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Firefox now has a beefed up Private Browsing mode that also kills ads

Good for users, bad for online content and news organizations

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The latest version of Mozilla’s Firefox web browser has notched up its abilities when it comes to Web browsing privacy. Until now, the browser’s private browsing mode largely focused on eliminating traces left behind on the computer or device being used. In the new context, the company now includes the ability to prevent a user’s online activity to be tracked, making for a more anonymous browsing experience. The sites and services that will be targeted by this feature include Facebook, Google and many other Web services that actively deploy user tracking systems.

With this new Private Browsing mode, Firefox will now block all scripts that could potentially be used to identify a user, which includes those used by online ads, demographic trackers, social networks and the like. A direct result of this blocking will see relevant pages loading quicker (as the VP of Firefox Product Nick Nguyen puts it, “We don’t think you’ll mind”,) but as a consequence it will also block all ads that are deployed due to such scripts.

In India, the concept of broadband is still tenuous with its speed still being defined as 2Mbps. Especially in a multi-user browsing environment (for example, a family that has many devices connected or in businesses) every bit of bandwidth counts during a browsing session. This new Firefox feature is certain to be welcome by users, given the lower bandwidth utilization and subsequently higher page loading speed. But it only adds to the polarizing ad blocker debate that is becoming a significant cause of concern to online content and news companies that rely on ad impressions for revenue.

Know more about the new Firefox here:

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