Mozilla is experimenting with including the Cliqz plug-in by default in its open source Firefox browser. Cliqz analyzes users’ browsing history and makes recommendations to news, weather and sports websites. That practices has some privacy advocates worried about the tests.
However, Mozilla insists that Cliqz enhances privacy rather than attacking it because the plug-in also includes anti-phishing and anti-tracking software and it anonymizes user data. “Users who receive a version of Firefox with Cliqz will have their browsing activity sent to Cliqz servers, including the URLs of pages they visit,” Mozilla explained. “Cliqz uses several techniques to attempt to remove sensitive information from this browsing data before it is sent from Firefox.”
Mozilla is an investor in the company that owns Cliqz.
