Opera made a big announcement on Thursday morning that was widely covered by tech blogs. In the latest developer preview build of its web browser for Windows and OS X, Opera has baked in unlimited free VPN service. VPN, or Virtual Private Networking, allows users to route their internet traffic through third-party servers in order to mask their actual IP addresses and increase privacy. VPN services also let users access region-blocked content, and they’re very popular among Netflix subscribers outside the United States.
This is a great feature for current Opera users and once it’s released in a public Opera build, it might even attract some new users. But you can already get unlimited free VPN service in the Chrome browser, and we’ll show you how in this post.
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In an age where your private browsing data is being hunted down by everyone from advertisers to hackers, VPN service is becoming more and more of a necessity. And no, the private browsing mode baked into your web browser isn’t the same thing at all. VPN services can completely hide your identity from companies that try to track you and prevent them from building the online profile they so desperately want.
Of course, some people don’t mind companies tracking them and for those people, VPN services aren’t quite as essential most of the time.
Whether or not you want to guard your browsing with a VPN service all the time or only when the need arises, there’s an easy way to add unlimited free VPN capabilities to Chrome. And the best part is that it’s not complicated or convoluted at all. There are a few services that offer free VPN using a couple of different models, and our favorite among them is Betternet.
So how does it work? Simply visit this link from your Chrome browser and install Betternet’s Chrome extension. That’s it. You’re done. You don’t even have to register an account.
How is it possible that Betternet offers free VPN service while other companies charge for it? Check out this page on the company’s site, which explains how it makes money. In a nutshell, Betternet offers an optional premium version and monetizes its mobile apps for iOS and Android, and that covers the company’s operational costs. It’s not trying to turn a profit with this service, so it hopes to maintain the same model indefinitely.
If you’re not happy with Chrome and unlimited free VPN appeals to you, definitely give Opera a try. But if you’d rather stick with Chrome, Betternet is the way to go.
