The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today announced that its free browser extension Privacy Badger has passed 1 million users. This figure accounts for the three platforms the tool is available for: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera.
Privacy Badger was first released as an alpha version in May 2014. Its main purpose is to block ads and third-party trackers that do not respect the Do Not Track setting in a user’s browser.
Not blocking these scripts means they can follow you around the web and spy on your browsing habits. The EFF explains how Privacy Badger handles this security and privacy issue:
Third-party tracking — that is, when advertisers and websites track your browsing activity across the web without your knowledge, control, or consent — is an alarmingly widespread practice in online advertising. Privacy Badger spots…