I have started a journey to de-google my life, and part of that process was picking a new web browser. I started using Vivaldi as my default browser. In addition to providing an ad-free browsing experience out of the box, this browser includes privacy and productivity features that work well. They work better than I thought. After using it as my default browser for over a month, I plan to make it my primary browser on all my systems. It is privacy-focused and includes a trove of productivity features that help improve your workflow.

Getting started with Vivaldi

Ads and inline videos are blocked by default

When setting up a new browser, you often head to the extensions store to get what you need. You might think of getting an ad blocker; however, you don’t need one. Online ads and videos are blocked by default. This is a helpful feature to have out-of-the-box. The result is a light and seamless browsing experience. It also allows you to import your bookmarks from other web browsers installed on your system. You can do that with the click of a button.

Now, Vivaldi is built on the open-source Chromium engine like other browsers, such as Chrome, Brave, and Edge, so it uses extensions from the Chrome web store. So, you can grab your favorites sans an ad blocker to get going. The installation button will change to Add to Vivaldi when you are in the extensions store. Another one of the first things I changed is its built-in password manager. I use Proton Pass and don’t need other browsers to save my passwords. While you can use both password managers, it gets confusing and redundant.

Productivity tools

It’s packed with features to enhance your workflow

Once you have everything you need, you should navigate through settings in the top left corner and make the browser your own with the plethora of available settings. You can change how it looks and feels, enable or disable features, and more. Having the settings and features toolbar on the left takes getting used to. However, after using it, I wish every browser had this. You can move the browser’s toolbar if you want a different appearance. It

This browser has productivity tools like a calendar, email feature, and notes. For instance, if you find something interesting online, you can open the sidebar, copy and paste it into Notes, and take a screenshot to add to your notes, which saves to a specific Vivaldi pictures folder as a bonus. Creating tasks and adding attachments, map locations, and more is also possible. It includes a calendar in the app, which helps you keep important meetings organized. The benefit is that you don’t need to open a separate calendar app while researching the web.

There’s also a translation tool that’s helpful when working with companies abroad or reading foreign websites. The number of tools included with Vivaldi is astonishing. To open the toolbar and find the features, click the Show Panel button in the top right corner or press F4. It’s also worth noting that checking your email via the browser is another bonus.

Quality VPN

Proton is a service that I trust

Vivaldi's built-in Proton VPN is the main feature that sold me on this privacy and productivity-focused browser. Other browsers include built-in VPNS like Brave and Opera. The "big three" browsers, like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, also include VPN capabilities. However, they either require a subscription or are free for limited use. For instance, you can use the VPN built into Microsoft Edge for up to 5GB of data.

However, Edge and other browsers flow traffic through their servers. However, Proton’s end-to-end encrypted VPN gives me more peace of mind than streaming my traffic through Microsoft (or Google) servers. I would have more faith in Brave than the others. But I digress.

I am an enormous fan of Proton products and have written about the benefits of encrypted VPNs. The partnership with Vivaldi provides an encrypted VPN with Proton’s zero-knowledge architecture. That means it’s heavily encrypted, protected against ad and AI-targeting, and protected from malware. Proton boasts that even an employee at the highest level cannot see your data.

Using it is straightforward: click the VPN button in the top right corner and sign in with your Vivaldi or Proton account. If you don’t have a Proton account, no worries. You can get a free one. A free account also includes other Proton services with limited capabilities, like Mail, Calendar, Drive, and Docs. It’s important to mention that all services are also encrypted with a free account. For general browsing, I click the Quick Connect option; however, I can choose from a list of secure servers from over 110 countries. The VPN ensures the privacy of my traffic wherever I visit online, which is a massive advantage over other browsers.

Using Vivaldi for integrated privacy and productivity tools

There is a lot to talk about when it comes to Vivaldi. It is a privacy-focused browser with built-in ad trackers and blockers. I would also be remiss if I didn’t say it includes the privacy-first Startpage search engine by default. It doesn’t store or share personal details like search queries, IP addresses, or other personal data. I didn’t like its search results, so I changed my default search to DuckDuckGo. Still, the idea here is that Vivaldi is very privacy-focused, and it does a great job with it.

In addition to doing a killer job with privacy, it also includes many tools that improve my productivity. Saving notes on the fly and viewing my email and calendar from the browser are amazing features that most other browsers lack. Vivaldi is also light and easy on system resources and won’t stress your CPU, RAM, and GPU while running. Vivaldi's privacy integration, security, and productivity features make it an easy choice to use as your default browser.