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Firefox expands fingerprint protections

blog.mozilla.org

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21–30 of 177 posts

Re: Firefox expands fingerprint protections

#21

Post by shevy-java »

I tested firefox recently. It had some AI summary button or something that was new. I instantly wanted to eliminate this from the UI but I don't know how to do that. I guess it is possible? But it probably requires some time and research; the thing I don't need or want this, it just takes away space.

Then I remembered why I no longer use firefox. I believe we, as users, need to take back the open web. The days of some random developers ruining the UI should really be over, be it firefox, or Google chrome killing ublock origin. We need to fight back.

Re: Firefox expands fingerprint protections

#22

Post by kube-system »

NoboruWataya wrote: post #18
xnx wrote: post #11

This is a good use of Firefox resources. Unfortunately Firefox is at a natural disadvantage for fingerprinting by virtue of being used by such a small number of users.

I often think about this in connection with my user agent. I am sure it helps identify me. If I spoofed a Chrome/Windows UA that would probably be better from a privacy perspective. But if we all do that then web designers will never know that we exist. I want people to know there are Firefox and Linux users out there.

Spoofed UAs are easily detected. And if you are spoofing your UA you are among a very small subset of users.

Re: Firefox expands fingerprint protections

#23

Post by cowpig »

shevy-java wrote: post #21

I tested firefox recently. It had some AI summary button or something that was new. I instantly wanted to eliminate this from the UI but I don't know how to do that. I guess it is possible? But it probably requires some time and research; the thing I don't need or want this, it just takes away space. Then I remembered why I no longer use firefox. I believe we, as users, need to take back the open web. The days of som…

I use Firefox because it is better than Chrome, which is the only alternative I see.

Do you use something else?

Re: Firefox expands fingerprint protections

#24

Post by perihelions »

shevy-java wrote: post #21

I tested firefox recently. It had some AI summary button or something that was new. I instantly wanted to eliminate this from the UI but I don't know how to do that. I guess it is possible? But it probably requires some time and research; the thing I don't need or want this, it just takes away space. Then I remembered why I no longer use firefox. I believe we, as users, need to take back the open web. The days of som…

I agree with your comment, but to resolve the question it's "browser.ml.chat.enabled". A common topic on HN,

https://hn.algolia.com/?query=browser%20ml%20chat&type=all

Re: Firefox expands fingerprint protections

#25

Post by rpdillon »

deltoidmaximus wrote: post #20
dmix wrote: post #15

I use FF and I paid for NYTimes. I was logged in, yet NYTimes constantly flagged my browser with a persistent captcha I couldn't bypass for months (across 2 different machines). It thought I was a bot because of the privacy features. So I cancelled my subscription using my phone.

Is there a reason to force all these bot checks on logged in accounts that are paying you money other than insanity? Surely you could just have a max monthly bandwidth limit per account and just stop worrying about this?

The New York Times is like a microcosm of the publishing industry. They seem to spend the majority of their effort on protecting their intellectual property. I'd rather they use those resources to improve their reporting, particularly about technical topics, but alas.

Re: Firefox expands fingerprint protections

#26

Post by rpdillon »

cowpig wrote: post #23
shevy-java wrote: post #21

I tested firefox recently. It had some AI summary button or something that was new. I instantly wanted to eliminate this from the UI but I don't know how to do that. I guess it is possible? But it probably requires some time and research; the thing I don't need or want this, it just takes away space. Then I remembered why I no longer use firefox. I believe we, as users, need to take back the open web. The days of som…

I use Firefox because it is better than Chrome, which is the only alternative I see. Do you use something else?

LibreWolf, Iron Fox, and Brave are all worth a look, I think.

Re: Firefox expands fingerprint protections

#27

Post by messe »

cowpig wrote: post #23
shevy-java wrote: post #21

I tested firefox recently. It had some AI summary button or something that was new. I instantly wanted to eliminate this from the UI but I don't know how to do that. I guess it is possible? But it probably requires some time and research; the thing I don't need or want this, it just takes away space. Then I remembered why I no longer use firefox. I believe we, as users, need to take back the open web. The days of som…

I use Firefox because it is better than Chrome, which is the only alternative I see. Do you use something else?

Not the commenter you're replying to, but I've been using LibreWolf for the last few months.

It's a bit more privacy focused, so may need some tweaking to your liking (by default it won't persist history, zoom levels, cookies, etc.)

Re: Firefox expands fingerprint protections

#28

Post by nutjob2 »

dmix wrote: post #15

I use FF and I paid for NYTimes. I was logged in, yet NYTimes constantly flagged my browser with a persistent captcha I couldn't bypass for months (across 2 different machines). It thought I was a bot because of the privacy features. So I cancelled my subscription using my phone.

Just use Bypass Paywalls Clean. Paying for a subscription is up to you.

Re: Firefox expands fingerprint protections

#30

Post by charcircuit »

>Having a unique fingerprint means fingerprinters can continuously identify you invisibly

This is not right. If you have a unique fingerprint every time someone tries to fingerprint you, then they have to do extra work to try and figure out which are the same. If you make it always be the same you've made the fingerprinter's job much easier.

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