Latest Vivaldi release surfs a wave of anti-AI sentiment
- Reference: 1769689095
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/01/29/vivaldi_release_ai/
- Source link:
"Basically, what we are finding is that people hate AI," CEO Jon von Tetzchner tells The Register .
Von Tetzchner was talking to us as the company [1]launched version 7.8 of its browser. The centerpiece of the release is a new tab tiling system that allows users to work with multiple pages simultaneously. There are also improvements to email and several quality-of-life tweaks that will please the browser's fans.
[2]
The company modestly says: "It's the biggest leap in browser multitasking since tabs were invented and it required zero machine learning models."
[3]
[4]
That's not to say that AI doesn't have limited uses, as far as Vivaldi is concerned. It's useful for translations and research. However, does it belong in the browser, potentially even taking action for the user? Von Tetzchner doesn't think so.
He reckons that AI in browsers is being used as a data collection tool – as a company, Vivaldi has made much of user privacy. Hence, the CEO said AI "is something that's being pushed on to people."
[5]
"In a lot of cases, it's really about... if you're a company and you're listed or have investors, AI is the thing that gets you money."
"I think it's important that someone speaks out about AI. Yes, it's an interesting technology that can be used for good things as well, but actually, quite a lot of the use is not helpful."
"I think all of us are tired of AI-generated content wherever we go."
[6]
Although Vivaldi has plenty of tools and settings to block unwanted content, such as ads and trackers, Von Tetzchner isn't about to kick off an arms race to filter out AI-generated content. "Trying to recognize AI and keep it out, I think that's an uphill struggle that typically involves using AI for that purpose."
[7]Just the Browser claims to tame the bloat without forking
[8]Firefox adds AI Window, users want AI wall to keep it out
[9]OpenAI releases bot-tom feeding browser with ChatGPT built in
[10]Not in my browser! Vivaldi capo doubles down on generative AI ban
"Users go where they want to go… but I would urge people to maybe go to different sites if certain sites they're going to are getting filled with AI. Maybe it's time to look at other things. Maybe it's an opportunity for new social media. Maybe it's a chance for the fediverse."
Is there an AI bubble? "We've seen this happen before," Von Tetzchner says, pointing to the blockchain and crypto obsessions of previous years, noting that companies reached huge valuations based on an unproven use case. According to Von Tetzchner, the current AI push is more about a fear of being left behind in a paradigm shift. "While in our case, we're just wondering, OK, what do our users want? What can we do that is useful? What's the best way to give our users what they want?"
"And if that isn't AI, we aren't going to put any AI in, and we haven't really seen the use for it."
Vivaldi is in an interesting position at the moment. It remains a small player – Von Tetzchner admits "we haven't grown to the size that we did with Opera," and measuring the company's market share is tricky given that it famously dispensed with putting its name into the [11]User Agent string websites use to identify the client browser.
Part of the challenge now facing the company is translating a growing suspicion about US tech giants into installations of its browser. Several vendors have reported a shift away from US companies and expect it will accelerate over the next few years as lawmakers and enterprises alike ponder questions about sovereignty and a stricter regulatory regime.
"We're definitely seeing that," says Von Tetzchner, "there's discussions, there's people making choices... The fact that the EU is discussing preferring European software... that's a big deal." ®
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[1] https://vivaldi.com/blog/vivaldi-on-desktop-7-8/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aXuSfSNsr7TxmJmbjnr3aQAAAYM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aXuSfSNsr7TxmJmbjnr3aQAAAYM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aXuSfSNsr7TxmJmbjnr3aQAAAYM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aXuSfSNsr7TxmJmbjnr3aQAAAYM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aXuSfSNsr7TxmJmbjnr3aQAAAYM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/19/just_the_browser/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/13/firefox_adds_ai_window/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/22/openai_crams_chatgpt_into_atlas/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/28/vivaldi_capo_doubles_down_on/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2019/12/19/vivaldi_user_agent/
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
I'm a Firefox user and _sometimes_ use AI... making it black and white (pro/anti) is just silly...
Interestingly enough - I used building Firefox AI more than I ever used pocket (I.e never) ;)
And Chrome, and Edge.
Jon von Tetzchner you are my new hero. Give this man a Nobel peace prize.
You listening to this Firefox?
AI should be an optional extension. If you want it fine, if not don't bother.
100% this.
Make the product too good to turn down. If you have to force it, then it's not good enough. Or wanted.
I'm enjoying Vivaldi
I switched to Vivaldi last October, and I'm happy enough to have given them some money for it.
If anything, it has too many features. I'm occasionally stumbling over a new one and finding myself say "Well that's quite nice"... their focus is definitely more on power user web browsing. A good example being not just having workspaces, but also rules so that certain links always open in certain workspaces. I don't think I need that, but there's a chance...
My main reason for switching was just to see if I could survive without Chrome. Over the years I've used Netscape, Opera, Firefox (back when it was Pheonix and then briefly Firebird) before settling on Chrome. There was nothing wrong with Chrome as a product. Then Palantir said that they'd happily buy Chrome if Google were forced to sell it, and completely coincidentally I thought I should see how much friction there was in switching browsers...
Here I am, over three months later, and I'm still using Vivaldi. Highly recommended. Give it a try.
Re: I'm enjoying Vivaldi
If it has anything similar to NoScript, ideally part of the browser and not via an extension, I would try it
Re: I'm enjoying Vivaldi
As it is compatible with Chrome extensions, at least the extension can be used...
Wait, What?
> Then Palantir said that they'd happily buy Chrome
I think you mean Perplexity. I really hope you didn't mean Palantir.
Re: Wait, What?
You're quite correct.
I had a brainfart. I simply thought "It's an awful idea, and the company name starts with P" and my brain autofilled the rest. Incorrectly.
Thanks for the correction!
Re: Wait, What?
Phew! I don't know anything about Perplexity, but anything is better than Palantir..
For Mac
It would be nice if they provided native architecture binaries rather than universal binaries. It uses (wastes) space, roughly twice as much as a native binary. It's not a matter of 'buy a bigger disk'. It's a blob which is unnecessary and won't ever be used.
AI
I was an avid user of Opera and then switched to Firefox when they decided to jumo the gun and use chrome...
Would I use Vivaldi? maybe, it's spiritual successor of my beloved opera and tries to be what opera was but....
- it uses chrome which basically empowers google so it's a huge no no
- it's closed source so kinda meh
- it has "feature bloat" where they ads everything and there is an option for everything... but it doesn't work well for basic stuff - I open new tab and the address bar is not focused AI each time I have to click it or use shortcut.... I start typing the address ans instead of giving me the base domain it autocompletes with some weird page that I visited ages ago and if I want to go go the main page I have to edit the whole long URL...
- it's kinda slow and junky (even with single page) compared to Firefox (which is weird because supposedly Firefox is the cow in the crowd...
- while they are anti AI they don't have a problem constantly restoring VPN button to the most prominent place in the toolbar...
Re: AI
Thanks. That brings balence to the conversation.
Re: AI
For me, the 'feature bloat', if we want to call it that, doesn't get in the way. Most features can be disabled or even are by default. Also, at least for me, "basic stuff" works as well as in any other browser; and like almost everything, the open-new-tab behavior is configurable. So is address field autocomplete. Here, Vivaldi isn't slow in any way, either. And I cannot even remember when I last saw the VPN button.
Re: AI
I think that with age I like more simplicity and then adding what I need.
And I know that new tab and address bar can be configurable but no amount of juggling the order of suggestions resulted in anything that would be intuitive for me :)
Erm...
...am I going nuts? I can't see in TFA where it mentions Vivaldi is Norwegian. Am I losing it?
Re: Erm...
... perhaps? The only occurence of the string "Norw" in the page sources of both TFA and this comments page is in your question [1] , so I'm not sure why you're asking.
[1] Oh, and in this one, after I hit 'Submit'.
AIdvertising
The only genuinely useful application of AI I can see is detecting online adverts and replacing them with cat pictures.
This would not even be hard. The browser already parses the DOM and knows where third-party content comes from. If an element matches known ad patterns, scripts, trackers, or sponsorship markers, it gets classified as advertising. At that point, discard it and render a cat instead.
No profiling, no behavioural inference, no “personalisation”. Just deterministic ad detection and a local replacement step in the rendering pipeline. Faster pages, less tracking, improved mental health, and more cats. A rare case where the output is objectively better than the input.
Re: AIdvertising
No, no, no... you're misunderstanding the basic use case for AI: replacing pictures of cats with unwanted adverts.
It's not for mere fleshy meatbags to arrange their preferences in ways which might not suit the internet behemoths.
p.s. ublock origin works really well for your use case for Firefox / Waterfox (my current preference); once you find the right tick box it's already there on Vivaldi (kept around for when sites won't work with Waterfox. I don't like its UI particularly.)
Re: AIdvertising
"No, no, no... you're misunderstanding the basic use case for AI: replacing pictures of cats with unwanted adverts."
Oh, like a reverse [1]CatBlock , you mean? :-(
(CatBlock of course isn't AI, it's just pattern-matching on known advert URIs. But then again, isn't (current) so-called AI just big-time pattern-matching? Discuss…)
[Oh, and until I saw the text editor box here, I thought this thread was titled "ALDVERTISING", not "aidvertising". Damn you, overly-zealous sans-serif fonts that don't top-and-tail their capital-i's!]
[1] https://getcatblock.com/
Vivaldium
We certainly need a diverse range of browsers and browser engines, but Vivaldi is unfortunately really just Chromium in a cape. Despite their good intentions, and their welcome anti-AI stance (although I have to say that I do find Firefox's on-device page translation useful from time to time - but that's enough, you can stop right there, Mozilla!), there are still quite a lot of "phone home to Google" settings in Vivaldi that you ought to switch off first. Many of these are also implemented in a Chrome-y non-privacy-respecting way, like "Safe Browsing" - tells Google what site you are visiting and asks "is it safe", whereas Firefox downloads the site list regularly and checks it locally , so Google is none the wiser as to where you are browsing.
Also, changes in Chrome's (also Chromium's? - and therefore forks?) extension functionality (Manifest v3) are deliberately weakening how add-ons such as NoScript and uBlock Origin can work, whereas Firefox still supports the full capabilities required.
Things would be so much better if Vivaldi had its own browser engine (they did it before with the original Opera, after all), or maybe used Gecko or Servo, and properly focused on user privacy.
In the meantime, I wonder how [1]Ladybird development is getting on…?
[1] https://ladybird.org/
Well, that's at least one rational CEO in the world of Artificial Ignorance madness!
"Basically, what we are finding is that people hate AI," CEO Jon von Tetzchner tells The Register.
You listening to this Firefox?