With the recent data breach of many of Facebook's global user information, it's no wonder people are concerned about their internet and data security now more than ever. This means that people are making changes to the way they browse, which explains Opera's latest mobile web report, showing South African's trust their mobile browsers for social media access more than they do dedicated apps.
Opera stated that 35% of South Africans prefer their mobile browser to using dedicated applications for this purpose, mostly linked to users' security concerns. Jørgen Arnesen, Opera head of global marketing and distribution, said that: "We are happy to see that 61% of Opera Mini users in South Africa are choosing our browser to access Facebook based on the privacy features we offer." Opera is known for its many security features that promote safer browsing, such as Security badges in the combined search and address bar, which give you important details about the page you are viewing – such as when your connection is secure or when a page is accessing your location, and Opera's fraud and malware protection will immediately alert you if you try to open a suspicious page that is blacklisted.
Opera has a 5% market global share on the mobile browser market after handing over control to the power of Google's Chrome browser (52.5%) some years ago. In South Africa, Opera's market share has jumped to 18.14%, coming in second to Chrome at 48.74%. SA Social Media Landscape shows that out of the 14 million users who use Facebook, 10 million accessed Facebook via mobile devices.
Although the social media platform usage continues to grow, it has come under increasing pressure in both the US and Europe over accusations of voter manipulation through Cambridge Analytica. Reports estimate that up to 87 million users were affected by the company's drive to use private data. Facebook sent notifications to users who were at risk of being affected by the breach.
