Hello out there 😎

Are you ready to take emojis to the next level? How about using emojis for a website address? Our new partnership with Yat is helping make this dream come true, by integrating their emoji system into our browsers on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS, as well as in the Opera Crypto Browser Project. Long story short, you can now access emoji-only-based web addresses and register your unique strings of emojis as your personal domains.

With Opera as the first browser to enable emoji-only based web addresses, we’re bringing a new level of creativity to the internet, letting you navigate the web with strings of emojis as URLs, instead of letters and words.

This is a major shift in the way the internet works, and is sign of the changing times. Thirty-some years ago, the world wide web was first launched to the public, but not much has changed in regards to weblinks, and we still use .com in our URLs. Now though, through this integration with Yat, all you Opera fans can ditch .com, or even words in general, and make your way to websites using emojis. It’s new, it’s easier and certainly a lot more fun.

The emojification of Opera is thanks to Yat, the company that allows you to own personalized strings of emojis. The emoji-centric integration lets you easily find yat pages—unique domains that are generated when you create a yat from a personalized string of emojis. 

You can customize your yat page or redirect it anywhere else on the web. Among the first to invest in and use their yats have been musical artists, and you can check them out right now using Opera Browser. Lil Wayne’s (👽🎵) yat page (y.at/👽🎵) directs users to his record label, and Steve Aoki’s (y.at/🎂🎵) takes you to his website. G-Eazy (y.at/🦇🌹), (Kesha (y.at/🌈🚀👽), Young Money, 3LAU (y.at/🎵🎵) and Disclosure (y.at/😎🎵😎) are ready for you as well.

The fact is, over 90% of the world’s 4.6 billion internet users express themselves with emojis, and Opera’s integration of yats opens up a new easy way for everyone to make their mark on the web. The integration is equally about functionality as it is expression. Instead of typing in numerous alphanumeric characters into a URL, you can simply use 🔥🐉, for example.

“Whether you’re an artist, musician, creator, business owner, or just want to increase your following, this integration is invaluable, making it easier for you to connect and share content with your community through your unique string of yat emojis,” said Naveen Jain, co-founder, and CEO of Yat. “This integration is a testament to Opera’s continued innovation in the web browser space. We are thrilled to be partnering with them to make URLs more user-friendly and expressive while giving yat creators more visibility on the web.” 

And with our new partnership, yat emoji web addresses on Opera no longer need to be preceded by ‘y.at’. So, instead of typing “y.at/👽🎵,” you can simply insert 👽🎵 into your mobile or desktop browser to get to Lil Wayne’s record label. Also, emojis embedded on web pages now link to the yat page automatically. So, any time Disclosure’s yat 😎🎵😎 is featured anywhere on the internet (including here), it automatically links to their yat page. 

Opera is all about embracing innovation, emojis included. Our browsers come with unique features, like our free built-in no-log browser VPN, our ad blocker with tracker blocking, and direct access to messengers like WhatsApp, Telegram and more in the browser’s UI. Plus, with Opera you get built-in access to music streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL, YouTube Music and Gaana, along with Twitter and Instagram. All in all, it’s the perfect browser for staying on top of internet innovation and the newest online trends – like Yats.

Yat and Opera are launching a scavenger hunt to celebrate the integration’s launch. If you join in, you can compete for seven commissioned Fvck Crystals, NFTs from legendary NFT artist Fvckrender, valued at a floor price of 2.89 Ethereum or $8,907 at the time of writing. Additional details on the contest are outlined below:

• Each day, The Puzzlemaster, a character from the Yativerse, will reveal a clue sending players on a hunt across various websites looking for a string of emojis to solve the riddle. 
• The first person to correctly solve the riddle will be rewarded with a Fvckcrystal NFT. 
• Players can win the contest more than once!

For more information on the contest, including how to enter, click here (or just copy the emojis and go to the link): y.at/🖖➕🚀🕸️👀. The contest site goes live on Feb 15.

Happy hunting for emojis, and happy browsing!

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