This post is part of a series on personal cybersecurity, following my previous posts on encrypting everything and protecting online accounts.
In this post, I will discuss the best extensions for increasing your online privacy in 2023. The two main issues addressed are:
- Preventing websites from tracking your browsing activity
- Preventing ad networks from collecting your data and targeting you with ads
While the tools mentioned here can help with these issues, it’s important to note that some websites depend on ads to generate revenue. Consider customizing the extensions for your favorite sites to continue supporting them financially.
Best Extensions for Desktop Browsers Based on Chromium or Firefox
The most popular browsers, Chrome and Edge, are built on the Chromium framework and support the same set of extensions. Firefox, while not based on Chromium, also supports the extensions mentioned here.
- To stop websites from tracking you, I recommend Privacy Badger. This extension uses AI to identify and block tracking sites, but it does not block ads.
- For blocking ads, use an ad blocker like uBlock Origin, a free and open-source extension that is optimized for CPU and memory efficiency.
Best Extensions for Safari
Apple’s browser, Safari, is not based on Chromium and does not support the extensions mentioned above, especially on iOS and iPadOS. Instead, use 1Blocker. It’s a powerful and effective tool, although not free or open-source. Additionally, disabling app tracking in the iOS or iPadOS settings menu can further improve privacy.
Conclusion
I hope this post helps you improve your online privacy. Remember, no tool can fully protect your information if you share it publicly. Be careful about what information you allow others to see online, starting with your social media profiles.
