Months back, Vivaldi 5.3 brought new features including editable toolbars, command chain in toolbar editor, a reset button, synchronized search, and swipe gesture in address field, among others.

With version 5.4, Vivaldi is upping the ante once again with updates for web panels, mouse and rocker gestures, Vivaldi Mail, and security. Here’s what’s new in Vivaldi 5.4.

1. Mute Panel Option in Web Panels

Web Panels are those stick-out side panels that extend out of your main browser’s sidebar. Web Panels create a mini split screen view when you right-click on your Vivaldi browser and select Add page to Web Panel.

Web Panels can act as a mini-version of a current webpage, one of your favorite sites, or as a new page allowing you to type a URL. They can play sound as well as autoplay videos.

Previously, the only menu options available on Web Panels are Open in, Copy Panel Address, Periodic Reload, Show Desktop Version, Separate Width, Floating Panel, Toolbar, Remove Web Panel, and Panels.

In Vivaldi 5.4, the Web Panel now has an additional Mute Panel Option that allows you to mute the panel if it is autoplaying videos or sound from a site. This way you can pick only the sounds you want to hear.

2. Customizable Mouse Rocker Gestures

With Vivaldi 5.4, you can now customize your Rocker Gestures. Previously, there was no option to configure or customize how your rocker gesture behaved. With this update, not only can you customize your Rocker Gestures, you can actually make your own mouse gesture, or MYOMG, as Vivaldi calls it.

With this ability, the sky is the limit when it comes to how you want your Rocker Gestures to function. This means that you can now assign any command to both mouse buttons.

You can learn more about how to browse faster with mouse gestures in Vivaldi.

Unlike the Vivaldi 5.3 update, you can now copy and share links to highlight content. With this new feature, you can simply select a portion of text on a webpage that you want to share with someone. Say a quote caught your attention, you can right-click on the page and share it as a link.

To do so, open a webpage, select the portion of text you want to highlight to someone, right-click, and select Copy link to highlight. You can now send the generated URL to someone via a Chromium-based browser.

Once the recipient opens the link, they’ll be directed not just to the page, but to the specific portion of the page that you highlighted for their attention. This is a super useful feature if you want to draw someone’s attention to something important on a webpage.

4. Always Use Secure Connections

In 2021, Google began to implement HTTPS navigation by default for sites directly typed into the address bar in Chrome. This move improves both the browser security and performance. There are other ways to speed up Vivaldi, too.

The option to default to a secure HTTPS connection is now available in Vivaldi 5.4. To set this as your default option, open your Vivaldi browser, click on Settings, then Address Bar, and check the Always Use Secure Connection box.

When next you connect to a site that still uses HTTP, it will be automatically upgraded to an HTTPS connection. These updates were announced via the Vivaldi blog.

Vivaldi 5.4 Comes Loaded With Features

As can be seen, Vivaldi 5.4 is jam-packed with new and improved features spanning Web Panels, mouse and gesture rockers, link to highlight, and default HTTPS connection. It also contains improvements in Vivaldi Mail 1.1 for the integrated Vivaldi Mail, Calendar, and Feed Reader.

If you’re looking for a browser that prioritizes tabs management, organization, customization, and privacy, then look no further than Vivaldi. With Vivaldi, you have a solid alternative to the likes of Chrome and Edge.