Is there a difference between using Opera as a VPN vs paying for one?
Opera will probably just use the VPN for the browsing in the opera browser, not your whole operating system, but i have not tried that VPN.
There are reports that the Opera browser VPN is not in the least bit secure or private. Whereas commercial VPNs often make a big deal about them being private and secure. If all you want to do is watch TV shows that are blocked because of region locks then Opera is probably fine. If you’re trying to dodge a government then you definitely don’t want to use Opera.
I’m using Opera to access things that may be blocked in my country. It works fine in general (and it’s not like I care about the government finding out).
However, it doesn’t provide a huge choice of localization. I can just pick “Asia”, “Europe”, or “America”, and nothing more precise. So sometimes the thing I’m trying to access will still be blocked. I guess most paying VPN would give you more freedom in picking the place.
The issue is that it’s not necessarily *your* government finding out: shortly after Opera was acquired by Chinese concerns, some tests showed ID/password combos that were only used in an Opera browser (i.e. honeypot trap) were being used to attempt to infiltrate companies.
So basically, assume anything you type into Opera is being looked at by the Chinese government.