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Try using the uMatrix browser plugin for fine grained control of what external scripts/frames/etc a website may request. I'm using it (along with uBlock Origin

by OMGWTF 10y ago

Try using the uMatrix browser plugin for fine grained control of what external scripts/frames/etc a website may request. I'm using it (along with uBlock Origin, EFF Privacy Badger and custom Tampermonkey scripts), and while I like the sense of control, I also think it's obvious that fine grained control for such details or further details like battery status is not what most users want or even could handle. Sometimes it becomes really annoying and I give up on figuring out what minimal set of features a site needs, and I open it in an incognito tab where only uBlock Origin is active.

TeMPOraL 10y ago
I run uMatrix too and I agree it gets annoying at times (and it gives you first-hand insight into how rotten the web industry is). That said, pretty much all the stuff from your comment upthread are things 99% of websites have no business accessing. So an uMatrix-like (default-deny) control for permissions should work well IMO, with only occasional cases when you need to whitelist something. I'm also thinking about another kind of plugin - one that simply monitors access to browser API calls required to get information like resolution, mouse pointer position, battery level, etc. and that would display you only the "spying level" of a site as an icon. Like the padlock icon, changing colors from green to yellow to red or something, and that would expand when clicked to show something like this: Spying level: MODERATE. This website has accessed following information about your system: - screen resolution - 256 requests - mouse pointer position - 8192 requests - location - 42 requests - battery level - 16 requests [CLICK] to send an e-mail to webmaster (webmaster@example.com) asking for information about how they're using your data. I'm not sure if current plugin infrastructure has enough power to hook JS APIs like that though.

by OMGWTF 10y ago

TeMPOraL 10y ago

I run uMatrix too and I agree it gets annoying at times (and it gives you first-hand insight into how rotten the web industry is). That said, pretty much all the stuff from your comment upthread are things 99% of websites have no business accessing. So an uMatrix-like (default-deny) control for permissions should work well IMO, with only occasional cases when you need to whitelist something. I'm also thinking about another kind of plugin - one that simply monitors access to browser API calls required to get information like resolution, mouse pointer position, battery level, etc. and that would display you only the "spying level" of a site as an icon. Like the padlock icon, changing colors from green to yellow to red or something, and that would expand when clicked to show something like this: Spying level: MODERATE. This website has accessed following information about your system: - screen resolution - 256 requests - mouse pointer position - 8192 requests - location - 42 requests - battery level - 16 requests [CLICK] to send an e-mail to webmaster (webmaster@example.com) asking for information about how they're using your data. I'm not sure if current plugin infrastructure has enough power to hook JS APIs like that though.