Tabs on Android

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Managing all your tabs in the mobile version of Vivaldi is as easy and efficient as on desktop.

Tab Switcher

To view your Tabs in the Tab Switcher, either:

  • Tap on the Tab Switcher button on the right side of the bottom toolbar.
  • Swipe down from the Address Bar.

The number in the Tab Switcher button indicates, how many open Tabs and Tab Stacks you have.

Slide left to view Private Tabs, Synced Tabs and Recently Closed Tabs.

The active tab will be displayed with a border around the Tab thumbnail. Tap on the thumbnail to switch to the selected Tab.


Tab Bar

Tab bar above the Address bar

Vivaldi Android comes with a Tab Bar known from the desktop browser. To enable/disable the Tab Bar:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > Settings > Tabs;
  2. Tap on Show Tab Bar to toggle the setting on or off.

Show Close button for background tabs

By default the close button is shown only for the active tab. In case you’d like to be able to quickly close background tabs:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > Settings > Tabs;
  2. Tap on Show X Button For Background Tabs to toggle the setting on or off.

It’s better to keep the setting disabled, if you find yourself tapping the wrong spot on the screen and accidentally closing tabs.

Show Tab as Favicon

In case you want to squeeze as many tabs on the Tab Bar as possible, you can opt for only showing the pages favicon without the page title on the Tab Bar. To do that:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > Settings > Tabs;
  2. Tap on Show Tab as Favicon to toggle the setting on or off.

Minimum Tab Width

To increase the width of tabs on the Tab Bar:

  1. Go to Settings > Tabs > Minimum Tab Width. 
  2. Use the slider to set a preferred size for the tabs.

Open Tabs

Option 1

  1. Open the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu on the right side of the Address Bar;
  2. Select New Tab.

Option 2

  1. Open the Tab Switcher;
  2. Tap on the + button in on the right side of the bottom toolbar.

Option 3

  1. In the Tab Switcher, tap on the overflow menu in the top right corner;
  2. Tap New tab.

Option 4

  1. While viewing a web page or the Speed Dial, long-press on the Tab Switcher button until a context menu opens;
  2. Select New tab or New private tab.

Option 5

In case you have enabled the Tab Bar from Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > Settings > Tabs, tap on the Add button New tab button on the right side of the Tab Bar.

Option 6

When Vivaldi isn’t open:

  1. Long press on the app button on your home screen or app launcher until a context menu opens;
  2. Select New tab or Private tab.

New Tab Position

Similarly to Vivaldi on desktop, you can decide where the new tab opens. Go to Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu >Settings > Tabs > New Tab Position and choose between:

  • After Related Tabs: The new tabs will share a “parent-child” relationship – if you open a link in your current tab, the new tab will open next to its “parent”;
  • After Active Tab: Opens new tab next to the current active tab (this is the default);
  • As Last Tab: Opens new tab at the end of the tabs;
  • As Tab Stack With Related Tab: Opens a new tab stack with the active tab and the new tab.

New Tab Page

By default a new tab opens with the Start Page that has your favorite Bookmarks displayed on the Speed Dial. To open a new tab with a specific website:

  1. Go to Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi Menu > Settings > Homepage.
  2. Toggle the setting On.
  3. Select Enter custom web address.
  4. Type or paste the link.
  5. Exit settings.

The setting will also apply when tapping the Home button.

Automatically focus Address Field in a new tab.

Usually a new tab is opened to navigate to a new site or to Search. Both actions commonly require the use of the Address Bar. To skip the step of tapping on the Address Bar to focus on it before you can type the link or search term, the Address Field is focused automatically whenever you open a new tab. If you don’t like that behavior you can disable Focus Address Bar on New Tab from Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu >Settings > Tabs.


Open links in new tabs

To open a link on a website in a new tab:

  1. Long-press on the link;
  2. From the context menu select:
    1. Open in new tab,
    2. Open in new Tab Stack (enable stacks from Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu >Settings > Tabs),
    3. Open in new background tab,
    4. Open in private tab.

Switch Tabs

Option 1

Swipe left or right, while your finger is placed either on the Address Bar or bottom toolbar to go to the next or previous tab.

Option 2

  1. Open the Tab Switcher;
  2. Tap on the tab thumbnail you want to open.

Option 3

In case you have enabled the Tab Bar from Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > Settings > Tabs, switch tabs by tapping on the tab on the Tab Bar.


Close Tabs

Option 1

  1. Open the Tab Switcher;
  2. Tap on the Close button in the top right corner of the Tab thumbnail you’d like to close.

Option 2

  1. While viewing a web page or the Speed Dial, long-press on the Tab Switcher button until a context menu opens;
  2. Select Close tab.

Option 3

  1. Enable Swipe to Close Tab in Settings;
  2. In the Tab Switcher, swipe left or right to close a Tab.

Please note that enabling Swipe to Close Tab, will disable swiping between panels in the Tab Switcher.

Close all Tabs

  • Open the Tab Switcher;
  • Tap on the overflow menu on the right side of the bottom toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
  • Tap Close All Tabs.

Automatically close inactive Tabs

If you have a tendency to open more and more new tabs, but hardly ever close any of the tabs, then eventually you’ll end up with so many tabs that closing them one by one will take a long time. Plus, a large number of tabs may start affecting performance and battery life.

In Vivaldi for Android, you have an option to close all inactive tabs in one move. To set it up:

  1. Go to Vivaldi menu > Settings > Tabs > Automatically Close Tabs.
  2. Select after what time period the tabs are considered inactive and you’ll be prompted to close them if you have more than 20 inactive tabs. You can choose between:
    • Never,
    • One Week,
    • One Month, and
    • Three Months.

If you don’t want to close inactive tabs, make sure Never is the selected option.

If you don’t want to wait for a prompt to close inactive tabs, go to Automatically Close Tabs settings and if there are any inactive tabs, you can tap the button Close Inactive Tabs.


Recently Closed Tabs

To open a recently closed Tab:

  • Open the Tab Switcher;
  • Swipe to Recently Closed Tabs or tap the tab-trash-icon Closed Tabs icon;
  • Tap on the entry you wish to reopen.

Reorder Tabs

To change the order of your open Tabs in the Tab Switcher:

  1. Long press on a Tab;
  2. Drag and drop the tab to its new location.

In case you have enabled the Tab Bar from Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > Settings > Tabs, long-press on the tab on the Tab Bar and drag to reorder the tabs.


Duplicate Tabs

To create an exact copy of your current active tab (including its history), open the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu and select Duplicate Tab.


Sync Tabs

In the third tab in the Tab Switcher, all the tabs you have open on your other devices – Remote Sessions – that you’ve Synced with the same Vivaldi account will be listed.

When you open a tab  from Synced Tabs, it will be opened locally and listed with your other Tabs.

To learn more about syncing Remote Sessions, have a look at our help pages about Sync on Mobile and Sync on Desktop.


Private Tabs

When you browse using a Private Tab, Vivaldi will minimise what is stored locally on your phone so that very few traces are left of what you were browsing once you close all private browsing tabs.

Open private tabs

Option 1

  • Open the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu on the right side of the Address Bar;
  • Select New Private Tab.

Option 2

  • Open the Tab Switcher;
  • Slide to Private Tabs;
  • Tap on the + button in the middle of the bottom toolbar.

Option 3

  • In the Tab Switcher, tap on the overflow menu on the right side of the bottom toolbar.
  • Tap New Private Tab.

Close Private Tabs

  • Open the Tab Switcher;
  • Tap on the Close button in the top right corner of the Tab thumbnail.

Close all Private Tabs

Option 1

  • Open the Tab Switcher;
  • tap on the overflow menu on the right side of the bottom toolbar.
  • Tap Close Private Tabs.

Option 2

  • Open the phone’s notification menu by sliding down from the top of the screen;
  • Tap on Vivaldi – Close all private tabs.

Lock Private Tabs

When you leave Private Tabs open for longer, you can lock them. Next time you open Vivaldi and wish to view a private tab, you’ll be first asked for your phone’s or tablet’s screen lock (PIN, password, pattern, etc.).

To enable or disable locking of Private Tabs:

  1. Go to the Vivaldi menu button Vivaldi menu > Settings > Privacy and Security.
  2. Toggle on Lock Private tabs when you leave Vivaldi.
  3. Verify yourself with your device’s unlock method.

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