Mozilla brings its cookie protection tool to Firefox for Android

How many times have you experienced this scenario? You go shopping online for a new shirt, speaker or other item. You click on the same one a few times and then decide against it. Suddenly every website you visit has an ad featuring that item, imploring you to reconsider. In an effort to create greater privacy online, Mozilla is now rolling out Total Cookie Protection (TCP) as the default setting on the Firefox app for Android after initially making it available for Firefox users on Windows, Mac, and Linux. 

So, what does TCP do? TCP ensures that your cookies aren’t being shared across sites. Typically, third-party cookies collect information about you from across the internet to build your virtual identity. Data brokers then sell your information to businesses that will provide you with targeted ads.

Instead, with TCP, the cookies you create while browsing only belong to the site you’re on. This feature limits companies from learning any information you enter or behavior you exhibit anywhere else on the internet. So, a store may know you looked for a blue laptop case in their online shop, but they won’t know you also searched for size 11 shoes in another one. 

As part of today’s Android update, Mozilla says it’s also promoting its Firefox Relay protection to become a dedicated part of the app. Relay, which initially launched as an addon and provides users with email and phone number masks for online signups, comes with a limited free tier but requires a subscription to get the most from the service.

How many times have you experienced this scenario? You go shopping online for a new shirt, speaker or other item. You click on the same one a few times and then decide against it. Suddenly every website you visit has an ad featuring that item, imploring you to reconsider. In an effort to create greater privacy online, Mozilla is now rolling out Total Cookie Protection (TCP) as the default setting on the Firefox app for Android after initially making it available for Firefox users on Windows, Mac, and Linux. 

So, what does TCP do? TCP ensures that your cookies aren’t being shared across sites. Typically, third-party cookies collect information about you from across the internet to build your virtual identity. Data brokers then sell your information to businesses that will provide you with targeted ads.

Instead, with TCP, the cookies you create while browsing only belong to the site you’re on. This feature limits companies from learning any information you enter or behavior you exhibit anywhere else on the internet. So, a store may know you looked for a blue laptop case in their online shop, but they won’t know you also searched for size 11 shoes in another one. 

As part of today’s Android update, Mozilla says it’s also promoting its Firefox Relay protection to become a dedicated part of the app. Relay, which initially launched as an addon and provides users with email and phone number masks for online signups, comes with a limited free tier but requires a subscription to get the most from the service.