Mozilla has removed the “Do Not Track” option from Firefox – sites ignore it and continue to collect user data

Almost all major websites track visitor activity and then sell or provide this information to other companies—this is what drives the online advertising market. Most web browsers offer the option to turn on a feature called “Do Not Track” in their settings. True, sites unanimously ignore these requests, since use of the function is voluntary. Therefore, Mozilla decided to remove it from Firefox starting with version 135.

Image source: unsplash.com

As the name suggests, when the Do Not Track option is enabled, the browser tells the website that it does not want to be tracked. However, sites have no reason to respect this signal – meaning the setting is useless (and sometimes misleading). Worse, this option is not simply ignored, but has the opposite effect, since it allows sites to more easily identify the user and track him more effectively. This is why Apple removed Do Not Track from Safari back in 2019.

«Starting with Firefox version 135, the Do Not Track checkbox will be removed. Many sites do not take this indication of the user’s privacy preferences into account, and in some cases this may result in a decrease in privacy,” the developer’s website states.

Firefox Help recommends using the “Tell websites not to sell or share my information” setting to improve your privacy. This option complies with current Global Privacy Control (GPC) regulations. GPC requirements are being followed by an increasing number of sites, and in some regions they are already enshrined in legislation.

The removal of the Do Not Track feature from Firefox once again confirms that self-regulation on the Internet does not work.