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Comment by mmooss | Hacker News Reader

Based on the parent, all the collected data preserves privacy:

> Firefox also shows its own search suggestions based on information stored on your local device

That data stays on your computer ...

> Mozilla processes [...] how many searches you perform, how many sponsored suggestions you see and whether you interact with them.

That description contains no user content: number of searches, number of ads, whether you interact says nothing about you - it doesn't say what you click on or see, just that you clicked.

> position, size, views and clicks on New Tab content or ads

Again, there is no content mentioned, just number of clicks and not what you click on.

> [Definitions]

This section defines terms; it doesn't say they are doing anything.

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I wish this was more obvious that they don't identify what the 'clicked' New Tab content is. And for Search it could be stored local information and be tracked for suggestions. I wish they clarified the things you clarified instead of failing to mention them.

I think that's a great point. I think organizations are careful not to interpret carefully worded legal prose, to avoid undermining the legal position. But that limits understanding of these things to lawyers who can interpret the legal prose.

How do they decide which sponsored ad to show you?

Usually it's the sponsor who decides. Because, for example, it's pointless to show Walmart ads in North Korea. (I'm not a mz insider)

On your device: "Interests: Candles, Wooden Sculptures, Underwater Basket Weaving"

Advertiser: "Show this to users who like Candles."

Mozilla: "OK"

That's pretty standard and can be used to track people on the advertiser's side still, depending on how the ad itself is served and how clicks on the ad are processed.

Does Firefox download information about every ad that advertisers have paid for, and then match against local data to decide which ad to serve?

If not, when it queries to find out which ads to serve, what data does is sent with that query (or prior to that query)?

Firefox has done a lot of work on these problems. I don't have it in front of me, but they described in detail what they do.

I'm sure the internet police's thorough investigation into themselves has shown they are doing nothing wrong.

I don't know what that's based on or means, but they do have the mission of protecting privacy and this would be a core contribution to that:

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/advertising/

I haven't been able to find any documentation of this, other than "we acquired Anonym, which claims to send the data to trusted execution environments".

They've been working on it since long before Anonym. First three links from my search:

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/advertising/

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/foundation/annualreport/2024/a...

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/advertising/principles/

It's a great question, and that is the tech Mozilla / Firefox have been working on and using for years.

Advertising is, unfortunately, necessary to funding most of the web, and targeting is necessary to advertising. As a result, users are surveiled and tracked heavily.

But imagine if the targeting could be done without surveillance and tracking - then users could largely use the web in private. It would be revolutionary. That's what Firefox has figured out and is investing more in:

https://www.adexchanger.com/privacy/mozilla-acquires-anonym-...

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