Opera Blog:
A month ago we introduced Discord, Slack and Bluesky for testing in Opera Developer. This was something we did based on your feedback. Today, we’re integrating these services into Opera One – our flagship browser. We’re integrating these three new applications in the sidebar of Opera One so you can have quick and convenient access to them while browsing – reducing the need of several open tabs and apps at the same time.
We’re always keen on listening to your feedback, and that’s why we started the year by testing these three apps in Developer, and now we’re releasing the three most requested ones in Opera One for all of you to use.
Connecting you to the world
With the integration of Discord, Slack and Bluesky you get more options to get connected to your friends and family, your communities, work teams, and decentralized social media – all from within your Opera browser. These apps represent the diverse sub-communities among you and serve different needs depending on what you’re using Opera for – work, studies, personal use, or staying on top of social media trends and news.We already offer access to several social platforms and messengers, including WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram. Users can always decide which of the platforms they want to enable: it can be as many as all or none at all.
Expand your communities with Discord
The addition of Discord to the Opera One sidebar goes beyond the gaming community – we know you gamers exist, and we’ve got a whole browser dedicated for you: that’s Opera GX. Beyond gaming, Discord is a platform that allows you to join a community and interact with its members via text and voice chats. For instance, there’s a fair amount of software developers connecting and interacting there as well as many educational communities. Content creators also use it to host their own communities and interact with them. So if you’re an avid Discord user – we got you!
It’s now conveniently located just a click away, in Opera One’s sidebar
Collaborate with your team on Slack
Looking at the feedback we’ve got from you made us realize it makes a lot of sense to integrate Slack into Opera. We’ve built Opera One to be a functional browser that adapts to your needs, and that means that it’s a power tool for work. And Slack is a platform that helps you collaborate with your working teams regardless of where you’re physically located.
With Slack in the sidebar, you don’t need a separate app or to open Slack in a tab (yes, some people do that): all you need to do is simply open your Opera browser and you’ll find your workplace right in the sidebar – it can’t get any easier than that.
Embracing new social platforms with BlueSky
BlueSky is an open-source, decentralized social network created by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey as an alternative to Twitter. Its goal is to give users more control over their data and online interactions, allowing them to have more privacy and freedom. Bluesky is built on the AT protocol, an open source toolbox for building social apps that can talk to each other – making it ideal for those of you who are social media enthusiasts exploring new ways of engaging in open and decentralized public conversations.It has been gaining a lot of traction and popularity lately, and, based on your requests, you seem to be really keen on having it included in the Opera sidebar, and now here it is! So go ahead and follow Opera at operabrowser.bsky.social on BlueSky right this very second. There just might be a giveaway waiting for you there.
How to get Discord, Slack and Bluesky in Opera One’s sidebar
If you want to have any of these apps and platforms in your Opera sidebar, you’ll first need to update the browser to the latest version, or download it if you haven’t already. Then you need to click on the three dots menu at the button of the browser’s sidebar – which will open the Sidebar Setup menu. You’ll find Discord, Slack, and BlueSky under the “Messengers” category. Once you’re there, the last step is to select your favorite apps to be displayed in the Opera sidebar. And since we don’t want to clutter your browsing experience, you can always decide which of the platforms you want to enable in your sidebar: it can be as many as all or – if they’re not your thing at all – none.New Themes are also coming in
Two new Themes have also been added to Opera One. The first one is called Metamorphic, and we’ve created it in collaboration with CG Artist Alex Maltsev.
This Theme infuses your browser with a touch of abstract art and is available in both dark and light modes. It also features browser sounds, background music, and keyboard sounds to make your browsing all the more entertaining. In this Theme, adjusting colors in the Theme Editor will only modify the UI’s color palette to suit your preferences.
The second Themes that’s been added to Opera One is called Interstellar, and it gives your browser a sci-fi vibe to browse the web at near-light speeds! For this Theme, we collaborated with space and fantasy artist Tobias Roetsch.
The Interstellar Theme features browser sounds, background music, and satisfying keyboard sound effects as you type. You can also switch between light and dark modes, each offering unique options to customize the UI’s appearance to your preference.
Changelog for this version
- CHR-9416 Updating Chromium on desktop-stable-* branches
- DNA-121129 Crash at opera::VibesServiceImpl::OnVibeUpdated
Source:
Opera adds Discord, Slack and Bluesky to browser’s sidebar after community requests
We're integrating Discord, Slack and Bluesky to Opera's sidebar after reviewing our community requests, and testing them extensively.
