Firefox aims to entice users with greater privacy protections

Mozilla has released an update to its Firefox web browser largely focused on improving privacy and further preventing Facebook from tracking users online.

The non-profit is making its third party tracker blocking feature available by default rather than requiring people to switch it on, which stops thousands of companies that are known for tracking people’s every movement from accessing users’ personal data, the company said.

Mozilla’s Facebook Container web extension, which was first announced last year, has also been ramped up to help users isolate their web activity from the social network beyond its own platforms.

Now, anywhere Facebook features are hosted away from its own platforms, such as a web page with a Facebook share or like button, will also be prevented from tracking users.

“Over the past year, we’ve seen tech companies talk a big game about privacy in response to several global scandals, which have left people feeling increasingly vulnerable,” said Firefox senior vice president Dave Camp.

“It’s unfortunate that this shift had to happen in order for tech companies to take notice.

“At Firefox, we believe that in order to truly protect people, we need to establish a new standard that puts people’s privacy first.

“We have been working on setting this standard by offering privacy-related features long before these issues were brought to light. We are more committed than ever to building stronger online protections for everyone, and these new Firefox features are indicative of our dedication to helping people stay safe whenever they use Firefox.”

Firefox is also rolling out a desktop extension that securely stores passwords, as well as a central dashboard allowing people to manage multiple email addresses.