When saving traffic for the opera, various methods are used, which may turn out to be ineffective in some cases. It is imperative that they be analyzed and, if possible, tested in order to understand whether each individual case is suitable for saving or not.
Turbo mode and traffic saving in Opera
When Turbo mode is activated, websites load significantly faster, which is important with a slow Internet connection. The traffic passes through one of the developer’s servers, which determines the possibility and expediency of data compression and removal of some elements. At the same time, the resolution of pictures is reduced and adjustments are made to the buffering of videos. After processing, the data is sent to the user’s device. A similar algorithm is implemented by Google, which helps with saving traffic in Chrome.
It should be noted that the mode is not available when connecting via the secure HTTPS protocol, which is used, for example, by all online banking services, as well as payment systems. Turbo does not work in incognito mode either.
In normal operation, Turbo can be permanently enabled or permanently disabled, and also activated only when the Internet connection speed drops. To enable Turbo mode, go to the corresponding section in the main menu.
In recent versions of the browser, the mode is hidden, so some users have difficulty finding it. To enable it, follow the following algorithm:
- enter the main menu;
- check the box "Show advanced settings" in the lower left corner of the program window;
- go to the "Browser" tab.
Watch the video on how to use the Turbo function.
The point of interest is at the very end of the list. It is worth noting that the simultaneous use of Turbo mode and a VPN connection, which allows you to bypass the blocking of sites, is impossible. So you can only take care of how to disable traffic savings from your IP address.
How to achieve traffic savings on Opera using ad blocking?
Colorful animated banners, which are full of almost all modern sites, are considered leaders in traffic consumption. For example, videos are almost always played at the user’s request, but banners appear regardless of the user’s desire. The developers of the Opera browser have provided the ability to install additional plug-ins that help expand the user’s arsenal by customizing the browser for themselves. The most effective ad blockers are:
- AdBlocker Ultimate;
- Adguard;
- Adblock Plus;
- Domain Unlocker.
Each of these services has its own signature of banners and pop-ups, which allows you to screen out intrusive ads based on their common characteristics. The databases are constantly updated, and if the user does not like any element of the site, he can send a report to the developers for analysis and improvement of the plugin.
To add an extension to the browser, you need to click on the "Menu" button in the upper left corner of the program window, and then go to the "Extensions" section and select "Load extensions". In the window that appears, there is a quick search bar that will help you find the plugin of interest by name. Similarly, add-ons are installed in the mobile version of the browser. This will help when saving traffic on Android.
Without resorting to the help of add-ons from third-party developers, the display of ads can be disabled in the browser settings. You can find this function in the "Settings" tab of the main menu in the "General" section. Keep in mind that this method is not always effective, so some banners will skip, devouring precious traffic. It is also worth remembering that blocking ads on some sites makes it difficult to access other content: for example, watching videos becomes inaccessible when blockers are turned on.
Disabling Adobe Flash
This plugin is used to play video and audio directly from the website. Recently, many sites have placed commercials that start playing immediately after opening the page, regardless of the user’s desire. This is not only annoying, but consumes a significant amount of traffic. If you are not interested in videos on third-party sites, you can prevent them from playing.
To do this, go to the browser settings in the "Sites" section. At the top of the list there is an item with Flash settings. The user can set the following restrictions:
- allow playback of content;
- run only important content;
- play only on demand;
- block content.
There is also a button for managing exceptions. This is very convenient: for example, you can block videos on all sites except YouTube, and view them only on this resource.
Image blocking
A similar situation is observed with images. Graphic content in terms of the amount of traffic consumed significantly exceeds the text content of sites, moreover, it can be distracting when reading an interesting article.
The settings for image management can be found in the "Sites" section of the browser’s settings menu. There are only two options: allow or deny. As in the previous case, there is a button for managing exceptions: you can set permission or denial for each site individually.
Clear cache or not?
The browser cache stores important data on the sites you visit on your computer or mobile device, such as avatars of friends on social networks, as well as any other rarely changed elements. To prevent this data from being downloaded every time, it is recommended to clear the cache as rarely as possible – for example, at the beginning of the month, when the traffic limit has just been accrued. It is also recommended to increase the cache size, which will allow more user information to be stored on the device.