Firefox 70, released today, introduces a new feature designed to help you see more clearly how businesses are trying to follow you on the web and what you can do about it.
The new privacy statement is based on improved protection against Firefox tracking and shows the number of cross-site tracking cookies (used for advertising purposes rather than staying connected to a website), fingerprints, digital devices (using the unique hardware and software configuration of your device to identify yourself without cookies), social media trackers and cryptocurrencies blocked by the browser.
The privacy report also collects statistics from other Mozilla online security tools. If you use Firefox Lockwise to manage your passwords, you will see the number of stored connections and the number of devices they are synced with. If you signed up for Firefox Monitor, you will be notified if your email addresses have appeared in known data breaches.
(Image credit: Mozilla)
"What we're focused on in this launch is to start giving people who want the option to learn more and better understand what's going on," said Dave Camp, Senior Vice President of Firefox, at LaComparacion ahead of launch.
"Since we launched Advanced Tracking Protection, we have blocked almost 450 billion tracking attempts, and while we waited for it, we still had that great moment when we saw those numbers. And what have we built for? This is what we call the privacy report, which allows users to have their own mini version of this instant wow and start taking steps to protect themselves in addition to what we do for them. "
Take action
The privacy statement is discreet and collects data in the background. To open it, click on the shield icon in the address bar and select "View report" or open the main browser menu and select "Privacy Protection".
It's not just about showing you how passively protected you are. The report is also intended to help you control your own privacy, using the data provided to make more informed decisions.
"Information is especially useful when you can use it to act," Camp said. "So when you see a breach on Monitor, you can change your passwords, and if you find that social media followers are trying to follow you, you can decide that the companies you work with are not the ones you are working with." you work, you want to work with them.
"We don't just want to passively help users, we want to give them tools that they can use to actively support themselves if this is how they want to spend their time." And that's the first step in this direction. "
(Image credit: Mozilla)
You still can't take action directly through the privacy report (so you can't, for example, click a button to change the password on a site with a known security breach), but such features could happen in future updates. .
The report should also be expanded as Mozilla releases new online security products, such as the Firefox private network (a web proxy network) currently under test.
"We consider the Privacy Shield Report to be an essential part of understanding how Firefox protects it across all of our products, so we've integrated Firefox Lockwise and Firefox Monitor," Camp said. "I imagine that when other services become available, the privacy report will be a way to reveal information and actions that you can take to understand how these things work for you."