Removes Privacy Badger from Browser Extensions

[ltguillaume]

Type

Removal

Changes

Removes Privacy Badger

• Enabling it makes you easily detected, defeating the use for additional privacy
• It doesn't use heuristics by default anymore, meaning static lists from uBlock0 will basically already do whatever this extension strives to do

Supporting Material

https://codeberg.org/librewolf/issues/issues/2045#issuecomment-2304633
https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/wiki/4.1-Extensions#-dont-bother

Affiliation

None

Checklist

• I have read the Contributing guide, and confirmed my PR aligns with the requirements
• I have performed a self-review (valid Markdown formatting, spelling, and grammar)
• I have indicated whether I have any affiliation with any software / services added
• I agree to follow the repositories Contributor Covenant Code of Conduct

[lissy93]

This one is less clear cut. Everything you've mentioned is correct.

Enabling it makes you easily detected, defeating the use for additional privacy

Yes, it makes you easily fingerprintable, but only so far as any other extension or request-blocking method would. The issue of privacy badger specifically making you detectable (this one) should be mitigated now that they've disabled the local learning part.

It doesn't use heuristics by default anymore, meaning static lists from uBlock0 will basically already do whatever this extension strives to do

Yes, uBO already covers Privacy Badger's core functionality (plus a lot more).

But they're different usecases, privacy badger only blocks trackers, and not necessarily all ads (I know uBO can be configured to do that too). Some people legitimately want ads (!).

And for any post-Manifest V3 Chromium users, uBO is gone / severely reduced. Whereas privacy badger still works (for now)

It also has a few small features which differ from uBO: link tracking unwrapping, click-to-activate widgets (to show a placeholder instead of embedded content, which user needs to click in order to then fetch and render), surrogate cookie blocking, etc.

Something else Privacy Badger does really well is just it's ease of use for casual users. Nothing to configure, and "just works" out the box, even on a lot of managed/locked down work systems.

I'd probably lean towards keeping Privacy Badger, but instead updating the description to make the drawbacks clearer. It's a different methodology, usecase and target audience to uBO, and probably does have it's place in some situations.

[ltguillaume]

I'd probably lean towards keeping Privacy Badger, but instead updating the description to make the drawbacks clearer. It's a different methodology, usecase and target audience to uBO, and probably does have it's place in some situations.

All right, makes sense!