Opera Just Put An eSIM In Its Browser And It's Giving You 3GB Of Free Travel Data

If there's one browser company that always goes out of its way to make you wonder what else a browser could possibly do, it's Opera. Its products have everything from built-in VPNs and ad blockers to AI features, and one of my favorite examples of the company being ahead of the curve is Opera Neon. 

The company pitched Neon as an experimental AI browser, but what made it special was how it pushed the boundaries of what AI browsers could be. It was one of the first to show us what agentic AI could do; instead of just answering questions, Neon could take action on your behalf, and I ended up using it for everything from ordering groceries to handling random day-to-day tasks I'd normally do myself.

That, essentially, is Opera's thing: It keeps showing you ways how a browser can do more than just open websites. But the company's latest innovation might be one of the strangest yet. Opera has built a travel eSIM directly into Opera for Android and, to make things even more interesting, it's also giving users in select markets 3GB of free data for three days.

When you're travelling, you typically have three options: use your carrier's roaming plan, pick up a local SIM when you land, or buy a travel eSIM. Each comes with its own trade-offs. Roaming is usually the easiest, but it can get expensive very quickly. A local SIM can be cheaper, but it also means finding one when you arrive and physically swapping cards. Travel eSIMs avoid most of those issues, but they usually have their own app and setup process.

Opera's approach simplifies things by removing the need for a separate app. At launch, Opera's eSIM works in 47 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Australia. You only need to install the eSIM once, too. If you're hopping between countries on the same trip, you can just top up your data in each destination instead of installing a fresh eSIM every time.

Setting it up is pretty simple. In Opera for Android, tap your profile icon, scroll down to the new eSIM option, and tap Claim now. From there, you choose the country you're travelling to, confirm your selection, and Opera prompts you to install the eSIM on your phone. The company is also offering 3GB of data for free, valid for three days, so you can try it out without paying — no email required. The only catch is that the free offer is more limited than the eSIM itself. At launch, it's only available to users in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Canada, the UAE, Brazil, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Poland.

I have to admit, I initially struggled to see the appeal of having a travel eSIM built into a browser. Travel eSIMs are already pretty easy to get, and if you've used one before, downloading a separate app and adding a new eSIM to your phone probably doesn't feel like an inconvenience.

The idea, though, is about reducing friction as much as possible. Imagine this: You've just landed in an unfamiliar country, with no mobile data, and you just need to message someone, pull up Maps, or figure out how to get to your hotel. That's what Opera's eSIM is for. Instead of hunting for Wi-Fi just to download an eSIM app, make an account, and set everything up, you can sort it directly from a browser you already use. Opera specifically pitches the integration as a way to avoid needing a separate provider app and account. This is why Opera recommends setting up the eSIM while you still have a stable internet connection. Of course, the plan doesn't actually start counting down until the eSIM first connects to a network in your destination country. 

While using your browser to get an eSIM may make you think the connection is somehow limited to Opera, that isn't the case. Once you install and activate the eSIM, the data works across your entire phone, not just inside the browser. So Maps, WhatsApp, Instagram, and everything else can use it just like any other mobile data connection. Opera isn't selling a new kind of eSIM here, but a more convenient way to get one when you're travelling.