Otello ends Opera VPN

The former browser builder Otello, formerly Opera Software, is ending its Opera VPN service for iOS and Android. The VPN service, which comes in paid and free versions, has been around for a total of less than two years. Otello gives no reason for stopping the service.

Opera VPN will shut down on April 30, the company announced. Supposedly, Otello will discontinue the VPN service, as it just sold a division that also offers a VPN service. That’s SurfEasy, a Canadian company. Opera acquired SurfEasy three years ago and sold it to Symantec late last year.

Opera VPN Gold users receive a free annual subscription to SurfEasy, while free users receive an 80 percent discount when they purchase the VPN service from SurfEasy. SurfEasy is no stranger to Opera VPN users, as Opera VPN is a white label version of SurfEasy’s VPN service.

The Norwegian Otello that owns SurfEasy has not been the same company that builds the browsers for a while now. That is now in the hands of a Chinese investor. SurfEasy used to provide the backbone for the VPN service in the Opera browser, but that is no longer the case.