Security & Privacy

Advertisements in Opera

Note: This section only applies to Opera versions prior to 8.5. Opera version 8.5 and later, no longer contains advertisment sponsorship. See our information page for more details.

The first time you install Opera, you get the choice between a generic (random) selection of advertisement banners and Google relevant advertisements, known as Google ads. This setting can be edited later on in Tools > Preferences > Advertising.

Google ads are based on information about Web addresses (URLs) and content that you view, as well as your IP address, to geographically target advertisements. This information is sent through the browser when you opt for this type of advertising.

Note that the following content types will not be transmitted by Opera:

• Usernames and passwords in the format http://user:pass@www.example.com
• URLs with CGI arguments (such as http://www.example.com/page?formsdata)
• Forms data sent as POST requests
• Secure pages (such as any URL beginning with https://)
• Other protocols than HTTP (FTP, NNTP, and so forth).
• Internal IP addresses according to RFC 1918 (such as addresses starting with 10.*, 192.168.*, and 172.16-172.31.*)

When surfing in full-screen mode, no advertisements are downloaded.

Opera Software takes your privacy seriously. If you are concerned with privacy issues related to advertising in Opera, you can get more information on the Opera Browser Google Ads, and read Opera's privacy policy as well as Google's privacy policy for more details.