Popular web browser Mozilla Firefox recently launched a new feature called Private Browsing with Tracking Protection. Whether it’s for personal use or work purposes, many Internet users prefer not to have their browsing activities monitored or tracked and this new tool from Firefox will definitely help provide a better and more private browsing experience.
Previously, Firefox and other popular web browsers offered its users the ability to surf the web using private browsing modes. Although it worked in keeping a user’s browsing history private from people who may have access to the computer, it wasn’t effective in disabling the tracking features of websites that were still able to monitor users through their browsing activity.
So how does Private Browsing with Tracking Protection work? It actively blocks content like advertisements, analytics trackers, and social share buttons that could record user behavior and activity across different sites without their knowledge.
Check out the video below to learn more about Firefox Private Browsing with Tracking Protection:
Aside from Tracking Protection, Mozilla also added a few more new features on Firefox such as the Control Center that contains all site security & privacy controls and can be accessed via the address bar. Due to the nature of how it works, Tracking Protection may cause web pages to appear broken when tracking elements are blocked so Mozilla has made it easy for users to turn OFF Tracking Protection for certain sites via the Control Center.
This is good news for users but bad news for websites and companies that use and depend on tracker-based advertising. Although the percentage of users that will be using this feature won’t be that much, this could still make advertising companies and businesses a bit worried because this tool is designed to block all tracking elements. I wonder how it will affect blogs and websites running Adsense?
Btw, just a friendly note/reminder to those who plan to use Private Browsing with Tracking Protection. You may keep your browsing activity/history private on your computer but Internet Service Providers and network administrators will still see and have access to all browsing activity done in their network.
It will be interesting to see how other popular web browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Opera, and Safari react to this. Do you think they’ll eventually apply a similar feature like this? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Anybody else uses Mozilla Firefox as their web browser? If you’re not using Firefox, would this new feature make you switch? What do you guys think of this new feature called Private Browsing with Tracking Protection? Will it really work and be effective against third party tracking features and elements? Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
