Bad news for free VPN lovers as the era of free VPN service is coming to an end. And this end is about to happen on both Android and iOS. Opera VPN is shutting down without any reasonable explanation.
Opera VPN was released sometime in May 2016 for both Android and IOS devices. Also, the VPN is totally free as you do not need to purchase any monthly subscription to use it. It also has a considerable amount of locations one can choose from including USA, Germany, Canada, Singapore, and the Netherlands.
Opera took to their website to announce the indefinite shut down of Opera VPN. Below is what they posted on their site;
We’re discontinuing the Opera VPN app for iOS and Android on April 30, 2018. But don’t worry. We’re helping to make sure your privacy is still looked after.
Opera Gold subscribers are given a 1-year free subscription to SurfEasy Ultra VPN which cost $77.88. This actually makes sense as SurfEasy VPN is owned by the same Opera Software.
Those who made use of the free version of Opera VPN are being offered an 80 percent discount off SurfEasy Total VPN which normally sales for $4.99 a month or $47.88 a year.
Why is Opera VPN Shutting Down?
Well, Opera didn’t give any compelling reason as to why the shut down of its VPN service but I’m guessing its basically about money. We all know that running a VPN service costs a whole lot of money. All the internet traffic of every user making use of the VPN has to go through the servers of the company that maintains it. I think Opera Software probably just found it too expensive to offer this service for free.
With this announcement, Opera has now exited the VPN market fully. All their focus will now be on the mobile web browser.
