Opera is one of the most popular web browsers being used by more than 200 million users worldwide. The best part about the Opera web browser is that it is a lightweight program and doesn’t consume much memory on your PC. It is considered extremely productive in terms of features and a good list of extensions that improve its functionality.
Best Opera extensions
Opera offers many extensions to make your browsing easy and fast. I have handpicked some of the best Opera extensions. Below is a rundown of the 10 useful Opera extensions.
1] Turn Off Lights
If you watch online videos frequently, this add-on is just for you. Just a click on the lamp button with bring an automatic focus on the video you are watching and the rest of the page will fade dark. Click on the lamp button again and you will return back to normal. The add-on also includes an option to enable or disable the fade-in and fade-out effects. This add-on supports various image and video sites, including Flickr, Picasa, YouTube, and HTML5 video, among others. Get it here.
2] BugMeNot Opera Extension
This is a very useful extension which provides you with usernames and passwords and allows us to bypass mandatory free registration on websites. Furthermore, the extension also encourage you to use disposable email address services to create accounts on such annoying websites. So, whenever you come across any such annoying webpage asking you to register, just click the ‘BugMeNot button of this extension, and it will give you some nice free login details. Get it here.
3] Web of Trust (WOT)
The WOT extension helps you to browse the web more safely when you are browsing or searching online. It shows colored lights next to the search results which help you to make decisions about whether to trust a website or not. Similar to a traffic light, WOT displays a green light for trusted websites, a yellow light for sites you should be cautious with, and a red light for potential threats in search results. These ratings are powered by a global community of millions of users who rate websites based on their personal experiences.
4] Google Translate
Translating the text becomes extremely handy when you have a translation extension installed on your Opera browser. Installing the Google Translate Opera add-on makes the translation process much easier and faster. Just install it, and the extension will recognize when a page is not in your primary language. It will then send you a request to translate and the extension will reload the page with the translated text.
TIP: These Opera browser tips and tricks are sure to interest you.
5] PDF JS – PDF Viewer
This is a simple extension that uses Mozilla’s PDF.js (http://mozilla.github.io/pdf.js/) to display PDF files directly in your Opera browser. This is an HTML5 experiment that renders Portable Document Format (PDF) without native code assistance.
6] Instant Dictionary
As the name suggests, this is a dictionary add-on for your Opera web browser. It is a simple, fast and customizable extension. Just double-click any word or phrase on web pages and then press the Shift key, the extension will give you a quick definition. Furthermore, it detects the language of the selected text and translates it.
7] Gmail on Speed Dial
This extension shows you a preview of all your unread emails in Gmail. To use this extension, you need to be logged in to your Gmail account. Clicking on the speed dial button takes you straight to your Gmail inbox and if you are logged out it will take you to the Gmail login page.
8] Ghostery
Ghostery is a well-known web service that helps you in tracking beacons, web bugs, and cookies right from your browser. Once you install the extension, a small ghost appears on the upper right corner of your browser and detects the hidden web-scripts on a Web Page. As you open a tab, a quick a purple box appears with the details of companies tracking your information. Get it here.
9] FB Purity
This is a useful extension for avid Facebook users. It lets you clean up and customize your Facebook by filtering out spam messages, spam applications, and other annoying content. You can check out all the hidden messages just by clicking on the F.B Purity button on your web browser. Get it here.
10] Advanced Tab Killer
This extension allows you to quickly close tabs on the left or right of the current. It is a handy add-on designed to let users close all tabs except the active one. The extension’s pop-up slider lets you move left or right, closing all tabs in that direction instantly.
Note: This extension no longer exists. In place of this, you can use a similar Opera extension named TabKiller.
Opera has quickly gained popularity for its fast response times and extensions. These Opera extensions provide you with a speedy, clutter-free and clean experience.
Do let us know if you have any favorite Opera extensions that are not mentioned here.
Are there Addons for Opera?
Yes, there are many free add-ons and extensions available for the Opera browser. Like Google Chrome and Firefox, the Opera browser also includes its own Opera add-ons store, accessible at addons.opera.com. You can search for add-ons and browse extensions by categories which include Privacy & Security, Productivity, Sidebar, Developer Tools, Accessibility, etc. Apart from using add-ons available on the Opera add-ons store, you can also install Chrome extensions on the Opera browser so you will have endless extensions to use.
Where does Opera store extensions?
Whenever you install an extension in the Opera browser on Windows 11/10, it stores it under the Extensions folder. The path to that folder is:
C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Opera Software\Opera Stable\Extensions
Within that folder, you will see subfolders with long names. Each folder stores data related to extensions installed by you. Open any folder and you will see another folder containing the version number for the extension.
What are the best Opera extensions?
If you are looking for the best free Opera browser extensions, then you can check the list covered in this post above. This list includes simple productivity add-ons to privacy and security-related Opera add-ons, etc. FB Purity, Turn Off Lights, Web of Trust, etc., are some good examples of best Opera extensions. Check them out.
Which is better Opera or Opera GX?
Opera vs Opera GX- Which is the better browser? Simply put, it depends a lot on the user. The traditional Opera browser is available for regular use with some interesting and built-in features such as a built-in VPN, tracker blocker, battery saver, etc. On the other hand, the Opera GX browser is designed for gamers and includes features such as CPU, RAM, and Network Limiters. So, if you are a gamer, you should try Opera GX. Otherwise, the traditional Opera browser is sufficient for browsing and other tasks.
These posts may also interest some of you: Best Firefox addons | Best Chrome extensions.
