How to Disable JavaScript on Vivaldi

Vivaldi is built on Chromium, which means it inherits every fine-grained JavaScript control Chrome and Brave have - the global toggle, the per-site allow-list, the address-bar shortcut, and the DevTools per-tab disable. On top of that, Vivaldi adds its own built-in ad and tracker blocker, which gives you a second knob to turn for blocking specific scripts on specific sites without changing the global setting.

This guide covers the documented desktop and Android JavaScript permissions, per-site controls, and the distinction between exact JavaScript blocking and Vivaldi's tracker lists. For iOS/iPadOS it records that no Vivaldi-specific global switch is verified here instead of publishing a Safari-derived path.

Before you disable: read this

With JavaScript globally turned off in Vivaldi, expect the following:

• Most single-page apps (Gmail, Google Docs, Slack, Notion, X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, online banking) will not load past a blank screen or a static fallback.
• Login forms on many sites will fail silently because the submit button is wired up in JavaScript.
• Search autocomplete, infinite scroll, video players, captchas, and "Add to cart" buttons will frequently break.
• Many news sites and blogs work surprisingly well, because the body text is in the HTML.

The recommended setup for most people is block by default, allow-list a few trusted sites. Steps for that workflow are below.

Disable JavaScript globally in Vivaldi on Windows 11

Step 1: Open Vivaldi

Launch Vivaldi from the Start menu or taskbar.

Step 2: Open Settings

Press Ctrl + F12. Or click the Vivaldi menu (V icon top-left) and choose Settings.

Step 3: Open Privacy and Security → Website permissions

Click Privacy and Security in the sidebar, open Website permissions, and select Global Permissions.

Step 4: Open the JavaScript permission

Find JavaScript in the permissions list and set its dropdown to Block.

Step 5: Switch to "Don't allow sites to use JavaScript"

The permission change applies immediately; reload the affected tab.

Disable JavaScript globally in Vivaldi on macOS Sequoia

Step 1: Open Vivaldi

Launch Vivaldi from Launchpad, Spotlight, or the Dock.

Step 2: Open Settings

Press Cmd + , or click Vivaldi → Settings in the macOS menu bar.

Step 3: Open Privacy and Security → Website permissions

Click Privacy and Security, open Website permissions, and select Global Permissions.

Step 4: Open the JavaScript permission

Find JavaScript and set its dropdown to Block.

Step 5: Switch to "Don't allow sites to use JavaScript"

The permission change applies immediately; reload the affected tab.

The fast path: vivaldi://settings/content/javascript

If you do this often, skip the menu entirely. Type or paste:

vivaldi://settings/content/javascript

This internal URL may open the Chromium permission page in some builds, but current Vivaldi help documents the visible menu path above. Verify the exact build before relying on the shortcut.

Allow JavaScript on a single site (allow-list workflow)

The setup most privacy-conscious users actually want:

1. Make sure Default behavior on vivaldi://settings/content/javascript is set to Don't allow sites to use JavaScript.
2. Scroll to Customised behaviours.
3. Click Add next to Allowed to use JavaScript.
4. Type the site, e.g. [*.]github.com for all GitHub subdomains, or https://mail.google.com for a single host.
5. Click Add.

Block JavaScript on a single site (block-list workflow + tracker blocker)

Vivaldi gives you two ways to block JavaScript on a specific site without touching the global setting:

Option A: the address-bar shield icon (fastest).

1. On the site you want to block, click the shield icon in the address bar.
2. Set Privacy Level to Block Ads and Trackers for this site.
3. If that does not block enough, click Block Lists in the same panel and enable additional lists, or set the global Block Lists to a stricter combination via Settings → Privacy and Security.

Option B: the customised behaviours block-list.

1. Open vivaldi://settings/content/javascript.
2. Under Customised behaviours, click Add next to Not allowed to use JavaScript.
3. Enter the site, e.g. [*.]heavynewssite.com, and click Add.

Option A is faster but the tracker blocker is a heuristic - it might over- or under-block. Option B is exact: that domain runs zero JavaScript, no exceptions.

How to verify JavaScript is now off

The cleanest test:

1. Open a new tab and visit any JavaScript-detection page.
2. Open Vivaldi's DevTools with Cmd + Option + I (Mac) or Ctrl + Shift + I (Windows, Linux).
3. Click the Console tab.
4. Type 1+1 and press Enter.

If the page-level test reports JavaScript is off and a JS-heavy site stays blank, the toggle is working.

Disable JavaScript only inside DevTools (per-tab testing)

1. Open the page you want to test.
2. Press Cmd + Option + I (Mac) or Ctrl + Shift + I (Windows, Linux).
3. Open the Command Menu with Cmd + Shift + P (Mac) or Ctrl + Shift + P (Windows).
4. Type Disable JavaScript and press Enter.
5. Reload the page. JavaScript is now off for this tab only.

Disable JavaScript on Vivaldi for Android

1. Tap the Vivaldi menu (V icon).
2. Choose Settings.
3. Open Web pages → Site Settings → JavaScript.
4. Switch the toggle off.

The same per-site exception list works as on desktop.

Disable JavaScript on Vivaldi for iPhone and iPad

The current Vivaldi iOS/iPadOS app has no global JavaScript switch that this guide can verify from vendor documentation. Apple's JavaScript setting under Safari is a Safari control; this guide does not present it as a Vivaldi control.

For development testing, use desktop DevTools or a browser with a documented JavaScript control. For privacy, use Vivaldi's documented tracking or content protections, but do not describe those protections as equivalent to disabling all JavaScript.

What to do if a site you need is now broken

1. Add the site to your allow-list. Most surgical option.
2. Use a separate Vivaldi profile for browsing with JavaScript on.
3. Re-enable JavaScript globally and use the per-site block-list (or shield icon) for the few sites you want to block.