Can't stop Aria extension from running
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Robertiano last edited by@pilis00 What does that have to do with anything? What are you even talking about!?)) That’s funny. I don’t even use this Opera Aria AI, yet it still takes up my resources—so why would I need it?
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pilis00 last edited by@Robertiano if 33.8 MB of memory is a lot, then there is nothing more to comment about.
Again, feel free to switch to something without AI if you detest it that much.
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Robertiano last edited by
@pilis00 It seems like you're not approaching this thoughtfully, so let's skip the discussion
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andrew84 last edited by andrew84
Personally, I totally agree with author.
Something that I don't use/don't need should be switchable off. I posted many times that there should be a hard switch to disable the AI (and the small resource consumption is not an argument for me).
I don't understand what's the problem to implement the switch.
The AI extensions can be enabled by default after installing and there're are tons of hype regarding the AI, so users (fans of AI) can't miss it and leave unnoticed. But there are still people who really don't need it.*And the same relates to the 'Themes' and 'Tab Islands' features.
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Robertiano last edited by
@andrew84 Yes, you’re absolutely right — that’s exactly what I’m trying to express: there should be a choice.
For some reason, when I decline cookie policies, services still work — they just stop collecting data. But in this case, a very simple implementation — like an extension that barely did anything just a few versions ago — now suddenly becomes more intrusive. In the latest versions, it keeps popping up and interfering.
For example, when using Suno AI, if you open the track generation page, the console turns into complete chaos due to recursive page loading. The Aria AI by Opera script goes into a boot loop — loading itself over 20 times. Instead of initializing once and logging that it’s loaded, it keeps reloading on every single request to Suno AI’s servers, which are handled by Cloudflare.
As a developer working with performance-heavy websites, I definitely don’t need these AI widgets from Opera. I have my own tools, and they’re all outside the browser. What I need is a clean console and conflict-free modes — when I’m tracking site behavior, I want to see only the relevant resources. It’s not about memory usage here, it’s about CPU overhead, which spikes unnecessarily during the page startup because of ARIA AI scanning the DOM and mounting event listeners like:
Mounting Writing Mode event listeners :: writing_mode_assistant.js:2
Writing Mode event listeners mounted :: writing_mode_assistant.js:2I’ve come to realize that there are futuristic fans of Opera who love every shiny AI feature and innovation — and that’s fine. But there are also realists and conservatives who just want a clean, fast product. There are already enough pop-up players, notifications, dropdowns and so on — most of which can't even be disabled properly — and we manage to tolerate them. But when it comes to add-ons that overlay content or inject themselves into the page without being asked, that’s crossing a line.
That behavior violates user privacy and control. It essentially removes user choice and forces AI features onto people who either don’t need them or don’t even understand what they are or why they’re being used. This might benefit the developers, sure — but why should it come at the expense of users?
Is it really worth losing users not for what’s being built, but for how it’s being imposed?
What if, tomorrow, they decide to start collecting user data without consent — should we just accept that too? Or maybe it’s better to think through these things before that happens?Even Google, as aggressive as they can be about data, still respects some level of anonymity and provides users the right not to share their data.
So yes, I agree with you — and sure, we’ll probably be "hated" here by AI industry fans. But this is our opinion, and we have a right to express it. Especially since Opera itself rolls out branches and experiments — so what’s the point of all that, if not to listen to feedback?
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andrew84 last edited by andrew84
@Robertiano I don't very much familiar with all these AI related stuff and I don't want to be. I just opened 'News' section in the Opera blog and 80% of the recent posts there relates to AI.
I could understand if some always running AI stuff in the background process would be involved into existing (or new) features functionality improvements. For example the poor themes feature, it's quite easy to understand that dark blue text looks bad on the dark blue background. -
Robertiano last edited by
@andrew84 said in Can't stop Aria extension from running:
@Robertiano I don't very much familiar with all these AI related stuff and I don't want to be. I just opened 'News' section in the Opera blog and 80% of the recent posts there relates to AI.
I could understand if some always running AI stuff in the background process would be involved into existing (or new) features functionality improvements. For example the poor themes feature, it's quite easy to understand that dark blue text looks bad on the dark blue background.Yep i too)
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Moved from Opera for Windows by
leocg
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franzdrobny last edited by
I totally agree with the author. Activating extensions like this in the background (that furthermore spam the browser console with unnecessary logs is a nuisance.
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Robertiano last edited by Robertiano
@franzdrobny said in Can't stop Aria extension from running:
I totally agree with the author. Activating extensions like this in the background (that furthermore spam the browser console with unnecessary logs is a nuisance.
Yeah .. Its sick(( Opera Dev ignore disable/eneble that F* crazy extention
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Robertiano last edited by Robertiano
@franzdrobny Try using YouTube normally. The console is so chaotic, plus this extension is generating millions of notifications, which means it's working in a cycle and constantly triggering loading, causing critical freezes. Logically, some people will support these AI tricks, but sorry, the average person will think they just have an outdated PC and will upgrade their hardware. This is why many don't like that I asked to turn off this nonsense, which I don't need, and it consumes resources, constantly loading on any page. Developers are really leaving the user with no choice, and the fans just don't notice this internal operation, and they're fine with it — if it lags, they'll just go and upgrade their PC. I'm not okay with that, and if it's possible to improve it, why should I have to switch browsers after 20 years of using one?
