The developers of the Opera browser are known for their passion for integrating various platforms, including social ones. So it’s no surprise that they ended up adding a quick sidebar to TikTok in their desktop browser. This allows you to access the web version of the short video service if you want to quickly check your feed or download edited videos from your computer.
Opera already has quick access to Instagram, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp in the sidebar, as well as a media player with access to services such as Apple Music and Spotify. These are web apps again, but the company is clearly hoping to attract users who don’t want to launch separate apps or keep additional browser tabs open.
TikTok’s feature is ultimately an extension of a familiar strategy. As with gaming and cryptocurrency browsers, Opera hopes to lure users away from rivals like Chrome and Safari by integrating useful (or at least trendy) services. When all modern browsers generally work well, Opera tries to stand out with additional customizations and integrations.
It is not known how well this approach works for the company’s bottom line. However, Opera has increased its user share over the past few years, rising from just under 2.3% in Statcounter rating in October 2019 to almost 3.6% at this time. However, the browser remains far behind the leader and competes more with Firefox (just over 7% market share) than with Chrome (66.5%).
Loading comments …