Mozilla Create Firefox Extension That Prevents Facebook From Tracking You

By now it's no secret that Facebook is keeping a load of data about us all, so much so that it potentially knows a lot more about us than we do.

It's a terrifying thought, that there's a database somewhere that has access to all the cringey statuses from 2009, and that it knows exactly how obsessed you were with your crush from high school.

Perhaps not that many of us were too bothered about the all-seeing eye of Mark Zuckerberg before the recent data breach was uncovered, but in the cold light of Cambridge Analytica, increasingly large amounts of people are delving into the backend of their Facebook accounts to find out just how much of their lives are stored on the social media platform.

Gaining access to this information - which includes almost everything that an advertiser might want to know about you - is surprisingly simple.

Credit: Facebook

You'll need to be in your Facebook account, of course, and then you can go to the Settings tab and click on the 'Download a copy of your Facebook data' option. From that, you will be given the option of 'Start My Archive', which will organise everything that Facebook knows about you into one easily downloadable package.

As we've said, it's a terrifying thought, but one that will hopefully be rectified.

Mozilla is attempting to do that by offering a new browser extension called the "Facebook Container".

The extension will simply isolate activity on social media, making it harder to be tracked. So, should you perhaps search for cat food online, or talk about flesh eating slug repellents over a few drinks, you needn't worry about those searches being logged, or your microphone picking it up, resulting in a load of ads being pushed your way.

Credit: Firefox

Mozilla wrote in a blog post: "The pages you visit on the web can say a lot about you. They can infer where you live, the hobbies you have, and your political persuasion.

"There's enormous value in tying this data to your social profile, and Facebook has a network of trackers on various websites.

"This code tracks you invisibly and it is often impossible to determine when this data is being shared."

Considering changing your browser? That might no be a bad idea. At least it's not Internet Explorer, eh?

Jess Hardiman

Jess is a journalist at LADbible who graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics - indecisiveness at its finest, right there. She also works for FOODbible and its sister page Seitanists, which are both a safe haven for her to channel a love for homemade pasta, fennel and everything else in between. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

@Jess_Hardiman