According to GSM Arena, Opera has announced a suite of new AI upgrades for its Opera for Android browser, aiming to close the feature gap with its flagship Opera One desktop version. The key additions include a new “Ask AI” access point directly in the browser’s search bar, allowing users to easily toggle between traditional web search and AI queries. A significant new capability is the option to attach files, including PDFs and images, directly to the AI chat for tasks like translation or summarization. Furthermore, users can now use the contents of their active browser tab as context for AI prompts, having a page explained or summarized. Opera states these features are built with privacy in mind, with page context data only sent when necessary, encrypted, stored for up to 30 days for conversation continuity, and never used for training or advertising. These updates are live now and available through an update on the Google Play Store.
The context is the killer feature
So, attaching files is neat, but honestly, that’s becoming table stakes. The real interesting move here is the browser tab context feature. It’s basically a supercharged “Explain this page to me” button baked right into the UI. That’s a genuinely useful workflow, especially on a mobile device where you might be scanning a dense article or a technical document and just want the gist. The privacy guardrails Opera is talking about—where the AI only sees the active tab—are crucial for user trust. It’s a smart limitation. They’re saying, “We’ll help you with what you’re looking at right now, but we’re not peeking at your other 50 tabs.” That’s a good compromise.
Privacy promises and the fine print
Now, about those privacy details. Opera’s explanation is fairly transparent, which is good. Data encrypted so their own staff can’t read it? Stored for only 30 days and then auto-deleted? Never used for training? On paper, that’s a strong stance. But here’s the thing: it still goes to “Opera’s servers” and then to “the AI model that is the most relevant.” They don’t name the model. Is it their own? Is it a third-party like OpenAI or Google? That ambiguity is pretty standard in the industry right now, but it’s worth noting. The 30-day retention for “conversation continuity” is a classic convenience vs. privacy trade-off. They think you might come back to a chat, so they keep it for a bit. It’s a reasonable policy, but it’s still data on a server. You have to decide if the utility is worth that.
The mobile browser AI arms race
This is clearly Opera trying to stake its claim in the mobile AI browser war. Microsoft Edge has Copilot, Chrome has Gemini integration rolling out, and Arc is coming to mobile with its own AI-centric vision. Opera’s play seems to be deep, contextual integration rather than just a sidebar chatbot. Making the AI a first-class citizen in the search bar and page menu is a smart UX choice for mobile. It reduces friction. But I wonder about the processing speed and cost. Summarizing a long PDF or a complex webpage on-device is heavy, and doing it in the cloud costs them money. Will these features remain free, or is this a loss-leader for a future subscription? That’s the big question hanging over all these “free” AI features.
