Midori Android 11.9.2 is now live with built-in VPN, tab groups, and offline translations

Earlier this week, we highlighted a post from Astian teasing a built-in VPN and customization features for its Midori browser app on Android. Now, the official build with these features is live on the Play Store.

But before getting into the details about the VPN and customization features, we need to talk about the new offline translator.

Browser-based translation tools usually send your text content to a remote server to get converted into another language, raising some security and privacy concerns. Midori does everything locally on your device without using any online services. According to Astian, language should not obstruct one’s browsing experience; hence, the company made the smart decision to keep everything on-device and make it faster and safer.

Then comes a feature for tab hoarders. If you are one of those people who keep opening tabs until it starts looking like a thousand unreadable small boxes, one of the new options will suit your needs. The latest version of Midori allows you to group related tabs together so that it becomes easier to manage them.

Now, coming to the most notable addition to Midori on Android: the built-in VPN. If you’ve used any VPN before, this should feel familiar. The only issue (kind of) is that it needs an Astian account to work.

When I attempted to sign up for an account to test the speed and server connection, the verification email never showed up in my inbox. I checked my spam folder too, waiting for the verification email to arrive, but nothing came, at least not at the time of this writing.

Of course, this could be just a one-off issue on my end. If you already have an Astian account, you should be able to use the VPN without any issues. 

Aside from the VPN-related inconvenience, version 11.9.2 brings several smaller improvements and tweaks.

You will notice revised download and notification options and an updated home screen layout. The developers also fixed some menu-related issues. Overall, it is a considerable update for existing Midori users, although I hope Astian will iron out some account-related bugs in a future release.

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