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"Firefox added [ad tracking] and has already turned it on without asking you"

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Re: "Firefox added [ad tracking] and has already turned it on without asking you"

#61

Post by instagib »

Porygon wrote: post #15
david_draco wrote: post #5

The thread does not explain whether the behaviour of Firefox was actually changed when they added the check box, or if it is a new option to opt-out of something that could not be opted-out before.

I think this is the check box in question: https://pomf2.lain.la/f/8v4aq9sg.png It is located at "Settings" -> "Privacy & Security" -> "Website Advertising Preferences" and is checked by default.

I followed the top level comment and added

Boolean dom.private-attribution.submission.enabled False

It disabled the checkbox after updating Firefox. I set it to true to test and it enabled the checkbox also.

Re: "Firefox added [ad tracking] and has already turned it on without asking you"

#62

Post by solardev »

mouse_ wrote: post #11

Meanwhile, Ladybird, the first new browser engine since the 90's to 100% the Acid3 JavaScript test, just secured $1 million in funding from the founder of GitHub. We, as responsible web users, need to do whatever it takes to break up Google's web oligopoly. The open web is at stake.

Why can't they just fork Blink like everyone else? A new rendering engine is an unnecessary duplication of effort and ripe for security issues.

I don't think the open web is really as dependent on the browser anymore anyway. We already have multiple choices today, but the web is still mostly controlled by a huge big companies and nations. Doesn't feel particularly open. A new browser engine won't really solve that.

Meanwhile a million dollars could go towards some network R&D or popularizing Freenet instead.

The world doesn't need a dozen HTML renderers. If we actually want a free and open web, that's a infrastructure and content censorship/algorithmic promotion issue, not a layout engine or JS engine problem.

Re: "Firefox added [ad tracking] and has already turned it on without asking you"

#63

Post by morsch »

tooltower wrote: post #57
Topgamer7 wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately about config no longer exists for mobile devices

I just found this setting in mobile, but I don't know if it's the same feature: Settings > Data Collection > Marketing

I don't think so. I already had the setting visible in the UI disabled, but the thing in about:config was still on.

Re: "Firefox added [ad tracking] and has already turned it on without asking you"

#64

Post by billfor »

thangalin wrote: post #22

1. Visit about:config 2. Set dom.private-attribution.submission.enabled to false I've added the configuration value to the following page: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Privacy/Privacy_Task_Force/firefox_... I'm not affiliated with Mozilla, but I do understand how wikis work. ;-)

Looks like the windows build for 127 didn't have it but it's there in 128. Updating to 128.0 adds the preference (defaulted to true) and also the new "Website Advertising Preferences", which seems to control the same preference. I would just uncheck the box as it's right there on the Security page.

Re: "Firefox added [ad tracking] and has already turned it on without asking you"

#66

Post by exe34 »

anticensor wrote: post #56
GeoAtreides wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

hm, should I use the stable version, but be tracked, or should I use Nightly, and risk crashes and catastrophic loss of data choices, choices

or use an unbranded fork that has about:config enabled

amazing, the one app that has access to everything that matters in your digital life, and you'd be willing to use a non-standard source?

Re: "Firefox added [ad tracking] and has already turned it on without asking you"

#67

Post by iroddis »

mulmen wrote: post #33
david_draco wrote: post #7

It is obvious why Firefox does this though; they have no income otherwise like Google does. Firefox users somehow think that using is "supporting" Mozilla/Firefox, but it is not, and they would not pay for the browser, or pay a subscription free. Privacy-friendly ads are a reasonable way for Mozilla to survive long-term -- if they are indeed privacy-friendly. Ultimately you probably either need a clean-room NGO that…

I pay for Orion through Kagi. I would gladly contribute to the salaries of developers to maintain the Firefox project.

I also pay for Orion, but can’t use it much until the multi-container support is working well. Right now Firefox is the only browser that does this right.

Upvoting you in the hopes that more people in this thread will put their money where their stated principles are and help support a privacy focused browser with clear funding sources so that Orion doesn’t go the way of Opera.

Re: "Firefox added [ad tracking] and has already turned it on without asking you"

#68

Post by lolinder »

wizee wrote: post #49
kredd wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After all these "I would pay for Firefox if I could" comments, it would be fun for Mozilla to start a Gofundme like page, where if it hits $300M (or whatever amount they're getting from Google per year) they'll make it an option, otherwise they'll go back to trying to find another revenue source. It's very hard to believe that an average user would ever pay for a browser, when alternatives like Chrome and Safari exis…

Mozilla is like Wikipedia, where the vast majority of the funds they receive go to causes unrelated to development or maintenance of their core product (web browser or encyclopedia).

For example, acquiring ad companies.

Re: "Firefox added [ad tracking] and has already turned it on without asking you"

#69

Post by openrisk »

Q: How many people are using a web browser on a daily basis worldwide as their main window to the collective infosphere? A: Billions.

Q: What fraction of the corresponding GDP would it take to fund a serious browser-as-public-good initiative that would develop this technology to its full potential without the perverse constraints of adtech business models?

A: 0.0001%? Too small to compute?

The idea that critical communication infrastructure must be (directly or indirectly) supported by advertising interests is certainly not obvious.

Advertising businesses, like all businesses or individuals should be guests on that global platform, playing by the rules, not setting the rules. The status-quo is a unique and singular failure that has been normalized for reasons that historians will surely describe with gory detail in due course.

There are more ways to fund things than either adtech or dazed and confused individuals paying/donating directly for software. Especially when the stakes are extremely high.

Mozilla's attempt to provide a more palatable alternative while accepting the premise that the web is an ad-funded technology was, alas, always doomed. Its market share is trending to zero and it is just a matter of time before complete disaster...

Re: "Firefox added [ad tracking] and has already turned it on without asking you"

#70

Post by dralley »

wizee wrote: post #49
kredd wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After all these "I would pay for Firefox if I could" comments, it would be fun for Mozilla to start a Gofundme like page, where if it hits $300M (or whatever amount they're getting from Google per year) they'll make it an option, otherwise they'll go back to trying to find another revenue source. It's very hard to believe that an average user would ever pay for a browser, when alternatives like Chrome and Safari exis…

Mozilla is like Wikipedia, where the vast majority of the funds they receive go to causes unrelated to development or maintenance of their core product (web browser or encyclopedia).

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