We built the extension that blocks ads, trackers and third-party cookies | Hacker News Reader

We built the extension that blocks ads, trackers and third-party cookies

ultrablock.org

12 pointsdotcoma23 comments

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I'll ask the question that I'm sure many are thinking but I don't see answered on the page:

Why choose this extension over uBlock Origin, which has years of trust built?

Does Ublock also block trackers ?

I use Privacy Badger alongside Ublock.

It blocks anything you want based on your settings. Yes, also trackers.

Will look into it, thanks.

uBlock > Settings > Filter Lists > Privacy >

Thanks.

It has been the consensus of the privacy community for quite a few years now not to use Privacy Badger. As few exentions as possible to cover everything is the current view. Arkenfox lists extension features that aren't covered by FireFox inbuilt or uBlock Origin: https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/wiki/4.1-Extensions

Interesting. Thanks.

Hi, PB dev here. Privacy Badger does not replace uBlock Origin, and uBlock Origin does not replace Privacy Badger. While one of them may well be enough for you, the two work well together. Our FAQ goes into what makes Privacy Badger different here[1] and here[2].

[1] https://privacybadger.org/#How-is-Privacy-Badger-different-f...

[2] https://privacybadger.org/#Is-Privacy-Badger-compatible-with...

Thanks, even though I can't install PB on my current browser anyway.

I use Iridium, and they are still based, om OSX, on Chromium 116.0.

Ah! We had to bump minimum Chrome version to 121 because of some stuff related to the Manifest V3 migration. Hopefully Iridium will update their browser soon; doesn't seem secure to run on old Chromium.

> Types of data that we store

> When you use our extension: date, time, your IP address, a unique hash for rate limiting, hostname to query our API and get the number of trackers we detected in the website you are visiting

Cool

Between this and ads I'm not sure what's worse.

Since it’s not an open-source project, what’s the business model here? There already are comprehensive public blocklists. Why the need to repeat the work? Also in the stats page, it’s seems like the extension reports back every URL visited to facilitate this.

Maybe add a comparison between popular adblockers to help people switch.

The most significant feature of uBlockOrigin, aside from being open source, is the trust that gorhill has earned over the years. He could have been acquired and probably made millions, but he hasn't, because he knows how important what he does has become. There's no replacing that with some closed-source, fly-by-night, probable money grab like this.

Not open source, no thanks

Is there any blocker that block fingerprint.com hosted in a subdomain?

Is there any adblocker that blocks yt ads?

In the past, ublock origin worked for yt. Though if they add in-stream ads it probably will fail.

No mention of YouTube afaict?

“This add-on is not actively monitored for security by Mozilla. Make sure you trust it before installing.”

This is ridiculous.

Why do you think it is ridiculous? I don't think the comment adds much without the rationale.

- Not open-source.

- Does not run locally.

- Sends some kind of tracking data to its servers.

It may be a good tool to have your pages load faster. It's a questionable tool if you want enhanced privacy.

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