Firefox enables tracking "feature"



Thanks! But It was already disabled when I checked, so I would think it was enabled before it was officially released and I disabled it.
 
f33dm3bits said:
Thanks! But It was already disabled when I checked, so I would think it was enabled before it was officially released and I disabled it.
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Same here, it's disabled probably by me at some point but I don't recall when.

ron.alan said:
For those who use Firefox, this may be an interesting read. Basically Mozilla secretly enabled a "feature" that allows more tracking.

https://noyb.eu/en/firefox-tracks-you-privacy-preserving-feature
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Thanks for sharing, sites like these are essential in fight against corporal deceivement of users.

While this may be less invasive than unlimited tracking, which is still the norm in the US, it still interferes with user rights under the EU’s GDPR.
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Mozilla probably assumes European laws don't apply to them just like several other companies known to not respect EU regulations.
If they left that feature as disabled by default that would be totally different story and good thing for Mozilla, but this way it's not.
 
1727268278922.png
 
AlphaObeisance said:
View attachment 22216
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This statement applies to Firefox Data Collection and Use, it does not apply to Website Advertising Preferences which is clearly separated (with a visible separator) from the former:

Screenshot_20240925_150337.png


Different rules apply to the Website Advertising Preferences according to link:
To opt out, you can disable PPA by following these steps.
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Which implies that the feature was enabled by default. otherwise it would say "To opt in, you can enable..."
 
CaffeineAddict said:
This statement applies to Firefox Data Collection and Use, it does not apply to Website Advertising Preferences which is clearly separated (with a visible separator) from the former:

View attachment 22217

Different rules apply to the Website Advertising Preferences according to link:

Which implies that the feature was enabled by default. otherwise it would say "To opt in, you can enable..."
Click to expand...

Yeah I noticed that after I'd posted that I didn't get it all in there. By default when I sudo pacman -S firefox it's all enabled by default. Except maybe the ladder. I dont recall.

I know whenever I install Debian all of that is disabled by default.
 
AlphaObeisance said:
By default when I sudo pacman -S firefox it's all enabled by default. Except maybe the ladder. I dont recall.

I know whenever I install Debian all of that is disabled by default.
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Interesting, I've also seen it disabled on fresh Debian, this may be due tofirefox-esr which debian packagers might have modified as they usually do with most packages, i could be the case for Arch packages as well IDK.

I suppose if you don't purge esr or default one prior to installing upstream version from mozilla then preferences are preserved, IDK.

Normally on fresh system when using firefox for first time I go trough all settings anyway (and install extensions) prior to vising any site so it's not a big issue.
 
CaffeineAddict said:
Interesting, I've also seen it disabled on fresh Debian, this may be due tofirefox-esr which debian packagers might have modified as they usually do with most packages, i could be the case for Arch packages as well IDK.

I suppose if you don't purge esr or default one prior to installing upstream version from mozilla then preferences are preserved, IDK.

Normally on fresh system when using firefox for first time I go trough all settings anyway (and install extensions) prior to vising any site so it's not a big issue.
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I do the same thing. I typically do a fresh install and run through all settings and extensions just to make sure it's setup right.

I guess I'm not familiar with esr. I've always just installed "firefox" and remained ignorant of esr (literally had to google it after you'd mentioned it). I'd known that there were modified versions of software out there focused on privacy but I guess it never dawned on me that it would save me time getting educated on which packages do so.

Gah, I love learning lol
 
Aristarchus said:
This is relatively old problem if I am not mistaken
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With a recent (emphasis mine) Firefox update, Mozilla seems to have taken a leaf out of Google’s playbook: without directly telling its users, the company has secretly enabled a so-called “Privacy Preserving Attribution”

(2nd paragraph of link).
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I have just reinstalled Firefox, (uninstalled a few days ago) via the repository.

I initially installed the standard Firefox (not flatpak) and found that my preferences were still in place, so I uninstalled 'completely' via Syanptic Package manager...supposedly including configuration files.....which turns out be BS......the configs I had set in place were still present.
This caused me to think that the setting under discussion was Not enabled by default.

I smelled a rat in the woodpile....so I installed the Flatpak version of Firefox.

That setting IS enabled by default

1727296877792.png


They do state there that no info is collected about you.

Do you trust them ?

To opt out is as simple as unticking the box, as explained in the link below

Privacy-Preserving Attribution | Firefox Help

Firefox 128 introduces privacy-preserving attribution, allowing advertisers to measure campaign performance while protecting user privacy.
support.mozilla.org support.mozilla.org
 

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I have this disabled since first disclosure. It did not get enabled after Firefox update.

Best to use custom user.js
 
thanks, I do not think that option was going to cause a problem but I am tired of all my information being used all the time. This is not Minority Report.
This kind of thing is getting bad, you thought your phone collected too much about you and gave it to google, well I just saw a commercial for a new car advertising that google is the dashboard in the car. So now the car will spy on me too. Wishing we were back in the 1980s or 90s where this wasn't such a problem.
 
there is a site that let's you enter your car make/year and it will tell you what information is collected.
 
Condobloke said:
They do state there that no info is collected about you.

Do you trust them ?
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The feature doesn't collect "personally identifying info" about you but it collects anonymous user behavior in relation to ads,

I don't think it could be seen as "non-personally identifying info" either which is that which can be linked to personally identifying info to identify you or your behavior.

According to hints from link below the data they collect is aggregate data that is sent anonymously to web site using the Distributed Aggregation Protocol (DAP):

Your results are combined with many similar reports by the aggregation service.
Click to expand...

Privacy-Preserving Attribution | Firefox Help

Firefox 128 introduces privacy-preserving attribution, allowing advertisers to measure campaign performance while protecting user privacy.
support.mozilla.org support.mozilla.org

Aggregate data can be subject to de-aggregation in order to link non-personal data to personal data, whether DAP prevents this IDK, most likely it does.
 
BleepingComputer has an article about this, here:-

www.bleepingcomputer.com

Mozilla accused of tracking users in Firefox without consent

European digital rights group NOYB (None Of Your Business) has filed a privacy complaint with the Austrian data protection watchdog (DSB) against Mozilla, alleging the company uses a Firefox privacy feature (enabled without consent) to track users' online behavior.
www.bleepingcomputer.com www.bleepingcomputer.com


Mike. ;)
 
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