‘Panic button’ appeares in Opera GX gaming browser: It stops playback, mutes sound and opens ‘safe’ window

Opera Software has introduced a fresh update for its gaming browser Opera GX. As part of this update, the Panic Button feature was introduced, designed to ensure the privacy of gamers and protect them from prying eyes.

“The next time your boss suddenly returns early from lunch while you’re streaming League of Legends tournaments, you can quickly hit the F12 key and the Panic Button is activated. This quickly mutes and pauses playback  from all tabs and forces open a new window of totally bland, “safe” content, keeping your secrets safe for another day. To restore all tabs to the previous state you just need to press the F12 button again,” the developers explained.

Panic Button comes with a pre-list of websites that you can select as your "safe" page, such as YouTube, Twitch or Wikipedia. The user can also choose their own “safe” page option, such as a tractor club, cat site, or supply information site.

To use the Panic Button, Opera GX users must first enable the Early Bird option in their browser settings.