Opera One on the iPhone now has a Data Saver mode that Opera says can cut the data a browsing session uses by up to 80%. It is off by default, so you have to switch it on yourself.
When it is on, Opera’s servers compress images and text before they reach the phone, so each page downloads fewer bytes. That helps most on a prepaid top-up, a small monthly bundle, a weak signal or expensive roaming, and Opera shows how much data the feature has saved.
To try it, update Opera One from the App Store and flip the switch in the app’s menu or in its settings. The feature is the same server-assisted approach Opera built its name on with Opera Mini, which the company’s announcement says it has now carried to its main iOS browser.
Opera argues the web has become heavy enough to justify it. Citing HTTP Archive’s 2025 Web Almanac, it says the median mobile homepage has grown from 845 KB in 2015 to about 2.6 MB in 2025. Compression only changes what is sent, so the amount saved depends on how much of a page is images and text.
The browser already bundles a free VPN, an ad blocker and an AI assistant. Because pages pass through Opera’s servers while Data Saver is on, anyone who cares about where their browsing traffic goes should weigh that before using it.
The company paired the launch with usage numbers. Its iPhone browser had 20% more monthly users in October 2026 than a year earlier, and the US led at 46%, Asia rose 17%, Europe 16% and Africa 14%. Opera’s PC browser passed 100 million monthly users in the same month.
Jørgen Arnesen, Opera’s executive vice president for mobile, called data saving “a signature Opera feature” and said the company intends to be the alternative to the default browser on iPhone. Britain was the strongest European market for its iPhone browser, up 32%, ahead of France.
Opera links the feature to places where iPhones are spreading while mobile data stays pricey next to local incomes. Africa is its example: the iPhone browser’s user base there rose 14%, and Counterpoint Research counts double-digit iPhone sales growth for the first quarter of 2026. Opera also points to Asia, where heavy mobile data use makes efficient browsing matter.
On the US side, Opera quotes a Gartner finding from April 2026 that just over half of consumers (52%) have acted to block ads, and says that is part of why people look beyond the default browser. The update is free in the App Store.
