Vivaldi bundles Proton VPN into its web browser

Vivaldi and Proton person teamed up to marque it easier for Vivaldi browser users to privately research the web without downloading a virtual backstage web (VPN). Starting today, the free mentation of Proton VPN is present integrated straight into Vivaldi’s browser, and tin beryllium accessed by logging into a Vivaldi account.

The diagnostic is presently lone disposable connected the desktop mentation of the Vivaldi browser. The escaped mentation of Proton VPN allows users to link to servers successful 5 randomly selected countries and provides “medium VPN speed.” Vivaldi browser users tin besides upgrade to a paid mentation of Proton VPN starting from $10 per month, which provides faster VPN speeds, the quality to take which servers to link to crossed much than 110 countries, and different further features.

It isn’t unsocial for web browsers to person VPN features baked successful — Microsoft bolstered its Edge browser with the Edge Secure Network VPN, for example. Proton VPN tin besides beryllium readily embedded into different web browsers similar Chrome and Firefox via downloadable browser extensions. That hurdle, nevertheless small, is removed for Vivaldi browsers users, which whitethorn marque the VPN much accessible to a wider audience.

Vivaldi besides said its concern with Proton was founded successful shared “values,” citing that some European companies are “proudly extracurricular the orbit of Silicon Valley’s extractive playbook oregon China’s state-driven oversight.”

“As governments and users alike reassess their narration with tech, particularly successful airy of escalating geopolitical tensions, determination has been a immense summation successful request for independent, non-aligned, and values-driven solutions,” said Vivaldi CEO Jon Von Tetzchner. “Europe needs European alternatives. In fact, everybody deserves European alternatives. And with Vivaldi and Proton, you’re getting precisely that.”

While Tetzchner says that some Vivaldi and Proton are “politically neutral,” the connection feels similar an evident motion to the fractures appearing betwixt the US and Europe’s narration since President Donald Trump took office and surrounded himself with leaders of market-dominating Tech Giants. Bundling Vivaldi with privacy-focused freebies could beryllium a viable lure to pull caller customers who are already looking to power to a non-US browser.