The original post: /r/privacy by /u/zI9PtXEmOaDlywq1b4OX on 2024-10-09 12:41:26.
I’ve read a couple of posts about how Firefox is, well, starting to come under fire, and for various reasons:
- User tracking. Apparently, Mozilla has implemeneted several features that call into question their standards when it comes to the preservation of their users’ privacies, such as PPA, while also making these features enabled by default, rather than not. Or, at the very least, not informing users of their existence, which invokes a sense of shadiness and, understandably, hurts their trustworthiness as a company.
- uBlock Origin Lite. The creator of uBlock Origin/uBlock Origin Lite seems to have had some kerfuffles with the people who are managing the Firefox Add-Ons store, as they’ve reportedly been unfairly trickling down negative reviews down the way of uBlock Origin Lite. To my knowledge, the main difference between the original uBlock Origin and the Lite version is that the former runs on Manifest V2, while the latter runs on V3, meaning, the Lite version is, at the very least, capable of being more efficient than the original. However, I’m not too sure if “Lite” implies that it comes packaged with less features than the original and, thus, is less capable of keeping your online activity secure. Personally, I’m still running the original uBlock Origin, rather than the Lite version.
In regards to the privacy thing, I haven’t been able to find any new invasive features added into my settings. I’m running Firefox on Linux, btw, so idk if this is an OS-agnostic thing or not; maybe it’s just on the horizon for me, but, for now, privacy-wise, I have everything turned off. I also regularly check up on my settings to make sure all data-siphoning features implemented by Mozilla are turned off, so I don’t really mind if they add more features that “invade” on my privacy so long as I am given the power to turn them off.
That said, however, one change I’ve noticed that does bother me is the fact that their “Clear browsing data and cookies” menu is vastly more anorexic compared to what it used to be, which was something like 10-12 options that provided me with the ability to remove certain kinds of data stored on the browser in a more detailed fashion. Whereas, now, it’s just 4 options. This leads me to believe that, under the hood, Mozilla is trying to prevent users from deleting certain kinds of data that may lead to the loss of them being able to sell whatever information is stored based on user activity, which I’m not a fan of (if true).