#Firefox focus not blocking ads full

Mozilla announced Firefox Focus as a 'privacy browser' stopping user tracking. Tracking data send to a big data collecting company So my conclusion: Mozilla's developers have had a good idea, but things went worse. If a user decide to provide tracking data to Mozilla's developers, he has to activate that option. But an app may never be installed with telemetry activated by default. Peter Welchering says, it's not wrong by default, to collect anonymized telemetry data. Therefore they like to receive anonym user data. Mozilla's developers intended to receive telemetry data to improve their app. The same constellation, that I reported within the Web of Trust #privacygate (see Web of Trust harvesting and selling user's surfing data). Data, which websites are visited, where the app has been downloaded, the IP address, a tracking id and many more data are being send to German Big Data specialist Adjust. The result:įirefox Klar (and Firefox Focus) tracks user data about the users behavior using the app and surfing the web. He contacted Hermann Sauer, a security expert, to analyze this case further. Peter obviously stumbled upon the option Send anonymous usage data in Firefox Klar (the German name for Firefox Focus). There has been a techtalk with the title Mozilla Klar saugt Daten ab, held in German broadcasting station Deutschlandfunk between Manfred Kloiber (moderator) and the journalist Peter Welchering. Firefox Focus is tracking user data, will be send to Big-Data specialist AdjustĪ reader of my German blog send me yesterday a tip.

The settings page contains an option Send anonymous usage data, that will be enabled by default after app install.

#Firefox focus not blocking ads full

Unfortunately the Settings screenshot was cut on the lower part – don't know, if that was by intention – on German Mozilla pages I found the full view of this settings page (see a localized screenshot shown above on the right). Blocking other content trackers may cause many sites to stop functioning properly.Īnd they posted a Settings screenshot on their page, that shows a lot of privacy options (see left picture below).

Other content trackers – this category includes embedded videos, photo slideshows, and news article embeds that could track you.

– By removing trackers and ads, Web pages may require less data and load fasterĪlso Mozilla's blog contains several articles like Introducing Firefox Focus – a free, fast and easy to use private browser for iOS or Privacy made simple with Firefox Focus – and there is a Mozilla support page What is Firefox Focus? detailing the new browser:įirefox Focus brings added privacy by allowing you to block known website trackers by category: – Easily erases your history - no passwords, no cookies, no trackers – Blocks a wide range of common Web trackers without any settings to set Focus is next-level privacy that's free, always on and always on your side - because it's backed by Mozilla, the non-profit that fights for your rights on the Web. 'Private browsing' on most browsers isn't comprehensive or easy to use. Easily erase your history, passwords and cookies, so you won't get followed by things like unwanted ads.

The new Firefox Focus automatically blocks a wide range of online trackers - from the moment you launch it to the second you leave it. Here's what they say:įirefox Focus: The privacy browser – By Mozillaīrowse like no one's watching.

Firefox Focus, the privacy browser …Īfter I stumbled upon the user tracking issue (more below) I have had a 2nd look at the iTunes Firefox Focus page. I've covered this story within my blog post Web of Trust harvesting and selling user's surfing data. Recently I wrote about the privacy gate caused by browser plug in Web of Trust, caught sending user tracking data and WoT sold it to big data harvesters. Today I'm glad, I missed that thing – because: Think about, if that 'Super Private Firefox Browser' (Forbes) isn't as private as estimated and tracks, and sends user data. So Firefox Focus was 'just another app' for me. Ok, my old iPad 3 stucks on iOS 9 and I only use it from time to time. Somehow I read that stories, but I didn't managed to get my fingers on this app. Did you read all the overwhelming articles introducing Firefox Focus for iOS last November? See Mozilla Launches Firefox Focus, a Standalone Private Browser for iOS (Bleeping Computer), Privacy-Enabled Web Browser 'Firefox Focus' Launches on App Store With Automatic Ad Blocking (Mac Rumors), The iPhone Just Got A New Super-Private Firefox Browser (Forbes).