Opera saw a huge spike in EU users on iOS and Android after the DMA Update

Opera has reported a substantial increase of 164% in new iOS device users in the European Union after Apple introduced a new feature to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) of the European Union.

When users open Safari for the first time after updating their phone, they will see a list of popular browsers in their region to choose from as the default browser.

To be included in this list, a browser requires at least 5,000 downloads from the EU App Store in the past year. If a company has more than one browser application, only the most popular application will be included.

"Up to the 11 most downloaded browsers on iOS in that country in the previous year that meet the above criteria will be selected for the browser choice screen besides Safari," Apple explained on the web page about the new browser choice screen.

?Apple will update the list of qualifying browsers to be displayed on the choice screen once per calendar year.?

The new browser choice screen displays up to the 11 most downloaded browsers in user countries over the last year, along with Safari, all presented in random order.

Google also launched a similar browser choice screen for Android users on March 6, which will be displayed during the initial setup of Android smartphones or tablets.

Opera experiences surge in installations

After this new feature was launched, Opera now states that they have seen significant growth in the main EU market for both iOS and Android versions.

Apple users in France witnessed an impressive increase of 402% in new Opera users. Spain, Poland, and Germany also experienced substantial increases in new users, with 143%, 68%, and 56% respectively.

This data indicates an increased interest from iOS users to explore alternative browsers like Opera.

Similarly, the Android version of Opera also experienced an increase, particularly in France, where new user influx increased by 54% on the day the browser choice screen was introduced.

"On the day the choice screen started to appear, we saw a surge in our daily active user growth, especially Opera for iOS," said J?rgen Arnesen, EVP Mobile at Opera.

"We see this as an indication of two things: first, the importance of regulation to provide fairer competition, and second, that users are hungry for new and innovative products that can deliver superior online experiences."

These findings are supported by an Opera survey conducted before March 6, which showed that 80% of smartphone users in Europe are open to trying new browsers.

The survey highlights the importance of offering more choices and transparency to users in selecting their browsers.

Opera is not the only browser company experiencing growth since the new DMA changes were implemented.

Brave previously tweeted about "iOS browser installations spike," further underscoring the impact of Apple's new browser choice screen in the EU.