Slashdot Mirror


Ads Based On Browsing History Are Coming To All Firefox Users

An anonymous reader writes: Mozilla has announced plans to launch a feature called "Suggested Tiles," which will provide sponsored recommendations to visit certain websites when other websites show up in the user's new tab page. The tiles will begin to show up for beta channel users next week, and the company is asking for feedback. For testing purposes, users will only see Suggested Tiles "promoting Firefox for Android, Firefox Marketplace, and other Mozilla causes." It's not yet known what websites will show up on the tiles when the feature launches later this summer. The company says, "With Suggested Tiles, we want to show the world that it is possible to do relevant advertising and content recommendations while still respecting users’ privacy and giving them control over their data."

13 of 531 comments (clear)

  1. bye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    good bye Firefox. last nail in the coffin. I wanted to like it. I did. I still dislike Chrome's UI and the fact Google owns it.

    Crap maybe I'll switch to Opera it's actually really really nice now as a UI.

    1. Re: bye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but in this case I have to ask, is there a clandestine effort underway to utterly destroy Firefox, and maybe even Mozilla, from the inside?

      It's like every decision made over the past several years has been designed to alienate Firefox's remaining users, without bringing in any new users.

      I'm talking of the unwanted UI changes. Then there were the release frequency changes that broke extensions every release for a long time. Then there were more unwanted UI changes, cumulating in the despised Australis UI. Then there was the switch to Yahoo for searches. There were the grid advertisements. Then there was the mandatory HTTPS proposal. Now there's this nonsense. All of this is being done when there are still many bugs to fix, some of them existing for years.

      It's just one bad thing after another, even when Firefox users loudly object, and even with Firefox's ever-dropping share of the market.

      I'd like to just blame it on ineptitude or incompetence, but these decisions are unbelievable, even in those cases. I just can't get over how obviously terrible so many of these decisions have been.

    2. Re:bye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      a little harsh when all you need to do is change preference in about:config:

      browser.newtab.url to about:blank

      done and done. the whole 'smart' newtab page is gone for good. that is one of the very nice things about firefox....... configurability..

    3. Re: bye by QuietLagoon · · Score: 5, Insightful

      ...Just look at some of the self-entitled and abusive comments here on Slashdot....

      Those comments started out as constructive criticism. However, Mozilla pressed on with their determination to ignore and alienate users.

      .
      Now Mozilla is getting the criticism they have earned.

      Mozilla/Firefox has a problem. A big one. The first step in solving a problem is to identify its cause and not, as you attempt, to blame others for Mozilla's self-inflicted problems.

  2. This is the last fucking straw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Why? Why do you rape us with this kind of shit? Is fucking with the UI (making the goddamn options menu a ugly mess of a webpage) and adding DRM codecs not enough?

    Jesus christ on a stick. You can't find a way to suicide your market share faster.

    1. Re:This is the last fucking straw by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's not an answer. Why the fuck would anyone bend over backwards to make Firefox usable when they can just download a different browser?

      I'm with OP. Mozilla apparently has a death wish and doesn't give a shit about how they treat their users, so fuck 'em.

  3. How about ... by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "With Suggested Tiles, we want to show the world that it is possible to do relevant advertising and content recommendations while still respecting users' privacy and giving them control over their data."

    How about no? How about some of us don't want advertising? How about you better give a mechanism to disable this crap?

    What part of "not interested in your damned ads" is hard to understand?

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  4. Respecting Privacy??? by Luthair · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How is taking our browser history to serve ads respecting our privacy?

    A search suggests they made $311 million in 2012, how much money is actually required to run Mozilla?

  5. Delete history and cookies by houghi · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I delete all history and cookies and cache each time I log out. Although I like the technical aspect of tracing me and showing advertisement, as a consumer and user I detest it.

    I detest it more than I like it. Or like Banksy says:
    People are taking the piss out of you everyday. They butt into your life, take a cheap shot at you and then disappear. They leer at you from tall buildings and make you feel small. They make flippant comments from buses that imply youâ(TM)re not sexy enough and that all the fun is happening somewhere else. They are on TV making your girlfriend feel inadequate. They have access to the most sophisticated technology the world has ever seen and they bully you with it. They are The Advertisers and they are laughing at you.

    You, however, are forbidden to touch them. Trademarks, intellectual property rights and copyright law mean advertisers can say what they like wherever they like with total impunity.

    Fuck that. Any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. Itâ(TM)s yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. You can do whatever you like with it. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.

    You owe the companies nothing. Less than nothing, you especially donâ(TM)t owe them any courtesy. They owe you. They have re-arranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked for your permission, donâ(TM)t even start asking for theirs.

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  6. how far weve come. by nimbius · · Score: 5, Funny

    Mozilla 1998: we want the internet to remain a free and open forum and in this spirit align our software to freedom and the user. the users choice and voice will be come top priority in our products, and we will write the mozilla 10 point manifesto to ensure we always take this into account.
    Mozilla 2015: We want the internet to make payments on our car loans and help achieve the goal of replacing all 4 tires on the bentley twice a year. We believe, legitimately believe, that users want tiles to show them advertisements. we think they like having a video chat app in their browser and we want to make sure corporations understand what is possible when targeted advertising and a morally bankrupt moneytrain brand come together to abuse their users trust and appreciation. We are completely deaf to the fact that adblock and noscript exist and are extremely popular plugins for our hobbled shitwreck advertising platform masquerading as a browser. Hail satan.

    --
    Good people go to bed earlier.
  7. Re:Easily defeated.... by JMJimmy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I keep 0 history. Soon as my browser closes, history is wiped. So if this simply looks at my history and serves me adds based on it, then hypothetically this would not work on my system.

    Of course if they look at other things (or FF stores info in some hidden super cookie) then I will be subject to adverts like everybody else.

    Are you sure about that? https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/s...

    It's been broken for some time. Install SQLite Manager addon to see what data is still lurking.

  8. Re:Firefox becomes Netscape by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    False dichotomy.

    Why can't I throw a total shitfit AND uncheck the option from the menu?

  9. Re:Ok, but the real question is... by Barny · · Score: 5, Funny

    Then you didn't read. These tiles show up when you click 'new tab'.

    You will get a set of tiles that include your most viewed porn, porn you might like and sponsored porn that they hope you will be into.

    You can stop these porn tiles from appearing by simply telling it you want classic new tab, not enhanced porn edition.

    Of course this doesn't stop Mozilla from compiling a detailed list of your porn.

    --
    ...
    /me sighs