Re:Firefox may soon reject Cookie prompts automatically
by 1vuio0pswjnm7 on Tuesday April 18, 2023 @06:03PM
(#35620989)
"The irony that I have to click through one of the ultra-shitty agree/learn more cookie popups just to read this article."
According to this sentence the aim is to "just to read" the article. It does not mention anything about looking at images or being able to see a web developer's design choices.
Maybe it's implied that images are required to "read" the article, along with fonts and other graphical enhancements. Not sure.
But just for fun let's assume that the only requirement is to read the text of the article. There are already browsers that allow this and the user will see no cookie popups, and no permanent cookies will be set because the browser only supports "session" cookies. These browsers may not even automatically retrieve resources, e.g., they will not make automated HTTP requests for ad tracking purposes, telemetry, etc. To be clear, there is no point trying set cookies because the browser does not support them. Consequently there's no need for a cookie popup.
Below is exactly what this article looks like in the browser I have been using for over 20 years. I have not used a mouse on a personal (cf. work) computer in over 25 years. NB. Usually pages do not have "ADVERTISEMENT". This blog is obviously trying to cash in on traffic. Generally, pages all look more or less the same. This allows me to read stuff quickly. When I use this browser, I'm only interested in reading text, nothing else. Suits me well for reading HN submissions.
The point I wish to emphasize is that while the web developer's choices, in this case the blog author's, are one part of the problem, another part of the problem is the user's choice of web browser or other client. Choosing a popular graphical browser from amongst a select group that by default process cookies and run Javascript, e.g., Firefox, encourages web developers, blog authors, etc. to use cookie popups, include gratuitous images, insert advertisements, pointers to third party resources, telemetry and so on.
Firefox may soon reject Cookie prompts automatically
Martin Brinkmann
Apr 17, 2023
Updated o Apr 17, 2023
Firefox
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21
Mozilla is working on a new usability feature in its open source Firefox web browser that can automate interactions with so-called Cookie banners on websites.
ADVERTISEMENT
Most websites on the Internet display cookie banners to users. Certain regulations, like the GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation, by the European Union, require that sites get consent for placing cookies and data on user devices.
There are numerous different cookie dialogs that users get when they visit websites. From straightforward allow or decline prompts to prompts that provide a great deal of customization or dark patterns.
These cookie prompts can become annoying and at least some users click on the first button that is presented to them to get to the site's content.
Mozilla Firefox's new Cookie Banner Reduction feature attempts to make the prompts less annoying for users of the browser. The feature was launched in Nightly recently, and users need to enable it before it becomes active. Firefox users could use extensions, like Auto Cookie Optout, to deal with cookie prompts automatically.
Do the following to enable the feature:
1. Load about:preferences#privacy in the Firefox address bar.
2. Scroll down to Cookie Banner Reduction.
3. Check the Reduce Cookie Banners box to enable the feature.
According to this sentence the aim is to "just to read" the article. It does not mention anything about looking at images or being able to see a web developer's design choices.
Maybe it's implied that images are required to "read" the article, along with fonts and other graphical enhancements. Not sure.
But just for fun let's assume that the only requirement is to read the text of the article. There are already browsers that allow this and the user will see no cookie popups, and no permanent cookies will be set because the browser only supports "session" cookies. These browsers may not even automatically retrieve resources, e.g., they will not make automated HTTP requests for ad tracking purposes, telemetry, etc. To be clear, there is no point trying set cookies because the browser does not support them. Consequently there's no need for a cookie popup.
Below is exactly what this article looks like in the browser I have been using for over 20 years. I have not used a mouse on a personal (cf. work) computer in over 25 years. NB. Usually pages do not have "ADVERTISEMENT". This blog is obviously trying to cash in on traffic. Generally, pages all look more or less the same. This allows me to read stuff quickly. When I use this browser, I'm only interested in reading text, nothing else. Suits me well for reading HN submissions.
The point I wish to emphasize is that while the web developer's choices, in this case the blog author's, are one part of the problem, another part of the problem is the user's choice of web browser or other client. Choosing a popular graphical browser from amongst a select group that by default process cookies and run Javascript, e.g., Firefox, encourages web developers, blog authors, etc. to use cookie popups, include gratuitous images, insert advertisements, pointers to third party resources, telemetry and so on.
Mozilla is working on a new usability feature in its open source Firefox web browser that can automate interactions with so-called Cookie banners on websites.ADVERTISEMENT
Most websites on the Internet display cookie banners to users. Certain regulations, like the GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation, by the European Union, require that sites get consent for placing cookies and data on user devices.
There are numerous different cookie dialogs that users get when they visit websites. From straightforward allow or decline prompts to prompts that provide a great deal of customization or dark patterns.
These cookie prompts can become annoying and at least some users click on the first button that is presented to them to get to the site's content.
ADVERTISEMENT
firefox cookie banner reductionfirefox cookie banner reduction
Mozilla Firefox's new Cookie Banner Reduction feature attempts to make the prompts less annoying for users of the browser. The feature was launched in Nightly recently, and users need to enable it before it becomes active. Firefox users could use extensions, like Auto Cookie Optout, to deal with cookie prompts automatically.
Do the following to enable the feature:
[remainder of page omitted for brevity]