Mozilla is adding new privacy features to Firefox Focus on Android, announcing Tuesday that it is introducing “Total Cookie Protection” to the platform as a way to stop cookies from tracking you across the web.
See also: Mozilla stops crypto donations after criticism over climate impacts
Mozilla told ZDNet that the tool's goal is to combat cross-site tracking, which allows companies to track which websites users visit and what products they search for.
"Have you ever entered a contest to win a TV or a vacation to an exotic location? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have provided your name, home address, email address, phone number, and sometimes even your date of birth to companies that build your profile with the information you freely provide," Mozilla explained.
“Companies use these profiles to help them make ads that are aimed at persuading you to buy, such as re-appearing a product you’ve previously searched for. When you go online, there are similar tactics working in the background to collect information about you and browsing behavior and track you as you go from website to website.”
See also: Mozilla fixes critical vulnerabilities in Firefox and Thunderbird
Mozilla first announced “Total Cookie Protection” last year and said that Firefox Focus on Android would be the first Firefox mobile browser to have it.
“Total Cookie Protection” is part of a broader set of privacy features that Mozilla calls Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP).
The “Total Cookie Protection” feature effectively creates separate “cookie jars” for all the websites you visit, limiting the cookies a website deposits in your browser to a jar specifically assigned to that website.
The company is giving Android users of Firefox Focus access to both SmartBlock and other privacy features that Mozilla said help “fix issues related to Total Cookie Protection and other privacy measures.”.
See also: Mozilla ends support for Firefox Lockwise app
The additional features are required because some websites host content on other servers and if the expected cookies are not sent to those servers due to Total Cookie Protection, some content will not be displayed.
Information source: zdnet.com
