Mozilla adds opt-in privacy to new Firefox builds

Mozilla is bundling its Do Not Track system into new Firefox builds, and has confirmed that the feature will be hard-coded into Firefox 4.

The anti-tracking feature allows users to opt out of behavioural advertising, although this has caused problems with access to some commercial sites. However, Mozilla is fine-tuning the feature to allow tailoring of the application.

"This is just our first step. We are exploring ways to empower users to have more robust and precise control over their data, and will share our progress on this as it is made," said Mozilla developer Sid Stamm.

Mozilla confirmed to V3.co.uk that the feature will be built into Firefox 4, which is expected to be released this month.

Many e-commerce sites are not pleased at anti-tracking technology being built into browsers, but the consumer demand is undeniable.

Google has added a similar feature to Chrome, and Microsoft is looking for a standard for internet privacy with its Tracking Protection protocol.

"To protect consumers, having Tracking Protection work consistently across browsers is important," said Dean Hachamovitch, Microsoft's corporate vice president of Internet Explorer, in a blog post.

"In December, we made the underlying format for Tracking Protection available under a Creative Commons Attribution licence and the Microsoft Open Specification Promise so that the same lists can work in other browsers.

"Since then, the premier web standards body, the W3C, has contacted us about standardising the format. We are taking the next steps with the W3C to standardisation."