Just like most VPNs, Opera VPN works to hide your local IP address and keeps your online activities under the radar. But it’s built into the Opera browser, and it’s free of use without bandwidth limits. It doesn’t use an OpenVPN but a proxy for traffic encryption, which doesn’t have the safety features that paid VPNs can provide.
But can OperaVPN do something else aside from masking your IP address? Is it an effective platform for peer-to-peer file-sharing? Is it safe for torrenting or should we use a much safer option? This article will answer those questions and explain why OperaVPN isn’t safe for torrenting.
OperaVPN for Torrenting: What You Should Know
Although OperaVPN ensures that your privacy is well hidden while streaming online, it’s still different from paid VPN providers like NordVPN and ExpressVPN. It’s more like a browser extension that only affects traffic going through the Opera browser. It’s the reason why it’s free, but it can only so much with limited bandwidth.
Now, is Opera VPN safe to use for torrenting? The simple answer is no, it isn’t safe to use OperaVPN for torrenting. OperaVPN hides your IP address temporarily when you access the torrent website.
However, if you want to download a movie, tv series, or any content file, the downloading process uses a different file-sharing program installed on your computer. When that happens, the traffic is split, with one going to the torrent app unprotected. Failing to cancel the download will compromise your identity, which will probably show on the torrent website and eventually lead to copyright owners.
Just because OperaVPN isn’t safe for torrenting doesn’t mean it’s already useless. Yes, you can still use to hide your identity for online browsing, but it does nothing to give you that necessary protection. In addition to that, here are other reasons not to trust OperaVPN.
Logs Online Activities – If you read its privacy policy, it discloses that it doesn’t record browsing activities and network addresses. But it also says that it monitors the information of the device, including its ID, operating system, configuration, and usage data, just to name a few. There is no consistency, and that is a red flag. It means that Opera logs your browsing activities, and in the long run, can harm your privacy.
Slow connection – These days, we live for a fast internet connection to keep up with our online activities. But unfortunately, OperaVPN doesn’t deliver in this area. It only has 10 servers that are shared by millions of users, resulting in a slow connection.
Unsecure solution – OperaVPN doesn’t disclose their real connection protocols. There is also the possibility that it leaks the users’ local IP addresses. So, you better think twice if you want to use OperaVPN or not. Just make sure that you have securely protected your personal information while browsing online.
Unspecified location – Apparently, servers of OperaVPN are spread throughout five countries: Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Singapore, and the USA. There are also preferred servers in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. The unspecified location is a red flag because you have no idea which server you’re connected to and that can harm your privacy as well.
If you want to use torrent for downloading movies or series that you want to binge-watch, then go for the safer and more effective options: paid VPN services. Some of the best VPN providers you can consider are NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, Surfshark, and PureVPN. These VPNs have fast speeds, military-grade encryption, no-activity-logging policies, easy configuration, and other useful features for safe and secured online streaming.
Marcus Eriksson is the founder of Private Proxy Guide and he has a strong passion for everything related to privacy on the Internet. In his spare time he prefers going to the gym, play computer games, watching anime from the 90s and just relaxing in silence.
1 thought on “Is Opera VPN Safe for Torrenting?”
Elis
Very interesting article.
And in case of using Web Torrent for downloading files in Opera browser, is then the IP address exposed?
Very interesting article.
And in case of using Web Torrent for downloading files in Opera browser, is then the IP address exposed?