Mozilla has rolled out a new update for Firefox on desktop with changes to how it handles trackers.
Firefox 65 primarily changes how it displays the various tracker blocking settings in its ‘Privacy & Security’ menu. The goal is the make things easier to understand for the average user.
There are now three options for blocking trackers, which are relatively similar to the options available before.
The first, labelled ‘Standard,’ only blocks known trackers when you’re browsing in ‘Private mode.’ This is the default setting, and Mozilla says it will change this to block third-party trackers in the future.
‘Strict’ mode blocks all known trackers and tracking cookies in all Firefox windows. However, it carries the warning that some websites might break with this enabled. For example, when I had the equivalent of this mode enabled in a previous version of Firefox, I found Twitter embeds on websites didn’t display correctly because the requisite cookies were blocked.
Finally, ‘Custom’ lets you tweak and change what trackers and cookies Firefox blocks, and when it blocks them.
It’s also easier to see what Firefox is blocking and manage which sites are affected. Users can click the ‘i’ button on the left side of the address bar to view site-specific controls and see what’s blocked.
Firefox 65 also brings a few other features, such as support for AV1 video compression on Windows and an updated tab manager to help users track slow tabs and extensions and close or uninstall them.
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