Do tracking protection addons interfere with Firefox's Enhanced Tracking Protection?
I currently have Privacy Badger and Privacy Possum installed and activated in my desktop browser, but I also have Firefox's Enhanced Tracking Protection turned on and set to Strict as well. Some sites I go to, both Badger and Possum say that they are blocking trackers, yet the Firefox ETP Shield doesn't indicate that anything is being blocked at all. Is it possible that both Badger and Possum are interfering with Firefox ETP, keeping it from working by getting to the trackers first? If that is the case, is it a good idea to keep these addons or should I let ETP handle all the work with protecting me from trackers?
Chosen solution
Hi,
It does not require a Firefox update for the definitions to update. They are loaded from a blacklist file that is updated separately.
I am basing this answer largely off the fact that there exists a "browser.safebrowsing.provider.mozilla.updateURL: server endpoint for downloading list updates" setting in about:config which implies to me that the list must update outside of FF updates.
Hope that helps!
Read this answer in context 👍 1All Replies (4)
Hello,
I cannot be 100% sure without looking into those extensions. However, I think that they probably are not interfering with Firefox ETP. It is likely that on most sites they are just good enough to block trackers before Firefox ETP is able to block them itself.
The tracking protection that you use is up to you. However, you might find slowdowns if you use Badger, Possum, and ETP at the same time because all will have to run their filters before the page can display.
Hope this helps! Have a nice day!
Matthew Thomas said
Hello, I cannot be 100% sure without looking into those extensions. However, I think that they probably are not interfering with Firefox ETP. It is likely that on most sites they are just good enough to block trackers before Firefox ETP is able to block them itself. The tracking protection that you use is up to you. However, you might find slowdowns if you use Badger, Possum, and ETP at the same time because all will have to run their filters before the page can display. Hope this helps! Have a nice day!
Thank you for your response. This does somewhat put me at ease that there aren't any real problems going on, but this does lead to one more question.
Does Firefox's ETP ever go through any kind of update process so that it stays effective? I know that both Badger and Possum are addons that "learn" about new trackers as you surf the web so that they can keep protecting you. Does ETP have a similar process or does it only learn about new things when the whole browser itself updates?
Chosen Solution
Hi,
It does not require a Firefox update for the definitions to update. They are loaded from a blacklist file that is updated separately.
I am basing this answer largely off the fact that there exists a "browser.safebrowsing.provider.mozilla.updateURL: server endpoint for downloading list updates" setting in about:config which implies to me that the list must update outside of FF updates.
Hope that helps!
Matthew Thomas said
Hi, It does not require a Firefox update for the definitions to update. They are loaded from a blacklist file that is updated separately. I am basing this answer largely off the fact that there exists a "browser.safebrowsing.provider.mozilla.updateURL: server endpoint for downloading list updates" setting in about:config which implies to me that the list must update outside of FF updates. Hope that helps!
It does. Thank you for all your help!