Firefox may be switching a “differential privacy” mode

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Executioner
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Firefox may be switching a “differential privacy” mode

Post by Executioner »

A post by Mozilla engineer Georg Fritzsche suggests that Firefox may be switching a "differential privacy" mode that would allow developers to collect sensitive data without being able to make conclusions about individual users, thus preserving their privacy. The team appears to be frustrated by the fact that data can currently only be collected if users opt in, which makes it difficult to determine how people use the browser and what improvements should be made. Some say that this is a misstep, being that Firefox used to respect users’ desire for complete privacy.

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic ... 1gMQeMEL0w

If that happens, I'll move to Pale Moon.
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FlyingPenguin
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Re: Firefox may be switching a “differential privacy” mode

Post by FlyingPenguin »

I read through all that, and it would be opt-out if they do it, so you would be able to explicitly block it. You would likely have to go into about:config and change a setting, unless they bring it out in the settings UI.

Not as convenient as opt-in, but to be honest, even the current setting to send telemetry that comes up during installation is TECNICALLY opt-out since it's checked by default and you have to turn it off.

Not too concerned about it yet, as long as there's choice. Consider how much telemetry Chrome must be sending back to the mothership by comparison.
"Turns out I’m 'woke.' All along, I thought I was just compassionate, kind, and good at history. "

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Executioner
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Re: Firefox may be switching a “differential privacy” mode

Post by Executioner »

Yeah no kidding on Chrome. I have it installed, but only use it if I suspect if something is not working correctly with FF.
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