Tag Archive for ‘Mozilla’

Juli Clover, writing for MacRumors:

Mozilla today said it is adding an ad blocker to Firefox for iOS, allowing users to block many third-party ads and ad-related trackers.

One of the reasons I went with Brave when I switched browsers a few years ago is because it had a built-in ad blocker on iOS. I’m glad Firefox is finally implementing the feature, but unfortunately, it isn’t as comprehensive as Brave’s offering. For example, and maybe most importantly, Firefox’s ad blocker doesn’t block ads on YouTube. Brave, however, handles those well and also gives you the option to completely hide YouTube Shorts as well.

➝ Source: macrumors.com

I’m not able to find any details about what the service will cost or if it will include any unique features at all, but I still signed up for the waitlist.

I use Fastmail now and am very happy with it, but I’m not opposed to moving to something else if a better option comes along.

I just hope the introduction of this service won’t result in the Thunderbird app becoming less welcoming to other email services. I’ve been using Thunderbird for years and I don’t want to feel like I’m getting a second class experience if I stick with my current email provider.

➝ Source: thundermail.com

Mozilla:

This dashboard tracks technical issues in major software platforms which disadvantage Firefox relative to the first-party browser. We consider aspects like security, stability, performance, and functionality, and propose changes to create a more level playing field.

There are more issues for Apple platforms than Microsoft and Google combined.

➝ Source: mozilla.github.io

Mozilla:

The French government is working on a law that could threaten the free internet. The so-called SREN bill (‘Projet de loi visant à sécuriser et réguler l’espace numérique’) would require web browsers – like Mozilla’s Firefox – to block websites in the browsers themselves. It would set a dangerous precedent, providing a playbook for other governments to also turn browsers like Firefox into censorship tools.

I’d like to see a lot more of this version of Mozilla and a lot less of the other.

➝ Source: foundation.mozilla.org

As far as I could tell, Mozilla hasn’t made a statement about this at all. Perhaps their reliance on Google for funding has a much larger influence on the direction of Firefox than Brave’s use of Chromium does.

➝ Source: brave.com

Martin Brinkmann, writing for gHacks:

Internet users who download the Firefox web browser from the official Mozilla website get a unique identifier attached to the installer that is submitted to Mozilla on install and first run.

The identifier, called dltoken by Mozilla internally, is used to link downloads to installations and first runs of the Firefox browser. The identifier is unique to each Firefox installer, which means that it is submitted to Mozilla whenever it is used.

Cool. I guess this is just another reason to use something else.

Update 3/26/22: Michael Tsai points out that this is unlikely to be the case with Firefox for macOS because it would be difficult to accomplish with notarization.

➝ Source: ghacks.net

Michael Harley, on the state of the web browser market:

Has the Internet just become an ad delivery network? Is there so much money sloshing around from ad people that software companies/teams doing browser development are simply unable to pass it up? They have to take the money because it’s so much, but everyone seems to recognize people don’t want to be served ads, or tracked across the web. The browser developer organizations recognize the concerns of users but really all they’re willing to do about it is use the word private in the title of their ad tracking platform.

Maybe I’m being too naive, rigid or unrealistic but I don’t want to be served ads at all. I’m sorry that businesses have built their websites using an ad-based model but that’s not my problem. Offer me a subscription service, and if it’s valuable enough to me then I’ll pay for a subscription.

I’m currently using Brave because, despite my lack of interest in their ad network or BAT, I appreciate that they’re trying to build a business model that doesn’t rely on Google or other major tech companies for funding . And it’s easy enough to disable the features I dislike.

I’m not thrilled about it being built on Chromium, though. I hate the idea that there could be a future where the entirety of the market is Safari, Chrome, and Chrome-based browsers. But until Mozilla gets their act together and spends a little more time building a great browser and a little less time encouraging censorship, I’ll have to settle with the least offensive option.

➝ Source: obsolete29.com

Martin Thomson, writing on Mozilla’s weblog:

Attribution is how advertisers know if their advertising campaigns are working. Attribution generates metrics that allow advertisers to understand how their advertising campaigns are performing. Related measurement techniques also help publishers understand how they are helping advertisers. Though attribution is crucial to advertising, current attribution practices have terrible privacy properties.

For the last few months we have been working with a team from Meta (formerly Facebook) on a new proposal that aims to enable conversion measurement – or attribution – for advertising called Interoperable Private Attribution, or IPA.

I’m glad I switched to Brave. It just saddens me that it’s built on Chromium. I wish Mozilla was a better steward of privacy and freedom online, but that doesn’t appear to be who they are anymore. So, Brave it is.

➝ Source: blog.mozilla.org