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Do Not Track Plus (Firefox add-on) - Restore your online privacy - Mini-Review

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IainB:
Basic Info

App NameDo Not Track Plus (DNT+) by Abine.App URLMozilla add-onsApp Version ReviewedFreeware Firefox add-on version 2.0.6 (as at 2012-02-17)Test System SpecsHere is a comparison table of features between different versions of Firefox privacy management tools/add-ons (e.g., including Ghostery):


Note: Detailed features and a concise 2-minute guided tour video are here.
Supported OSesCurrent versions of the Firefox browser.Support Methods
* FAQ
* Blog
* Support
* Online ChatUpgrade PolicyAutomatic free upgrades to newer versions of the add-on. (Other paid-for tools also available.)Trial Version Available?This is an uncrippled FREE/trial version.
Pricing Scheme(Not applicable.)

SCREENSHOT OF APP INTERFACE:
(No screenshot - not necessary.) The 2-minute guided tour video explains it very concisely.

Note: There is a green DNT+ icon (button) in the top RHS corner of the browser menu bar.

Introduction:
A Firefox add-on for enhanced privacy management.
EDIT: 2012-02-18 1410hrs
DNT+ is not an ad-blocker. It blocks personal data tracking cookies that are used to track your online activity on the Internet.
(It is thus similar to the Firefox Ghostery add-on.)

--- End quote ---

Overview:
This is a privacy improvement/management tool and seems to be quite sophisticated.
It replaces "Do not track me" cookies in place of cookies set in your browser.
(For example, similar to, but not as flexible as, what you could do with the now defunct JunkBuster proxy's "cookie jar", some years back.)

Who this app is designed for:
Anybody who is concerned about the remorseless invasion of privacy by marketing data companie, who collect tracking data about  your personal activity on the web, and sell it to advertisers for targeted advertising - e.g., Google, Facebook, double-click, etc.

The Good:
An excellent add-on.
Seems to perform its job very well. It runs unobtrusively and has no perceptible performance overhead impacting the browser.    :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:

The needs improvement section:
I have not observed that anything needs improvement. No annoyances.
(Automatic updates will cope cope with changes to Firefox, improvements and bug-fixes.)

Why I think you should use this product:
If you are concerned about the remorseless invasion of privacy by marketing data companies, who collect tracking data about your personal activity on the web, then you need this add-on and will be able to put it to good use.

How it compares to similar apps:
My experience is that it overlaps with some of the functionality of the now-defunct JunkBuster, and may supersede the (very good) Firefox Ghostery add-on.
Like Ghostery, DNT+ also provides information about the tracking that you are being exposed to and that is being blocked.

Conclusions:
Superb. AAA+ rating.   :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup: :Thmbsup:
Does what it says it does, and very well.
I found it worthwhile reading the other users' reviews of this add-on on the Mozilla site.
EDIT: 2012-02-18 0026hrs
Google Circumvents Safari Privacy Protections - This is Why We Need Do Not Track
A signal weakness of the DNT+ approach would seem to be that it relies on trust, and that trust has apparently already been breached by Google in the case of the Safari browser's DNT approach.

--- End quote ---

nosh:
Looks very interesting... just installed it. Thanks for the review.

For anyone wondering if it's an AdBlock Plus replacement... it isn't.

An excerpt from the author's comment on the Mozilla site.
 
2. incidental ad-blocking. DNT+ is not designed to be an ad-blocker. we FULLY SUPPORT contextual advertising and the ability of web site owners to make money from it. Any ad-blocking we do is incidental and is a byproduct of the configuration of the ad-network and javascript they use. There are ways to advertise online without behavioral targeting and profiling. If you see a large amount of ads being blocked, let us know and we'll investigate.
--- End quote ---

IainB:
As an edit, I have just posted this into the review:
EDIT: 2012-02-18 0026hrs
Google Circumvents Safari Privacy Protections - This is Why We Need Do Not Track
A signal weakness of the DNT+ approach would seem to be that it relies on trust, and that trust has apparently already been breached by Google in the case of the Safari browser's DNT approach.
--- End quote ---

joiwind:
I'm using DNT+ on Iron since a few days and comparing the results with Ghostery - for the moment I prefer DNT+ as it provides more user information, however the database is a bit smaller than the Ghostery one but this will no doubt change soon.

 :up: :up: :up:

cranioscopical:
Thanks for taking the trouble to do this, IainB  :Thmbsup:

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