a specific website on the list.
  3. Use the drop-down menu next to each permission type to update it.
Vivaldi browser window with Website Permission settings open.

Tip #448

— Posted inAndroid, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Lock Private Tabs on Android when you leave Vivaldi.

When you leave Private Tabs open for longer, you can lock them for additional privacy. Next time you open Vivaldi and wish to view a private tab, you’ll first be asked for your phone’s or tablet’s screen lock (PIN, password, pattern, etc.).

To enable or disable locking of Private Tabs:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu > Settings > Privacy and Security.
  2. Toggle on “Lock Private tabs when you leave Vivaldi”.
  3. Verify yourself with your device’s unlock method.
Privacy and Security settings in Vivaldi on Android. Lock Private Tabs setting is highlighted.

Tip #413

— Posted iniOS, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Open links from other apps on iOS in Vivaldi’s Private Tabs.

Do you prefer to browse in Private Tabs, but opening links from other apps always opens them among regular tabs? By making a quick setting change in Vivaldi on your iOS or iPad, you can be asked where you want to open the link every time an app wants to open one in Vivaldi.

To be prompted before opening a link in Vivaldi:

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy and security.
  2. Enable “Ask to Open Links from Other Apps in Private”.

Then, when you get the prompt you can decide whether to open the tab in a private or regular tab.

Prompt asking whether a link should be opened in a private or regular tab.
Prompt asking whether a link should be opened in a private or regular tab.
Prompt asking whether a link should be opened in a private or regular tab.

Tip #405

— Posted inAndroid, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Set different default Search Engines for Standard and Private Tabs in Vivaldi on Android.

You may be comfortable with one search engine for your everyday browsing but prefer a different search engine when you want stronger privacy. In Vivaldi on Android, like in Vivaldi on desktop and iOS (see Tip #378), you have the choice to set separate Search Engines as the default ones for Standard Tabs and Private Tabs.

To update the default search engines:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu > Settings > Search Engine.
  2. Select either “Standard Tab” or “Private Tab”.
  3. Tap on the search provider you want to set as the default one.
  4. Exit by going back to the main Settings menu using the  back arrow.
Search settings in Vivaldi on Android.
Search settings in Vivaldi on Android.
Search settings in Vivaldi on Android.

Tip #378

— Posted iniOS, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Set default search engines for both standard and private tabs in Vivaldi on iOS.

Like the results and features of one search engine, but want to amp up the privacy of search in private tabs? In Vivaldi on iOS, like in the desktop version, you have the choice to set separate search engines as the default ones for standard tabs and private tabs.

To update the default search engines:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu > Settings > Search Engine.
  2. Select either “Standard Tab” or “Private Tab”.
  3. Tap on the search engine you want to set as the default one.
  4. Exit by tapping Done or go back to the main Settings menu using the  back arrow.
Search Engine settings in Vivaldi on iOS.

Tip #372

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Do you remember your encryption password for Vivaldi Sync? Reset it if you’ve forgotten it.

Your synced browser data in Vivaldi is end-to-end encrypted. To decrypt it, you need to know the encryption password you set up on your first Sync use. Should you be in a situation where you no longer have the browser data stored locally (e.g. after an operating system reset) on any devices and you’ve forgotten the encryption password, there’s unfortunately no way to restore the data.

So, while everything is still alright, make sure you have the encryption password memorized or stored in a safe location. In case you’ve forgotten the encryption password, you can easily reset it without data loss on a device that has your browser data accessible locally.

To reset Sync’s encryption password:

  1. Go to Settings > Sync.
  2. Click on “Reset Remote Data”.
  3. Click “Delete Sync Data” in the dialog that appears.
  4. Set a new encryption password for your data.
  5. Start syncing from fresh.

Sync settings in Vivaldi with Reset Remote Data button highlighted.

Tip #348

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Delete all Cookies when you close the browser.

Cookies can be useful. They can keep you logged into accounts, save your language preferences, and more, but they can also be used to track you. To curtail the latter, you can have Vivaldi delete all cookies stored in the browser on exit.

To update your Cookie preferences:

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy and Security> Cookies.
  2. Select “Session only”.
Cookie settings in Vivaldi Browser.

Tip #283

— Posted inAndroid, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Discover all the different ways you can open Private Tabs in Vivaldi on Android.

Private Tabs are a good option when you want to use the same service with two different accounts, hide your browsing activity from someone you’re sharing the device with, or any other reason. But before you can start browsing in a Private tab, you need to open one first.

Take a look at the list below to see the many ways you can do it in Vivaldi on Android:

  • Open the main menu and select “New private tab” (see image below).
  • Long press on the + Tab Switcher button and select “New private tab”.
  • Long press on the + New Tab button on the Tab Bar and select “New private tab”.
  • Open the Tab Switcher > Private Tabs and tap on the + New Tab button in the bottom right corner.
  • In any of the Tab Switcher views, open the ⋮ menu in the top right corner and select “New private tab”.
  • Long press on the Vivaldi icon on your mobile device’s home screen or app library and select “New private tab”.
  • Long press on a link on a web page and select “Open in private tab”.
Main menu in Vivaldi on Android open with New private tab option highlighted.

Tip #202

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Filter and delete a selection of cookies in Privacy and Security settings.

You can always delete all saved cookies from Vivaldi menu > Tools > Delete Browsing Data. But that will log you out of your accounts, reset your saved preferences, and more. To delete cookies from a specific domain, head over to Vivaldi Settings. This can be useful when a single website is causing you trouble and you think cookies might be the cause.

To delete a selection of cookies:

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Cookies > Saved Cookies.
  2. Click on Show Saved Cookies.
  3. In the search box enter the domain name of the cookies you want to filter out.
  4. Below the list of saved cookies, click Delete Filtered Cookies.
Vivaldi's privacy settings open on the Cookies section with Google's cookies filtered out.

Tip #190

— Posted inDesktop, Vivaldi Tips — 1 min read

Enable search suggestions to get suggestions from the search engine as you type.

Search Engines can show you suggestions as you type the search query in the Address or Search Field. It can make searching faster. The way it works, however, is that everything you type is sent to the search engine. Since it can be quite revealing, in Vivaldi, the setting to show suggestions is not enabled by default. But since we are all about giving users options, you can choose to enable it if you prefer convenience over privacy.

To enable search suggestions:

  1. Go to Settings > Search > Allow Search Suggestions.
  2. Depending where you want to get suggestions, enable the setting for the Address Field and/or the Search Field.
    In the Address Field, to limit what you type from being sent to the search engine, you can enable suggestions to be shown only when you first enter the Search Engine Nickname.

Read more about Search Suggestions and their privacy implications on our blog.