August 10, 2025
3 min read
Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) in Mozilla Firefox provides a set of privacy safeguards that block or limit third-party tracking, while also protecting users from malicious web scripts. The main findings are as follows:
Blocking of Social Media Trackers:
ETP restricts scripts from platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, which are commonly used for cross-site profiling (Libert, 2015). This directly limits the creation of user profiles outside these platforms.
Prevention of Cross-Site Tracking Cookies:
ETP blocks cookies set by known trackers, interrupting identification chains across sites.
“Blocking third-party cookies by default is one of the most effective techniques for preventing cross-site tracking.”
— Englehardt & Narayanan (2016).
Fingerprinting Protection:
ETP blocks browser fingerprinting, which uses device and browser attributes to uniquely identify users. Fingerprinting can identify up to 80% of users (Eckersley, 2010).
“Browser-based anti-fingerprinting tools… can reduce uniqueness by as much as half.”
— Eckersley (2010)
Blocking Cryptominers and Harmful Scripts:
ETP prevents cryptomining scripts running in-browser that drain resources and compromise performance (Hong et al., 2018). Blocking these scripts reduces infection risk and improves device longevity.
Interference with Tracking Content:
Ads, videos, and embedded widgets often contain tracking elements. ETP blocks these, resulting in faster page loads and reduced data usage (Lerner et al., 2016).
Summary Table: Main Effects of ETP
| Feature | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Social Media Tracker Blocking | Reduced profile aggregation |
| Cross-Site Cookie Blocking | Decreased cross-site identification |
| Fingerprinting Mitigation | Lowered uniqueness, improved anonymity |
| Cryptominer/Script Blocking | Improved device security and performance |
| Tracking Content Blocking | Faster browsing, less data use |
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