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Opera Introduces Neon: The Browser That Thinks and Acts for You




Opera has officially launched Neon, its newest browser that blends traditional web browsing with artificial intelligence capable of taking real actions for users. Unlike regular browsers that only assist with tasks such as summarizing webpages or answering quick questions, Neon is designed to handle jobs independently, such as comparing product prices, booking flights, or sending emails, all within a single interface.

The company has been developing this technology for nearly two years, aiming to redefine what a web browser can do in the age of AI. Neon’s core idea is what Opera calls “agentic browsing” — a concept where the browser acts as a personal digital agent that can think, analyze, and execute commands rather than just display information.


How Neon Works

Neon’s functionality revolves around three main tools: Chat, Do, and Make.

Chat serves as a conversational assistant that helps users interact with websites or retrieve information quickly.

Do is where the browser’s true intelligence lies — it allows Neon to take real action on the user’s behalf, like placing an order, sending a message, or completing a form.

Make helps users generate outputs such as drafts, summaries, or creative material.

When combined, these features turn Neon into a proactive tool that doesn’t just respond to you but works with you.


Organized Workspaces and Smarter Prompts

One of Neon’s standout additions is Tasks, a feature that allows users to create dedicated mini workspaces for specific goals. Each Task works like a self-contained browser window that remembers context, helping Neon analyze and perform multiple actions without cluttering the main screen. For example, users can have one Task comparing airfares while another is drafting an email, both running independently.

Neon also introduces Cards, which are pre-built AI prompts for automating frequent activities. They function like templates that users can reuse anytime, whether to schedule tasks, perform research, or even place a recurring order. Opera allows users to customize and save their own Cards, tailoring them for personal use.


A Step Ahead of Competitors

While other AI-powered browsers like Comet have introduced agentic functions, Neon’s performance currently appears more refined. Its ability to complete full workflows with minimal human input demonstrates how far Opera has pushed the idea of autonomous browsing. Users who tested both browsers report that Neon executes most tasks more smoothly, with fewer interruptions or manual confirmations.


The future of this browser 

Neon is still being rolled out through a waitlist, with plans for a premium subscription priced at $19.99 per month. Opera describes it as the next stage in web navigation: a browser that doesn’t just assist but acts.

As agentic AI gains ground, Neon represents a growing shift in how users interact with technology. However, experts advise caution, reminding that convenience should not come at the expense of privacy and security. As AI-driven browsers become more capable, ensuring that automated systems act safely and transparently will remain a priority for both developers and users.




Call-Recording App Neon Suspends Service After Security Breach

 

Neon, a viral app that pays users to record their phone calls—intending to sell these recordings to AI companies for training data—has been abruptly taken offline after a severe security flaw exposed users’ personal data, call recordings, and transcripts to the public.

Neon’s business model hinged on inviting users to record their calls through a proprietary interface, with payouts of 30 cents per minute for calls between Neon users and half that for calls to non-users, up to $30 per day. The company claimed it anonymized calls by stripping out personally identifiable information before selling the recordings to “trusted AI firms,” but this privacy commitment was quickly overshadowed by a crippling security lapse.

Within a day of rising to the top ranks of the App Store—boasting 75,000 downloads in a single day—the app was taken down after researchers discovered a vulnerability that allowed anyone to access other users’ call recordings, transcripts, phone numbers, and call metadata. Journalists found that the app’s backend was leaking not only public URLs to call audio files and transcripts but also details about recent calls, including call duration, participant phone numbers, timing, and even user earnings.

Alarmingly, these links were unrestricted—meaning anyone with the URL could eavesdrop on conversations—raising immediate privacy and legal concerns, especially given complex consent laws around call recording in various jurisdictions.

Founder and CEO Alex Kiam notified users that Neon was being temporarily suspended and promised to “add extra layers of security,” but did not directly acknowledge the security breach or its scale. The app itself remains visible in app stores but is nonfunctional, with no public timeline for its return. If Neon relaunches, it will face intense scrutiny over whether it has genuinely addressed the security and privacy issues that forced its shutdown.

This incident underscores the broader risks of apps monetizing sensitive user data—especially voice conversations—in exchange for quick rewards, a model that has emerged as AI firms seek vast, real-world datasets for training models. Neon’s downfall also highlights the challenges app stores face in screening for complex privacy and security flaws, even among fast-growing, high-profile apps.

For users, the episode is a stark reminder to scrutinize privacy policies and app permissions, especially when participating in novel data-for-cash business models. For the tech industry, it raises questions about the adequacy of existing safeguards for apps handling sensitive audio and personal data—and about the responsibilities of platform operators to prevent such breaches before they occur.

As of early October 2025, Neon remains offline, with users awaiting promised payouts and a potential return of the service, but with little transparency about how (or whether) the app’s fundamental security shortcomings have been fixed.