{"id":62546,"date":"2019-06-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/foxtail\/2019\/06\/04\/when-it-comes-to-privacy-default-settings-matter\/"},"modified":"2019-06-04T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-04T00:00:00","slug":"when-it-comes-to-privacy-default-settings-matter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/when-it-comes-to-privacy-default-settings-matter\/","title":{"rendered":"When it comes to privacy, default settings matter!"},"content":{"rendered":"

What if I told you that on nearly every single website you visit, data about you was transmitted to dozens or even hundreds of companies, all so that the website could earn an additional $0.00008 per ad! This is a key finding from a new study<\/a> on behaviorally targeted advertisements from Carnegie Mellon University and it should be a wake-up call to all of us. The status quo of pervasive data collection in service of ad targeting is untenable. That is why we\u2019re announcing some key changes to Firefox.<\/p>\n

Today marks an important milestone in the history of Firefox and the web. As of today, for new users who download and install Firefox for the first time, Enhanced Tracking Protection will automatically be set on by default<\/i><\/b><\/a>, protecting our users from the pervasive tracking and collection of personal data by ad networks and tech companies.<\/p>\n

It seems that each week a new tech company decides to decree that privacy is a human right. They tout how their products provide people with \u201cchoices\u201d to change the settings if they wish to opt into a greater level of privacy protection to exemplify how they are putting privacy first. That begs the question — do people really want more complex settings to understand and fiddle with or do they simply want products that respect their privacy and align with their expectations to begin with?<\/p>\n

Privacy shouldn\u2019t be relegated to optional settings<\/b><\/h2>\n

When thinking about consumer privacy online, I\u2019m reminded of the behavioral economics studies<\/a> which led to 401K plans (US retirement savings plans) moving from voluntary enrollment to auto-enrollment. Not too long ago most defined contribution retirement savings plans in the US required employees to sign-up and volunteer to start participating. Participation rates were very low. Why was that? Was it because people didn\u2019t care about saving for retirement? Not at all! There were simply too many barriers to aligning with people\u2019s expectations and desires and the benefits of saving for retirement aren\u2019t felt immediately.<\/p>\n

We are in a similar position with respect to software privacy settings. Pervasive tracking is too opaque and potential privacy harms are never felt immediately. The general argument from tech companies is that consumers can always decide to dive into their browser settings and modify the defaults. The reality is that most people will never do that. Yet, we know that people are broadly opposed<\/a> to the status quo of pervasive cross-site tracking and data collection, particularly when they learn the details on how tracking actually works.<\/p>\n

We also know that traditional privacy features such as Chrome\u2019s Incognito mode<\/a> are failing to live up to consumer expectations. The feature might keep your spouse from knowing what you\u2019re thinking about getting them for your anniversary by erasing your history, but it does not prevent third-party tracking. Our research shows that Firefox users are seeking out privacy protection, particularly through the use of Firefox\u2019s Private Browsing mode. In fact, nearly 25% of web page loads in Firefox take place in a Private Browsing window. The good news for these users is that Firefox\u2019s Private Browsing mode has long put users first by blocking tracking. The bad news is that this generally isn\u2019t true for many popular browsers, which allow tracking even in private browsing\/incognito mode. A recent study<\/a> found that users don\u2019t understand this and think their data is being protected, when it is actually not.<\/p>\n

As was the case with retirement savings plans, what this shows us is that the burden needs to shift from the consumers to the companies whereby the complexity of privacy settings shouldn\u2019t be placed on users to figure out. The product defaults should simply align with consumer expectations. That is the approach we are taking in Firefox.<\/p>\n