In its battle with Microsoft Windows 10s for operating system (OS) market share, Firefox could become the top choice of web browsers for users concerned about online privacy issues, due to a stealth feature it is developing. Mozilla has launched a pre-beta version for Windows, Android, Mac, and Linux, which features a "Private Browsing" option to block the analytics and tracking systems of third parties that spy on browsing behavior through cookie-collecting and fingerprinting.
While all of the popular browsers on the market have some type of private browsing option, it only provides the users with local protection. The platforms often have a "Do Not Track" option, although many Internet companies disregard them, according to PC World.
An example is Firefox's current privacy system, which does not save a list of sites users have visited on their computing machines. However, the websites themselves have third-party records.
Mozilla's brand new Private Browsing feature is different. It blocks different components of those websites, preventing them from tracking people's surfing behavior.
That will prevent social media sites and others from recording visits. Additionally, the stealth browsing cookies will also be cleaned from a user's CPU.
In the past few weeks the amount of data websites collect about visitors has become a hot topic. Critics have argued that third-party services are collecting too much information, with the users often being oblivious that it is happening.
In fact, a recent study showed that business is booming for ad-blocking tools. AdBlock Plus, Ghostery, and similar software will cost online publishers about $22 billion in 2015.
It should be noted that Mozilla's new privacy setting feature will not completely cover up a netizen's web footprint. An Internet service provider and company's IT department could still track things. That includes sites visited and files downloaded.
Mozilla's Firefox test build also provides new methods for managing add-ons. Its default system prevents third parties from collecting personal information, and having the ability to add buttons, toolbars, ads, and malware to the application, according to Slash Gear.
This video provides a basic explanation of web cookies: