If you've found yourself reaching for your phone to check TikTok, Opera can let you do that within its browser.
Opera has announced that you can now use TikTok within the sidebar of its web browser, so you can log in to your account and scroll through the For You feed as you’re browsing the web.
The sidebar in Opera's web browser already lets you use WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitch. It's become a useful feature for many, and it's something that sets it apart from other browsers. You can download the update for Windows, macOS, Linux and other operating systems immediately.
TikTok integration is something that's been long requested by Opera's users, and when TechRadar visited the company in October we came away with the feeling that responding to feedback is a big part of its culture, so we’re not surprised to see that it’s listened and acted in this case.
Analysis: another useful addition from Opera
You can enable TikTok in Opera by going to the sidebar, right-clicking an area, and adding it to the sidebar. Using it here is similar to using it on your iPhone or Android phone, but, (although it's also an easy way to fritter away half an hour of your life, as I discovered when I first tried the feature).
Announcing the addition of TikTok support to the sidebar, Joanna Czajka, product director at Opera, explained that it was another example of the company listening to feedback from users.
“While building our browsers, we don’t stop at following what is popular among our users but also try to learn how, when, and where people interact with those trending services or social media platforms," Czajka added. "The next step in our design process is to figure out how a browser can participate in that in a way that brings the most value to our users. People focus on what they want to do, not on which device."
In the last few months, I've been noticing videos going viral on Twitter and Facebook, and being struck by the sense that I've seen them before – and then I’ll realize that I saw them on TikTok first.
This has been one of the factors behind TikTok’s explosive growth – when users share videos on more established platforms, many of the people who see those videos are encouraged to try out the platform for themselves.
Opera's update is only going to help with this, as you'll be able to keep tabs on TikTok and Twitter at the same time (assuming Twitter survives, given its current tribulations). In the meantime though, the sidebar is Opera's trump card – it’s one of the features that makes it a constant presence on our list of the best web browsers, and it'll be interesting to see what the company's plans are for it in the future.
