Firefox 65 gives users more power to control ad trackers

Mozilla’s fresh update to its browser software majorly includes new user controls for setting the desired level of anti-ad tracking by the browser.

Firefox’s revamped privacy interface with simpler controls includes three options when it comes to trackers embedded within websites. The Standard, Strict and Custom options offer various levels of choice and severity. The Standard option, as the name suggests, blocks known trackers only in private windows. Strict mode lets the browser block all trackers that it detects.

With the third option, Custom, Mozilla allows users to define tracker and cookie blocking in detail. For example, the option can be used to restrict access to third-party trackers or to block cookies from non-visited sites. This “Content Blocking” feature is only a preview of Mozilla’s most ambitious project, called “Enhanced Tracking Protection”, which also aims to block cross-site tracking.

Firefox 65’s other prominent addition is to the Task Manager page which will now report on memory and energy usage for each tab and add-on. It then offers a quick way for users to close a gluttonous tab or disable a misbehaving extension.

Among other listed improvements are a better pop-up blocker, improved performance, and a menu to easily switch between the interface languages. Multilingual users can now easily set alternatives, right from within the Firefox web browser, eliminating the need to download interface packs or re-install Firefox using a different language version manually.

Firefox 65 updates in the background, requiring users to only relaunch the browser to get the latest version.