Mozilla Firefox is facing the heat after a nonprofit digital privacy group called Noyb issued a complaint against the company. This comes after a user stated that their privacy was being intercepted after the browser launched a post-cookie web tracking feature.
The feature is said to help the company roll out data about user activity so that advertisers can benefit discreetly. This is because the user has no idea that its information is being shared.
We’ve seen a similar complaint launch in the past in July of last year. This is now an integral part of the company and can deliver user activity information to all advertisers in a manner that does not let any user know. If the user engages in the ad then the page showing the ad could get Firefox to give rise to a report on the matter.
The company did not specify which data was a part of the report. It just outlined that it was rolled out depending on what each website would ask. This means it would entail user data.
Noyb mentioned how the feature was enabled through a default and the browser did not warn any user about advancements made before it was switched on. As pointed out by the company, the head of Mozilla tech says it’s an opt-out and not an opt-in. The latter is only true if users make informed decisions to have it enabled. Mozilla says that explaining to the world about the feature is hard.
However, the nonprofit disagrees and thinks that not outlining the reality of the feature can impinge on its privacy policy. The feature goes against GDPR and alleges that the browser violates rules based on transparency, processing data, and through legal means.
Mozilla brings all of this into the narrative and how the ad industry has every right to carry out tracking, the privacy advocate group adds. This is not fair and to use the browser for ad measurements is not correct.
While the tech giant might have some great intentions, its struggles to preserve the privacy of users might likely be compromised with this new move to remove cookies and tracking tools and replace them with a privacy attribution.
For now, the head of the company’s policy and corporate communications feels it’s all very limited. And their goal is to enhance any invasive ad practices by giving tech options like this one. Soon after that, Mozilla argued about how collecting private data to see when a consumer interacts with ads and when it does not is designed keeping privacy rules in mind.
The techniques prevent anyone from highlighting a user and their data including browsing activities. So the solution here is simple. Like any other browser, if you don’t want to send information, switch the feature off.
To disable Privacy Preserving Attribution, simply go to the top menu in the browser and click on Firefox. Then enter preferences and settings and then privacy and security. After that, uncheck the option that’s ticked as allow privacy preserving ad measurements.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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The feature is said to help the company roll out data about user activity so that advertisers can benefit discreetly. This is because the user has no idea that its information is being shared.
We’ve seen a similar complaint launch in the past in July of last year. This is now an integral part of the company and can deliver user activity information to all advertisers in a manner that does not let any user know. If the user engages in the ad then the page showing the ad could get Firefox to give rise to a report on the matter.
The company did not specify which data was a part of the report. It just outlined that it was rolled out depending on what each website would ask. This means it would entail user data.
Noyb mentioned how the feature was enabled through a default and the browser did not warn any user about advancements made before it was switched on. As pointed out by the company, the head of Mozilla tech says it’s an opt-out and not an opt-in. The latter is only true if users make informed decisions to have it enabled. Mozilla says that explaining to the world about the feature is hard.
However, the nonprofit disagrees and thinks that not outlining the reality of the feature can impinge on its privacy policy. The feature goes against GDPR and alleges that the browser violates rules based on transparency, processing data, and through legal means.
Mozilla brings all of this into the narrative and how the ad industry has every right to carry out tracking, the privacy advocate group adds. This is not fair and to use the browser for ad measurements is not correct.
While the tech giant might have some great intentions, its struggles to preserve the privacy of users might likely be compromised with this new move to remove cookies and tracking tools and replace them with a privacy attribution.
For now, the head of the company’s policy and corporate communications feels it’s all very limited. And their goal is to enhance any invasive ad practices by giving tech options like this one. Soon after that, Mozilla argued about how collecting private data to see when a consumer interacts with ads and when it does not is designed keeping privacy rules in mind.
The techniques prevent anyone from highlighting a user and their data including browsing activities. So the solution here is simple. Like any other browser, if you don’t want to send information, switch the feature off.
To disable Privacy Preserving Attribution, simply go to the top menu in the browser and click on Firefox. Then enter preferences and settings and then privacy and security. After that, uncheck the option that’s ticked as allow privacy preserving ad measurements.
Read next: Meta Puts Its AR Glasses Orion On Display With Updates To Meta Quest 3s VR Headset at Annual Connect Event
