Frequently asked questions for Opera Mini for iOS

What are each of the data-savings modes and what makes them different?

There are three different modes for compressing the web, as it’s delivered to Opera Mini:

  1. Opera Mini mode gives you the tried and true compression used in previous versions. This compression is heavy-duty, packing pages, images and text down to as little as 10% of their original size. It’s great for travel when you are worried about roaming or for when you encounter congested networks where you may see a significant increase in connection speeds. Opera Mini mode loads webpages on Opera’s servers and delivers the juicy content, without all the frills. Pages may not render exactly as intended, but you’ll see amazing results in the amount of data being saved.
  2. Opera Turbo mode compresses pictures and text without breaking down the sites you visit. This smart compression technology does some fancy adjustments to how much data it compresses, based on your network’s load, how far you are from a tower, and other factors. You’ll get up to 50% data savings using this mode, but you also get a rich-media experience. Unlike Opera Mini mode, which alters pages to achieve maximum compression, Opera Turbo mode tailors its method of data compression to give you the most data savings possible without sacrificing your experience.
  3. You can turn data savings off entirely, which means the web is delivered as it’s written. This is good for surfing when data is cheap and connections are fast, like when you’re on Wi-Fi. You can watch full-quality videos, stream high-quality audio and generally enjoy pages, even if they weren’t optimized for mobile viewing.

How much savings can I expect from the different modes?

Opera Mini mode maximizes data savings and can extend your data by up to 90%.

Opera Turbo mode tailors your savings to give you a great web experience and extends your data up to 50%.

What is video boost?

Opera Mini can compress online videos being delivered to your device, in addition to images and text. The app uses cloud-based technology to cut down buffering and stalling, while you watch video on the go. It may degrade video quality but saves data while you’re not on Wi-Fi.

To turn video boost on or off, tap the savings summary in the main menu and toggle the Video Boost switch. Video boost is only available in Opera Turbo compression mode.

What is the Discover feature?

Think of the Discover feature as a head-start to finding great content on the web. Read the best new and trending articles, collected from popular and reputable sites. Keep up with the latest news, sports and entertainment right from your browser’s start page. You can even set the Discover feature to show local content in your language.

What is Speed Dial?

Speed Dial is a set of visual bookmarks for your most visited sites. With Speed Dial, you can easily collect your favorite places to browse onto the your start page and quickly access them with a single tap. You can also group Speed Dial entries to keep your web adventures organized and readily available.

How do I save a site to Speed Dial?

If you’ve found a site you regularly visit and dislike typing the address over and over again, you can add the site to Speed Dial. This way, you only have to tap the site’s icon to get quick access to the content you love.

While on the site, tap the star icon in the combined search and address bar, then select Speed Dial. The site will appear at the end of your Speed Dial entries.

What is history?

History is a log of your activity with Opera Mini, and, this time, we’ve made your history a little more useful. Opera Mini puts all the pages from a single domain into groups, so you can more quickly navigate back to where you were. Tap the trash icon in the lower-right corner, or long-press an item in the list, to clear your browsing history in a flash.

How does the tab gallery work?

The tab gallery lets you swipe between open tabs, so you can multitask more easily and fly between content you’ve been browsing. To close a tab, swipe it up and away. If you use private and normal tabs simultaneously, tap the gallery’s Normal and Private buttons to switch between the groups. Normal tabs appear with a light interface, while private tabs appear dark.

What are private tabs?

Private tabs remove all traces of your browsing habits on your device when you’re finished with your private browsing session. After closing all private tabs and windows, Opera Mini removes the history, cookies, and items in the cache associated with the privates tabs you used. You can browse a little safer – and maybe even share your phone – knowing that any typed passwords or recent sites you’ve visited haven’t left a trail.

To open a private tab, tap the Private button in the tab gallery to switch to private mode. Then, tap the + button to open a new private tab.

How do I save pages offline?

If you’ve found a page you want to read later or a reference you’ll need offline, you can save the page to your Speed Dial. Opera Mini will make a copy of the page and store it on your device, so you can access it without a connection to the web.

While viewing the page, tap the star icon in the combined search and address bar, then select Save for Offline. The page will be saved in a Speed Dial folder titled Offline pages.

How do I bookmark pages?

If you’ve found a resource or article you know you’ll need to read online at a later date, you can bookmark the page. This adds the page to a list in your Speed Dial that you can easily organize.

To bookmark a page, tap the star icon in the combined search and address bar, then select Bookmarks. You can edit the bookmark’s name or change which folder you want the bookmark to be saved to. Tap Save and the page will be saved under the Bookmarks Speed Dial entry.

How do I create a new bookmark folder?

You can organize your bookmarks by placing them in folders. For example, you could make a folder for recipes. And, as you browse, add to it any recipes you might want to try later. Tap the Bookmarks entry on Speed Dial to view your bookmarks.

To add a new folder:

  1. Tap Edit at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Tap New Folder at the bottom of the screen.
  3. Give the folder a name.
  4. If desired, you can nest folders inside one another. Tap Location and select an existing folder.
  5. Tap Save.

Tap Done again to finish editing your bookmarks. Tap Done again to return to Speed Dial.

What is night mode?

Night mode dims your screen so you can read more comfortably in the dark. Opera Mini’s smart night mode includes two different settings for your screen: one that dims and one that reduces blue light. Less blue light can help you get to sleep more naturally.

To turn night mode on or off, toggle the Night Mode switch in the main menu.

To reduce blue light:

  1. Tap the O menu and select Settings.
  2. Tap Night Mode.
  3. Toggle the Reduce Eye Strain switch.

Use the slider to adjust the brightness of your screen.

More answers can be found in the Opera forums