Enhanced Tracking Protection in Firefox for desktop

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  • Revision id: 218171
  • Created:
  • Creator: Fabi
  • Comment: How to tell what’s being blocked on a site and Strict Mode sections edited/information about breakages hidden
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: heyjoni
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: Yes
  • Readied for localization:
  • Readied for localization by: heyjoni
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Enhanced Tracking Protection in Firefox automatically protects your privacy while you browse. It blocks trackers that follow you around online to collect information about your browsing habits and interests. It also includes protections against harmful scripts, such as malware that drains your battery. For more information, see SmartBlock for Enhanced Tracking Protection.

Protections Dashboard

To see what’s been blocked on all sites over the past week, visit your Protections Dashboard. Click the menu button menu button retina and select Protections Dashboard or type about:protections into the address bar. This will open the Protections Dashboard page in a new tab.

To see what’s being blocked on individual pages, click the shield shield detected 70 to the left of the address bar.

What Enhanced Tracking Protection blocks

Firefox uses a list of known trackers provided by Disconnect. By default, Firefox blocks the following types of trackers and scripts.

  • Social media trackers
  • Cross-site tracking cookies
  • Fingerprinters
  • Cryptominers
  • Tracking content in Private Windows only. These trackers are hidden in ads, videos, and other in-page content. To add this protection in all windows, visit your privacy preferences and select Strict or Custom as explained below.

To learn more about trackers and scripts blocked by Firefox, see the article Trackers and scripts Firefox blocks in Enhanced Tracking Protection and SmartBlock for Enhanced Tracking Protection.

How to tell when Firefox is protecting you

The shield to the left of the address bar tells if you if Firefox is blocking trackers and scripts on a site.

ETP shield 70
  • shield detected 70 - Purple: Firefox blocked trackers and harmful scripts on a site. Open the shield to see what was blocked.
  • shield no trackers - Gray: No known trackers or harmful scripts were detected on a site.
  • crossed gray 70 etp - Gray and crossed out: Enhanced Tracking Protection is turned off on a site. Open the shield and toggle the switch to turn it back on.

How to tell what’s being blocked on a site

Click on the shield to see what Firefox has blocked.

Fx86EnhancedTrackingProtectionPanel

This panel will display different information depending on the site you’re on.

  • Blocked: Firefox blocked these trackers and scripts. Select each one to see a detailed list.
  • Allowed: These trackers and scripts loaded on the page. This happens because some websites may require loading trackers and scripts to function proprerly. Firefox allows only those trackers and scripts needed for the site to work and blocks the rest. For more information, visit SmartBlock for Enhanced Tracking Protection.
  • None Detected: Firefox looked for these trackers and scripts, but did not find them on this site.
  • Select Protection Settings to adjust your global privacy settings.
  • Select Protections Dashboard to view a personalized summary of your protections over the past week, including tools to take control of your online security.

Adjust your global Enhanced Tracking Protection settings

When you download Firefox, all protections included in Standard Enhanced Tracking Protection are already enabled.

To view or change your Enhanced Tracking Protection settings for all sites, click the shield shield detected 70 to the left of the address bar on any webpage and select Protection Settings. This will open the Firefox Settings Privacy & Security panel in a new tab.

Fx78settingsEnhancedTrackingProtection
Tip: These settings are also available from the Firefox menu:
Click the menu button menu button retina, click Settings , and select Privacy & Security.

Standard Enhanced Tracking Protection

By default, Firefox blocks the following on all sites.

  • Social media trackers
  • Cross-site tracking cookies
  • Tracking content in Private Windows only.
  • Cryptominers
  • Fingerprinters

Strict Enhanced Tracking Protection

To further increase privacy, select Strict Enhanced Tracking Protection. This will block the following:

  • Social media trackers
  • Cross-site tracking cookiesCross-site cookies
  • Tracking content in all windows
  • Cryptominers
  • Fingerprinters

Strict protection includes Total Cookie Protection. This gives every website its own "cookie jar", which prevents third-party trackers from collecting browsing data across multiple websites.

  1. Click on the shield shield detected 70 to the left of the address bar on any webpage.
  2. Click on Protection Settings.
    The Firefox Settings Privacy & Security panel will open.
  3. Under Enhanced Tracking Protection, select Strict.
  4. Select the reload all tabs retina button to apply your new privacy settings.

Custom Enhanced Tracking Protection

Want to block some trackers and scripts, but not others? Use Custom Enhanced Tracking Protection.

  1. Click on the shield shield detected 70 to the left of the address bar on any webpage.
  2. Click on Protection Settings.
    The Firefox Settings Privacy & Security panel will open.
  3. Under Enhanced Tracking Protection, select Custom.
  4. Choose which trackers and scripts to block by selecting those checkboxes.
  5. Select the reload all tabs retina button to apply your new privacy settings.

You can also turn off all protections in Custom, by deselecting all checkboxes. This allows all trackers and scripts to load and effectively disables these features:

  1. Deselect the Trackers checkbox.
  2. Deselect the Cookies checkbox.
  3. Deselect the Cryptominers checkbox.
  4. Deselect the Fingerprinters checkbox.
  5. Select the reload all tabs retina button to apply your new privacy settings.