How to Block Tracking Cookies With Firefox Focus
iOS / Android: If you’re most interested in data privacy, try Firefox Focus for iOS or Android . This privacy-focused mobile browser gives you significant control over the data your browsing sessions share with the websites you visit. Best of all, most of its anti-tracking features are enabled by default:
Mozilla recently updated its mobile browser to version 8.0.5, which provides Android users with more options as part of its Enhanced Tracking Protection. This feature allows users to specify which cookies they would like to block in their browsing sessions. Plus, Android users can whitelist any sites they want.
(If you don’t see the options we’re going to highlight, you may still be using an older version of Firefox Focus for Android. Consider subscribing to the beta version of the app, which will allow you to upgrade to 8.0.5.)
By default, Enhanced Tracking Protection does not block cookies. To change this setting to “third-party cookies only,” “third-party tracking cookies,” or something else, you need to visit the Firefox Focus “Privacy and Security” screen. You get this by clicking the three-dot icon in the upper right corner of your browser, clicking Settings and clicking Privacy & Security.
To whitelist sites, you first need to open the website in Firefox Focus. Then tap the three-dot icon again and deactivate the Tracker Locked toggle by tapping on it. Back in the Privacy & Security screen, you can view (and edit) any sites that you whitelisted using the new Exclusions setting.
You can turn tracking on and off in a similar way in iOS – just look for the large shield icon next to the website URL in your browser – but you can’t get specific information about blocking cookies. This is for Android users only (for now).
IOS users can activate Search Suggestions, a feature that Firefox Focus Android users have been using since October. However, in doing so, you pass the information you enter into the search bar to whatever search engine you use. If you are not satisfied with this, continue to use Firefox Focus as usual – this setting is disabled by default.