Do not track me Google for Firefox blocks Google link manipulations when clicking or copying

When you visit Google Search in the Firefox web browser and perform a search, the search results look similar to how they are displayed in Google’s Chrome browser. When you right-click on a link to copy it, you will notice a difference when comparing the content that is copied.

In Chrome, the destination URL is copied. In Firefox, an intermediary page is copied instead, which includes tracking data and is used by Google to track activity.

If you notice the behavior, you may have several questions about the difference. Why does Google treat Chrome and Firefox differently? What is the purpose of the intermediary page? How can Firefox be configured to copy the “real” link immediately?

Chrome supports the ping feature, also known as hyperlink auditing, and has enabled it by default for links. Firefox supports the feature, but it is not enabled in the browser. Tracking in Chrome uses the ping function, and since it is used, Google does not require the use of the intermediary page. Firefox doesn’t support it, and to track users, Google uses the middle page instead.

Firefox users can check the value of the browser.send_pings preference in about: config. False means that the ping function is disabled, True that it is enabled.

The Don’t track me Google Firefox add-on has been designed to prevent Google from replacing link destinations with intermediate pages in its properties. Once installed, the links can be copied or clicked so that the intermediate tracking page is not copied or loaded. The extension works automatically on the Google pages it supports. It works on the main Google site, but also on localized search domains.

Tip: Chrome users using Google Search cannot disable browser ping because there is no option to do so. Extensions like uBlock Origin support Ping blocking on sites.

Closing words

More and more time is required to configure browsers to protect against Internet tracking. Users who do not want to be tracked may want to avoid Google Chrome and Google properties, and use third-party alternatives instead that offer better protection against tracking.

For browsers, another Chromium-based browser, such as Vivaldi, or a non-Chromium-based browser, such as Firefox, may do the trick. For search, Startpage, Brave Search or DuckDuckGo are better options when it comes to crawling.

Now you: What browser and search engine do you use and why?

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