EFF's "Privacy Badger" To Force Websites From Tracking Users

Web browsers generally allow users to send a "Do Not Track" signal that informs advertisers that the users do not want to be tracked for the purposes of sending personalized ads. 

 

But this is more a futile exercise because websites and advertising networks are able to ignore the signal. Even Yahoo which was honoring Do Not Track requests, decided to stop doing so this week.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation may have a solution. Last night, the group announced "Privacy Badger," an extension for Chrome and Firefox "that analyzes sites to detect and disallow content that tracks you in an objectionable, non-consensual manner."

Privacy Badger doesn't block ads automatically. The group explained: 

 

“When you visit websites, your copy of Privacy Badger keeps note of the "third-party" domains that embed images, scripts and advertising in the pages you visit. If a third-party server appears to be tracking you without permission, by using uniquely identifying cookies to collect a record of the pages you visit across multiple sites, Privacy Badger will automatically disallow content from that third-party tracker. In some cases a third-party domain provides some important aspect of a page's functionality, such as embedded maps, images, or fonts. In those cases, Privacy Badger will allow connections to the third party but will screen out its tracking cookies.”