Mozilla has released a new version of its Firefox web-browser, which promises to do a much better job of keeping advertisers and other third-parities away from your browsing habits.
The new Private Browsing features is called Tracking Protection, which the foundation says leads the industry in giving users control over their own data.
Instead of simply screening browsing history and searches, Tracking Protection “actively blocks content like ads, analytics trackers and social share buttons that may record your behaviour without your knowledge across sites.”
While most modern browsers deploy Do No Track modes, their effectiveness is limited at best. Firefox thinks it has solved this and says its new tool could see pages load faster.
Some pages may look ‘broken’ with tracking features disabled, but users will be able to tailor the settings for specific sites, the company says.
“We created this feature because we believe in giving you more choice and control over your Web experience,” wrote VP of Firefox Product Nick Nguyen on the Mozilla blog.
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See also: Firefox plugins on the way out in 2016
The Tracking Protection tool is available for all desktop users on Windows, Mac and Linux.
You can check out the new feature and how it works in the video below. Apologies in advance for the obligatory mandolin and xylophone soundtrack.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.