Vivaldi 4.1 for Android: stay in browser feature and tab stacks support

Vivaldi released a new version of its Vivaldi web browser for Android on August 4, 2021. Vivaldi 4.1 is available via Google Play for devices running Android 5 or higher.

Existing users may select Vivaldi Menu > About Vivaldi to display the application version that is installed on the device.

Vivaldi 4.1 for Android

Stay in Browser

Stay in Browser is one of the features that is introduced in Vivaldi 4.1. The option attempts to keep the browsing in Vivaldi, even if an application is installed on the device that would pick up the browsing.

Take eBay or Amazon as an example; if you have installed the official apps, links in browsers that point to these services will be opened in the installed apps and not in the browser.

May not be a problem for some users, but if you like to browse the different Stores, e.g. eBay's UK, United States and German stores, you will notice that you cannot do so on mobile with the app installed. The same is true for myriads of other service links, e.g. those pointing to YouTube videos, Twitter or Reddit.

Vivaldi's Stay in Browser feature blocks these external navigations. It worked fine for eBay in a quick test, the app was not opened when I opened links on eBay's UK website.

Do the following to enable Stay in Browser in Vivaldi:

1. Select Vivaldi Menu and then Settings to open the Preferences.
2. Scroll all the way down and toggle "Stay in Browser".

Vivaldi blocks the opening of pages in external applications "when possible" if the feature is enabled. Simply toggle the feature again to disable it.

New Tab Settings

Vivaldi 4.1 introduces several new tab settings, which give users more flexibility when it comes to working with multiple tabs in the browser.

Vivaldi is one of the few browsers that may display a tab bar, usually only shown on desktop browsers, in the mobile version.

Here are the mobile browser's new tab settings that define how new tabs are opened:

• After Active Tab (default) -- opens a new tab after the active tab.
• After Related Tabs -- links are opened next to their "parent" tab.
• As Last Tab -- opens new tabs at the end of the tab bar.
• As Tab Stack with Related Tab -- creates a new tab stack with the active tab and the new tab.

You find the new options under Vivaldi Menu > Settings > New Tab Position.

Also Tab related, is the option to enable Tab Stacks functionality in Vivaldi for Android.

The feature works similarly to how Tab grouping works in Chrome for Android and other Chromium-based browsers. Tab Stacks are not yet displayed in the tab bar, if enabled, it appears.

Closing Words

Vivaldi continues to introduce usability features in its mobile and desktop browser. Stay in Browser is a mighty useful feature for users who prefer to keep using the browser when opening links, even if a dedicated application is installed. Sometimes, you may not want the dedicated application to open, and Stay in Browser is perfect for that. One downside is that you don't have an option currently to open links in external applications if you want to. The only option is to disable the feature before activating the link.

Vivaldi 4.1 for Android: stay in browser feature and tab stacks support