NEW YORK — The Firefox and Google Chrome browsers are getting tools to help users block advertisers from collecting information about them.
Alex Fowler, a technology and privacy officer for Firefox maker Mozilla, said the “Do Not Track” tool will be the first in a series of steps designed to guard privacy. He didn’t say when the tool will be available.
Google Chrome users can now download a browser plug-in that blocks advertisers — but only from ad networks that already let people decline personalized, targeted ads. According to Google Inc., these include the top 15 advertising networks, as rated by the research group comScore, a group that includes AOL Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Google.
The next version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser, still being developed, will include a similar feature, though people will have to create or find their own lists of sites they want to block.
Google product managers Sean Harvey and Rajas Moonka said the new Chrome tool will allow for more permanent ad blocking.
