INTERVIEW – The Internet browser has a new private browsing mode, intercepting ad targeting. Interview with Mark Mayo, vice president of the Mozilla Foundation in charge of Firefox.
The next version of the Firefox browser, developed by the Mozilla Foundation, was released on November 3. It prevents including websites to track its visitors, with a new private browsing mode. This function is no longer content to delete history, cookies and the list of downloads. It also prevents the loading on webpages modules that used by advertising agencies to trace the visits by social networks or to track online behavior (such as a button “like” Facebook). One way to stand out from Google Chrome, but a choice criticized by site publishers, who fear losing part of their income.
LE FIGARO. – The new version of Firefox includes an overhaul of the private browsing, which now prevents the sites to track their visitors. Why this choice?
MARK MAYO. – There was a real demand from our users in this direction. Internet browsers are something unique: they have an intermediary between content providers and users. Everyone does not understand what load a Web page may require. But tracking is an important subject, which already worried some of our users. This new feature addresses this concern, the simplest and most educational manner possible. It can be used for lots of different reasons: for example, a husband may use this new private browsing to buy a gift to his wife, and be sure that the gift does not appear on other sites that could then visit!
This innovation comes full debate blockers pub, which are allowed in the latest version of iOS. Did you fail a bit late?
I think instead that it is the right time. The adoption of a tool is a sign that it’s time to put it. We are working on this feature for over 18 months. It was a complex job: block tracking can result in a change in the appearance of some websites. Our challenge was to create an experience that is both useful and enjoyable for our users. We had already launched a Firefox extension, Lightbeam, which allowed better visualize what site you track online. This is a new stage. The ideal would be to offer this feature on the classic Internet browser, not only in private browsing, but it will take more time.
Do you understand the criticism of advertisements blockers by content creators, who fear for their income?
I am an optimist. The Web has always evolved, he will do it again. This is not the first time a Web browser blocks of content: eg Firefox freezes for years the pop-up window. We just felt it was something that was affecting the user experience. On the Internet, it is always the users who have the last word.
In the US, the Firefox home page can now display the tabs sponsored by business partners. Do you think you can make an important source of income now that your contract with Google ended?
We hope to make money, obviously, but it does is not the case currently. It is an experiment if we can make something interesting and useful to our users, this will eventually become a real source of income. Google is no longer our trading partner, but we signed other contracts, particularly with Yahoo! in the US, Baidu in China and Yandex in Russia.
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