Privacy Badger

Privacy Badger is a browser extension that stops advertisers and other third-party trackers from secretly tracking where you go and what pages you look at on the web. If an advertiser seems to be tracking you across multiple websites without your permission, Privacy Badger automatically blocks that advertiser from loading any more content in your browser.

Privacy Badger differs from traditional ad-blocking extensions in two key ways. First, while most other blocking extensions prioritize blocking ads, Privacy Badger doesn’t block ads unless they happen to be tracking you. Second, most other blockers rely on a human-curated list of domains or URLs to block. Privacy Badger is an algorithmic tracker blocker - we define what 'tracking' looks like, and then Privacy Badger blocks or restricts domains that it observes tracking in the wild.

Privacy Badger was created by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit organization that protects your privacy and free expression online.

When you view a webpage, that page will often be made up of content from many different sources. Privacy Badger keeps track of all of this. If the same source seems to be tracking across different websites, then Privacy Badger springs into action, telling the browser not to load any more content from that source. And when your browser stops loading content from a source, that source can no longer track you.

Privacy Badger requires these permissions to do its job of automatically detecting and blocking trackers on all websites you visit. We are not ironically (or unironically) spying on you. Privacy Badger will never share data about your browsing unless you choose to share it (by filing a broken site report).

Social media widgets (such as the Facebook Like button) often track your reading habits. Even if you don’t click them, the social media companies often see exactly which pages you’re seeing the widget on. When blocking social buttons and other potentially useful (video, audio, comments) widgets, Privacy Badger can replace them with click-to-activate placeholders. You will not be tracked by these replacements unless you explicitly choose to click them.

Global Privacy Control (GPC) is a new specification that allows users to tell companies they’d like to opt out of having their data shared or sold. By default, Privacy Badger sends the GPC signal to every company you interact with alongside the Do Not Track (DNT) signal.

Privacy Badger can detect canvas-based fingerprinting, and will block third party domains that use it. Detection of other forms of fingerprinting and protections against first-party fingerprinting are ongoing projects. Of course, once a domain is blocked by Privacy Badger, it will no longer be able to fingerprint you.