With the release of Firefox 70, Mozilla’s web browser now lets you track the trackers. Every user can view their own personalized Privacy Protections report showing them how many third-party trackers Firefox has blocked. Plus more besides.
Mozilla Launches Enhanced Tracking Protection
In June 2019, Mozilla launched a new feature called Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP). This blocks third-party trackers by default for all users. In a nutshell, if a tracker is on the list maintained by Disconnect, Firefox will block it by default.
Now, Mozilla is offering users more information related to these online trackers. All users can view a Privacy Protections report showing you how many trackers Firefox has stopped, as well as fingerprinters and cryptominers. And it can make for scary reading.
How to Access Your Privacy Protections Report
Mozilla details its new Privacy Protections reports in a post on The Mozilla Blog. The headline being that since July 2 Mozilla has “blocked more than 450 billion tracking requests that attempt to follow you around the web.”
While that number is impressive, it’s too large to mean anything to individual users. Which is where the Privacy Protections reports come in. These show each individual Firefox user how many times ETP has blocked an attempt to tag you with cookies.
As well as revealing the number of cross-site and social media trackers, fingerprinters, and cryptominers Firefox has blocked, you’ll also find links to Firefox Monitor (which lists data breaches) and Firefox Lockwise (which securely store your passwords).
To access your Privacy Protection report, click the shield icon in the Firefox address bar to the left of the URL you’re currently on. You’ll then see information about the site you’re on, as well as the option to “Show Report” to reveal the overall statistics.
Not All Browser Cookies Are Created Equal
We suspect most people will be shocked by the number of trackers Firefox has blocked over the last few months. However, it’s important to note that not all trackers are bad. If you’re going to see ads online, isn’t it better to see ads relevant to your interests?
With that in mind, here are the types of browser cookies you need to know about.
Read the full article: Firefox Privacy Protections Let You Track the Trackers
