this post was submitted on 14 May 2024
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Firefox 126: New Search Data Telemetry, Improved Copy Without Site Tracking, Security Fixes, and More (www.mozilla.org)
submitted 6 months ago by ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Telemetry was added to create an aggregate count of searches by category to broadly inform search feature development. These categories are based on 20 high-level content types, such as "sports,” "business," and "travel". This data will not be associated with specific users and will be collected using OHTTP to remove IP addresses as potentially identifying metadata. No profiling will be performed, and no data will be shared with third parties. (read more)

The Copy Without Site Tracking option can now remove parameters from nested URLs. It also includes expanded support for blocking over 300 tracking parameters from copied links, including those from major shopping websites. Keep those trackers away when sharing links!

Release Notes

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[–] Admax@lemmy.world 34 points 6 months ago (4 children)

Can anyone enlighten me as to what the hell Mozilla is going to do with that kind of telemetry as it's not even tied to anyone ?

[–] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 51 points 6 months ago (1 children)

To know what features people are using, how fast it's running, know what hardware and where it's being used, and to try to investigate crashing issues? Telemetry doesn't only mean knowing where you live or who you're banging.

[–] mox@lemmy.sdf.org 16 points 6 months ago (1 children)

To know what features people are using, how fast it’s running, know what hardware and where it’s being used, and to try to investigate crashing issues?

None of those things are what's being discussed here, or what GP asked about. As stated in the article, this is about categorizing people's searches.

[–] sunbeam60@lemmy.one 1 points 6 months ago

Because that allows them to sell the default search engine spot for more; the more you know about an audience the more it’s worth, even this high up the food chain.

[–] hamsterkill@lemmy.sdf.org 16 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Why would they need to tie that telemetry to people in order to use it to inform their own development (as it states as the purpose, and is the purpose of all their telemetry as far as I know).

[–] sunbeam60@lemmy.one 2 points 6 months ago

They are specifically not tying it to people, but to countries.

[–] lud@lemm.ee 6 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Click on "read more" in the article:

To improve Firefox based on your needs, understanding how users interact with essential functions like search is key. We’re ramping up our efforts to enhance search experience by developing new features like Firefox Suggest, which provides recommended online content that corresponds to queries. To make sure that features like this work well, we need better insights on overall search activity – all without trading off on our commitment to user privacy. Our goal is to understand what types of searches are happening so that we can prioritize the correct features by use case.

More info here: https://blog.mozilla.org/products/firefox/firefox-search-update/