Privacy Badger

Privacy Badger
Developer(s) Electronic Frontier Foundation
Initial release 1 May 2014 (2014-05-01)[1]
Stable release
1.8.1 / 9 August 2016 (2016-08-09)
Repository github.com/EFForg/privacybadgerfirefox
Development status Active
Type Browser extension
License GNU GPL v3[2]
Alexa rank Increase 15,894 (Feb 2015)
Website eff.org/privacybadger
As of Aug 2015

Privacy Badger is a free software web browser extension for Opera, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, created by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Its purpose is to promote a balanced approach to internet privacy between consumers and content providers by blocking advertisements and tracking cookies that do not respect the Do Not Track setting in a user's web browser.[3]

The alpha version was released on 1 May 2014,[1] followed by a beta on 21 July 2014.[4] While some of its code is based on Adblock Plus, Privacy Badger only blocks those ads which come with embedded trackers.[3]

Description

EFF says, "If an advertiser seems to be tracking you across multiple websites without your permission, Privacy Badger automatically blocks that advertiser from loading any more content in your browser. To the advertiser, it's like you suddenly disappeared."[5]

Reception

Several publications reported on Privacy Badger in May 2014, following its release.

Ian Paul, for PC World, mentions that Privacy Badger "only blocks third-party tracking, not first party", and mentions that prevention of browser fingerprinting is planned for a future release.[6]

Ars Technica notes that if an advertiser makes a commitment to respect Do Not Track requests, their cookies will be unblocked from Privacy Badger.[7]

Nathan Willis, writing for LWN.net, describes the green, yellow and red sliders of the Privacy Badger menu as being a "nice visualization aid", making it easy for the user to toggle the trackers on and off, if desired - describing it as much easier to browse through than ad blocking addon interfaces.[8]

Kif Leswing writing for GigaOM writes that "Privacy Badger’s blacklist is generated through heuristic blocking, which means it gets better the longer it is used", and wrote in May 2014 that Privacy Badger "breaks a lot of websites", but considers it important as it is created by a non-profit company, and sums it up as "more than good enough".[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Tom Cheredar (2014-05-02). "EFF's Privacy Badger tells you when websites ignore 'Do Not Track' settings | Electronic Frontier Foundation". Eff.org. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  2. ↑ Privacy Badger license Electronic Frontier Foundation
  3. 1 2 "Privacy Badger FAQ". Privacy Badger. Electronic Frontier Foundation. 24 January 2014. Retrieved 2016-01-27.
  4. ↑ "Stop sneaky online tracking with EFF's Privacy Badger" (Press release). Electronic Frontier Foundation. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Privacy Badger FAQ". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  6. ↑ Ian Paul (2 May 2014). "EFF's new Privacy Badger browser add-on closes the prying eyes of online trackers". PCWorld. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  7. ↑ Brodkin, Jon (2 May 2014). "EFF "Privacy Badger" plugin aimed at forcing websites to stop tracking users". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  8. ↑ "Privacy Badger gives teeth to Do Not Track". Lwn.net. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
  9. ↑ Kif Leswing (11 May 2014). "Not all ad blockers are the same. Here's why the EFF's Privacy Badger is different". Tech News and Analysis. Gigaom.com. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
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