Vivaldi 4.3 Adds PWA, Sync, Download Improvements

This week, Vivaldi upgraded its flagship desktop web browser to version 4.3, adding several useful new improvements while allowing users to block Google’s latest privacy invasion.

“Our new version — Vivaldi 4.3 — ticks the checkboxes of privacy and useful features that will help you make informed decisions and get work done faster,” Vivaldi co-founder and CEO Jon von Tetzchner writes. “Now equipped with the much-requested PWA support, the new version is packed with improvements and new, privacy-friendly additions to Vivaldi Mail and Calendar (beta).”

Here’s what’s new in this release.

PWA support. With this release, Vivaldi finally supports full Progressive Web App (PWA) functionality, including the ability to install PWAs locally on your PC or Mac. You can also create shortcuts for non-PWAs, as you can on other browsers too.

Google Idle API blocking. Google recently introduced a behavioral tracking feature called the Idle Detection API that sites can use to determine if whether you’ve interacted with the PC or specific hardware like its keyboard and mouse, or through specific system events. So Vivaldi disables the Idle API by default on desktop and Android, and unlike Chrome, it doesn’t even let websites ask if they can use this functionality. You can enable the Idle API in Settings if you prefer.

Improved Capture. Vivaldi’s Capture feature lets users take shots of a website—including the entire page, if desired, so you can get everything, even the bits you can’t currently see—and then more easily share it with others. In Vivaldi 4.3, Capture has been improved with a refreshed look and feel, a resize option, and more efficient communications tools.

Improved Vivaldi Translate. The Vivaldi Translate feature is powered by Lingvanex and can quickly translate websites without the need for third-party extensions with privacy concerns. With this release, Vivaldi supports 68 new languages, for a total of 108. And its translation engine is hosted on Vivaldi’s servers in Iceland, with no third-party servers in the mix.

Improved sync. Vivaldi’s sync capabilities have been updated with a new look and feel, improved account setup and recovery, and the ability to download the backup encryption key.

Improved Download panel. Vivaldi’s Download panel now displays a graph with your download speed over time, new buttons that make it easier to restart downloads or find downloaded files on your system, and a new look in which key statistics are bolded so you can more easily monitor your downloads at a glance.

Improved Vivaldi Mail, Calendar, and Feed Reader (Beta). These useful integrated apps have been updated so that the Mail and Calendar OAuth login is now specific to Mail and Calendar and not shared with the main browser. This way, when you sign in to Gmail with Mail, you are no longer logged into all Google services in the browser too, making it harder for Google to track you across the internet. You can also drag and drop attachments by dragging them into the Vivaldi Mail window.

You can download Vivaldi 4.3 from the Vivaldi website.