We all hate ads that come after you just googled a product and then the ad appears on your Twiter timeline, Instagram or Facebook feed. This new tool from Firefox throws off advertisers by feeding them misleading data from the cookies that they use to track your web browsing habits.
Firefox’s Track This throws off advertisers by letting you choose four profiles – Influencer, HypeBeast, Doomsday and Filthy Rich. After selecting your profile, Track This opens 100 tabs related to websites under the chosen profile to fool trackers into thinking you’re someone else.
How it works
Ad companies use trackers that collect user’s web browsing data through cookies. These cookies create a profile for you after visiting your favourite sites and use this to push similar or exact advertisements depending on your browsing habits.
Track This uses its profiles to throw off advertisers by opening sites you don’t normally visit. It will open 100 tabs so it’s advisable to use it on a new window. After using it, expect to see strange ads.
This tool is Firefox’s way of showing how users should block cookies on their browsers and is in a ploy to get them to switch to their browser with new privacy features such as Enhanced Tracking Protection which blocks cookies by default, unlike other browsers.
