With Firefox 145, we’re rolling out major privacy upgrades that take on browser fingerprinting — a pervasive and hidden tracking technique that lets websites identify you even when cookies are blocked or you’re in private browsing. These protections build on Mozilla’s long-term goal of building a healthier, transparent and privacy-preserving web ecosystem.
This is why I haven’t jumped ship despite not being a fan of the AI browser integration. From what I’ve seen Mozilla seems to be the most concerned about preventing fingerprinting, which is the most worrying form of tracking to me. I’m glad to see they’re continuing to try to improve anti-fingerprinting capabilities.
Brave has stronger anti-fingerprinting protection than Firefox. They just use different methodology. Not sure how this addition will change the dynamic.
Firefox focuses on blocking fingerprinting in first place, while Brave randomizes it to make you anonymous as they say that not being trackable is in and of itself a trackable parameter.
If you want to be anonymous in the sense that you blend in with everyone else, just use librewolf.
Finally, actual progress. Cutting the number of Firefox users who are trackable by fingerprinters in half is a huge win, and it’s great to see Mozilla put engineering muscle behind privacy-by-design instead of just writing blog posts.
That said, I’m annoyed they only enable these protections in Private Browsing and ETP Strict for now. Most people never switch modes, so the real-world benefit is limited until this becomes the default. Fingerprinting is a cat-and-mouse game, sites will adapt, and some breakage is inevitable, so Mozilla needs a clear rollout plan and good tooling for site owners and users.
If you actually want the protection today, switch to ETP Strict or use Private Browsing and layer on uBlock Origin and containers. Tor Browser remains the gold standard for hostile fingerprinting, but this is still a solid, welcome step from Firefox.
Nice to see Firefox actually doing the work here, this is the kind of privacy-first move we need. Blocking weird fingerprinting vectors like fonts, cores, touch points and subtle GPU/math quirks is exactly where browsers should be spending their energy, and cutting trackability “by half” would be a big deal if the numbers hold up.
That said, I am annoyed Mozilla is still gatekeeping this behind Private Browsing and ETP Strict. If it truly improves everyone’s privacy with acceptable site compatibility, flip the switch by default. Also, show the data and methods openly and invite independent audits, because these headline numbers need context. Fingers crossed this pushes other browsers to stop pretending fingerprinting is fine so long as cookies are gone. If you care, enable Strict or use private sessions until they make this the default.
Enable strict? What exactly does this mean?
