Mozilla's New Add-On Isolates Facebook In Container Tab To Protect Users

Mozilla, the company that recently called out Facebook's current default data settings, has just released an extension that addresses the platform's potential privacy issues. Called the Facebook Container Extension, this new offering stuffs Facebook into its own container tab whenever the social network is accessed, helping ensure the user's data isn't tracked.

Mozilla has focused heavily on privacy-related products in recent months, launching things like its Firefox Focus mobile browser. The company previously launched Multi-Account Containers, an extension for using multiple IDs or accounts at the same time in a single browser. The Facebook Container Extension builds upon that, but is focused specifically on the social network.

Facebook Container Extension, once installed in the user's Firefox browser, makes it harder for Facebook to use cookies to track what they do on other sites. Upon installing the extension, Facebook Container will delete any existing Facebook cookies and then long the user out of their account. That user then logs back in, at which time the tab will show up with a blue color to indicate its container status.

Within that tab, the user is able to use Facebook like usual, including clicking links to other sites. Any link that takes the user to a non-Facebook destination will open in a different tab outside of the container. "This makes it harder for Facebook to track your activity on other websites via third-party cookies," Mozilla explains.

There is some minor inconvenience associated with the tab, namely that external like and share buttons on other sites may not work. That is intended to prevent the social network from associating activity data with the Facebook user.

SOURCE: Mozilla