Android Tips
Tip #279
May 18, 2023
Make your favorite search engine the default on Vivaldi on Android.
There are a lot of search engines you can use to find information on the internet. Vivaldi on Android comes with a good selection and allows you to set your preferred search engine as the default one, while still allowing you to quickly use others via Search Engine Nicknames.
To change the default search engines:
- Go to Vivaldi menu > Settings > General > Search Engine.
- Tap on the search engine of your choice to make it the default one.
If the search engine you like most isn’t listed, check Tip #230 to see how you can add more.

Tip #272
May 9, 2023
Reorder Tabs with drag and drop on the Tab Bar of Vivaldi on Android.
The desktop-like Tab Bar in Vivaldi on Android comes with a desktop-like option to reorder your open tabs with drag and drop. The only difference is that instead of a mouse you need to use your finger or stylus pen to do it.
To reorder tabs on the Tab Bar:
- Long press on the tab you want to move.
- Drag it to the new location.
- Release your finger to finish the move.
Tip #269
May 4, 2023
Scan QR codes with Vivaldi on Android.
QR codes can be found everywhere, both in the physical world and on the web. It’s common to launch the camera app to scan QR codes and then open the scanned link in a browser or app, but if you want to open the link in Vivaldi anyway, why not use the built-in QR code scanner.
To scan a QR code with Vivaldi on Android:
- Open the QR code scanner in one of the following ways:
- Tap on the Address Field to display the icon (see image below).
- Tap on the QR code icon in the search widget on your home screen.
- By long pressing on the app icon and selecting “Scan QR Code”.
- Place the frame on the phone’s screen over the QR Code or barcode.
If the scanner detects a URL, it’ll automatically open the link in a new tab. In case it detects some other information, it offers to copy the information or to do a search with it.
Bonus tip! Use the QR code generator on desktop to quickly share and open links in Vivaldi on Android. See Tip #14 for instructions.

Tip #259
April 19, 2023
Fit more tabs on the Tab Bar in Vivaldi on Android by only displaying the site favicon.
Smaller screens fit less tabs on the Tab Bar. To squeeze in a few more than usual, you can hide the tab titles and only display the website’s logo aka the favicon.
To display only the favicon for each tab:
- Go to the Vivaldi menu > Settings > Tabs.
- Toggle on “Show Tab as Favicon”.
You can win even more space, if you disable “Show X Button For Background Tabs”. That way only the active tab has the Close button visible.

Tip #255
April 13, 2023
Click on the Vivaldi logo in the corner to access the browser’s main menu.
Are you new to Vivaldi and looking for where you can access the browser’s menu with some of the most useful features. In Vivaldi the menu can be opened when you click or tap on the Vivaldi logo, except for Vivaldi on macOS, where the full menu is always on display.
On desktop the Vivaldi logo is in the top left corner and on Android it’s on the right side of the Address Bar, either at the top or bottom of the screen, depending on your settings.
You can learn more about the menus on desktop and Android on Vivaldi Help.

Tip #252
April 7, 2023
Keep Notes organized in Vivaldi on Android by grouping them into folders.
Writing down your thoughts or turning snippets of text from web pages into Notes is a great way to save important knowledge for later. Since Notes can be on any topic, grouping related notes into folders helps to keep things organized and easy to find.
To organize notes into folders in Vivaldi on Android:
- Open the Notes Panel.
- Long-press on the first note you want to include in the new folder.
- Tap on other notes you want to add as well.
- Tap on the Move button.
- Select New Folder.
- Give the new folder a name.
- Tap on Save.
Take a look at the video to see how to create a new Notes folder on the tablet version of Vivaldi on Android.
Tip #247
March 31, 2023
Long press on selected text in Vivaldi on Android to do a web search with the selection.
We shared how to search with a snippet of text on a web page on the desktop version of Vivaldi in Tip #8. This time we’re sharing how to do the same on Android.
To search with selected text:
- Long press on a word you want to select.
Drag the little bubbles at the bottom corners of the word to select more than one word. - On the menu that appears, tap on the 3 dot menu to see additional options.
- Select Web search.
Results will be shown from your default search engine.

Tip #239
March 21, 2023
Swipe left and right to close tabs in Vivaldi on Android.
Swiping left and right is not only for dating apps. In Vivaldi on Android you can use it to close tabs in the Tab Switcher.
Before you start swiping, check that the feature is enabled in Settings > Tabs > Swipe To Close Tab. Then, to close tabs:
- Open the Tab Switcher.
- Press on the tab you want to close and swipe either left or right.
Tip #233
March 13, 2023
Long press on the Tab Switcher button in Vivaldi on Android to open a new tab.
There are a few ways you can open a new tab in Vivaldi on Android. Perhaps a less discoverable yet very handy way to open a new tab is the following:
- Long press on the
Tab Switcher button on the bottom toolbar.
- Select whether you want to open a new tab, a new private tab or create a new tab stack with the current tab. You can also close the active tab from there.

Tip #230
March 8, 2023
Make use of the browser’s Sync feature to add custom Search Engines to Vivaldi on Android
It’s currently not possible to add a new search engine to Vivaldi on Android directly in the app. That doesn’t mean that Custom Search Engines can’t be added to Vivaldi on your mobile devices. Just follow the steps below.
To add custom search engines in Vivaldi on Android:
- Add the Search Engines in a desktop version of Vivaldi.
- Log in to your Vivaldi account on desktop in Settings > Sync.
- Sync either all data or at least the settings.
- Log in to your Vivaldi account in the Android app in Settings > Sync.
- Sync the same data types you synced on desktop.
Then you can check Settings > General > Search Engines to see your custom search engines listed among the others.
Tip #224
February 28, 2023
Reload pages in Vivaldi on Android with a long swipe.
There are a couple of ways you can reload a web page in Vivaldi on Android. If you’re already near the top of the page swiping is probably the easiest.
To reload a web page with a swipe gesture:
- Scroll to the top of the page.
- Swipe down on your screen as if you’d want to scroll even further up.
- When you see a
reload icon appear, release your finger to reload the page.
If you’ve been scrolling on a long page for a while, then using swipe to reload is probably not so convenient. In that case, open the Vivaldi menu and tap on the
reload button there.

Tip #222
February 24, 2023
Watch videos and learn about Vivaldi on our YouTube channel.
Vivaldi news and tutorials, chats with partners, live streams with the team, trendy Shorts. All this and more can be found on Vivaldi’s YouTube channel.
Visit https://www.youtube.com/@VivaldiBrowser for hours of entertainment.
