Is Opera Chinese? Who Really Owns Opera and What It Means for Your Data

Yes, Opera is majority-owned by a Chinese company - but it is run from Norway under EU privacy law, and there is no evidence your data goes to China. Here is the full picture.

Opera now has 100 million people using it on computers, and "is Opera Chinese?" is one of the top questions they ask.

The honest answer has two halves: who owns the company, and who handles your data.

We go through both, then show you how to make Opera more private - or which browser to pick instead.

Who Owns Opera

According to Opera's own filings with US regulators, about 68% of the company belongs to Hong Kong Kunlun Tech Holding. That firm is controlled by Kunlun Tech, a Chinese internet company listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange, and its founder Zhou Yahui, who is also Opera's chairman.

• 2016: a group led by Kunlun and fellow Chinese company Qihoo 360 bought Opera's browser business for about 600 million dollars.
• 2018: Opera listed its shares on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the US.
• 2022: Opera bought back Qihoo 360's shares, leaving Kunlun as the controlling owner.
• 2026: Kunlun is selling small slices back to Opera through a share buyback, but still holds about two thirds.

The day-to-day company is still Norwegian. Opera was founded in Oslo in 1995, is still headquartered there, and calls itself "an independent browser company".

Where Your Data Goes

Opera's privacy statement names Opera Norway AS as the company in charge of your data, which puts it under Europe's GDPR privacy law. It does not list China, or any Chinese company, among the places your data is sent.

• Usage data: Opera collects some information about how you use the browser and keeps it for up to three years, as most browser makers do.
• AI chat: the built-in Aria assistant is powered by OpenAI and Google, both US companies.
• Free VPN: Opera says it keeps no logs and runs its servers in the US, the Netherlands and Singapore.

So, Should You Worry?

There is no public evidence that Opera sends user data to China, and no US or EU regulator has banned or restricted it. Opera has also been listed on a US stock exchange for years, which means regular public reporting.

The worry people raise is about what could happen, not what has. Chinese law can require Chinese companies to help state intelligence work, and in 2019 US regulators made Kunlun sell another app it owned, the dating app Grindr, over national security concerns.

How to Make Opera More Private

1. Open Settings. Press Alt+P, or click the Opera menu and choose Settings.
2. Turn on ad and tracker blocking. Under Privacy protection, switch on Block ads and Block trackers.
3. Stop optional data sharing. Under Privacy & security, turn off sending feature usage information and automatic crash reports to Opera.
4. Skip what you don't use. Hide the AI assistant and sidebar messengers you never open, so less of your activity passes through them.

The same steps work in Opera GX, the gaming version, which has the same owner.

Prefer a Browser With No Link to China?

• Mozilla Firefox - made by Mozilla, which is owned by the non-profit Mozilla Foundation. The best pick if privacy is your main reason for switching.
• Brave - a US-made browser that blocks ads and trackers out of the box and feels very close to Opera and Chrome.

Both import your bookmarks and passwords from Opera the first time you open them, so switching takes a few minutes.

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