Most of the modern browsers have various extra components installed along with them. Some of them are responsible for collecting diagnostics data, while others make sure that pages load faster or keep the browser running in the background, so the relaunch is quicker. The Opera browser also offers a similar program called Opera Browser Assistant, which is installed when you install the browser. If the assistant is taking a lot of resources or you don’t want it to be there, here is how to disable or remove the Opera browser assistant.
What is the Opera Browser Assistant?
The assistant program was rolled out a year ago. It is an official program from Opera, so you don’t have to scared about it. According to a user in the Opera forums, the program is harmless. While users claim that it is usually installed when Opera is bundled with another application, it appeared even when I had installed the browser by downloading it directly from the official website.
According to him, the assistant is just there to let you know that you have Opera on your system. If you uninstall Opera the software will be uninstalled as well.
On further investigation, I found one more thing. Task Scheduler has a dedicated task related to the assistant. It makes sure the Opera browser assistant stays updated to the latest version. It is named as “Opera scheduled assistant Autoupdate 1584408358.” It runs the following command:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Opera\launcher.exe --scheduledautoupdate --component-name=assistant --component-path="C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Opera\assistant" $(Arg0)
What Opera is offering is neither new, nor it is surprising. Even Chrome has an icon in the System Tray, and so does the Microsoft Edge browser. They all offer extra features. These features include preloading the webpages, making sure the browser launches quickly, and more. However, it is possible that these programs collect usage statistics to improve the experience of the software. So if you are concerned about your privacy, it is a good idea to disable or remove the Opera browser assistant.
How to disable or remove Opera Browser Assistant
The Opera browser doesn’t offer any built-in setting to disable the Browser Assistant. So if you are planning to use the browser, it is best to disable the assistant using other methods.
1] Disable from Startup
- Right-click on the Taskbar, and select Task manager
- In Task Manager, switch to the Startup tab
- Right-click on Opera Browser Assistant, and disable it.
Once the status changes, it will not start when you boot into the computer and make sure it doesn’t take a lot of resources. However, do note that disabling from the Startup doesn’t mean Opera cannot launch it. If the browser needs it, the program will start. You can also use programs like Autorun to manage startup items.
2] Remove or Rename Browser Assistant
Another option is to delete the Opera Browser Assistant files from the computer.
- Open Task Manager and locate the browser assistant program.
- Disable it from the Startup by following the steps in the above method.
- Right-click on it and click on “Open the file location” context menu.
- Now you can choose to rename or delete the file directly.
In case you are not able to delete it, restart your computer into Safe mode. When in the Safe Mode, you should be able to rename or delete the file without any restrictions.
That said, these are temporary methods. The next update may install the Opera browser assistant again and enable the Startup settings as well. So you will have to keep an eye on its status, especially after an update.
I hope the post was successful in clearing your doubts about the Opera browser assistant and that you were able to disable or remove the Opera Browser Assistant in Windows.
Now read: What is YourPhone.exe process in Windows? Do I remove it?
