Picture this: You're driving along and your passenger asks a question you don't know the answer to. Now, most people would pull out a smartphone and Google it, but not Vivaldi: the privacy-focused browser company is putting its software in cars.
Through a partnership with Swedish electric carmaker Polestar, Vivaldi will become the first browser available on Android Automotive OS, starting now in Europe, North America, and the Asia Pacific, beating even Chrome to the punch.
“We have listened to our owner community, and it’s great that we could answer their desire for a browser with Vivaldi as a nice Christmas present,” says Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO. “Now there is basically no limit to the web content you can explore in Polestar 2 – even some of your favourite streaming platforms.”
Has science gone too far?
This is all well and good until you consider the fundamental strangeness of having a fully capable web browser in your car, a vehicle that is mostly meant to get you from A to B. Vivaldi says the browser can only be used when parked, but it seems like it could be a temptation too far.
According to Vivaldi CEO Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner, the partnership came about due to the synergies between Vivaldi and Polestar making sense.
“We are really proud to introduce our browser to a car for the first time and specifically with a brand like Polestar. Our technological and sustainability ambitions are well aligned,” he said.
“We value transparency, privacy, and responsible innovation – including the fact that we have our servers in Iceland, one of Polestar’s newest markets. Like Polestar, we are a challenger brand, and we take a Scandinavian approach to design, that is based on trust and listening to our users.”
- Here’s our pick of the best anonymous browsers around
