Safari will soon better protect your privacy online. New changes prevent websites from uniquely identifying your browser, and restrict tracking scripts from sites like Facebook from running without your explicit consent.

You won’t even notice the fingerprinting protection, but it it’s there to make tracking you more difficult. Websites will see simplified system configuration information and only the standard macOS system fonts. Safari doesn’t support legacy browser plug-ins anymore, either.

Some trackers on websites use all this information in an attempt to uniquely identify your browser, letting them track you and serve personalized ads across multiple websites. This type of fingerprinting works even if you clear your cookies. Safari’s new restrictions will make it much more difficult for websites to uniquely identify your Mac.

Safari will also prevent tracking buttons—for example, from Facebook—from loading on websites until you explicitly click them. If you want to use Facebook features on a website, you’ll get a prompt asking if you want Facebook.com to access your cookies and website data. If you don’t allow that access, Facebook won’t be able to track your browsing activities online—even if you’re signed into Facebook while browsing.

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Profile Photo for Chris Hoffman Chris Hoffman
Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He's written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York TimesĀ and Reader's Digest, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami's NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read nearly one billion times---and that's just here at How-To Geek.
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