In general, privacy within the software that we use on a daily basis is important, but this is something that is especially evident when we refer to web browsers. Precisely for all this, sometimes users rule out certain solutions of this type, as could happen now with firefox.
There are several titles that could be considered benchmarks in this software sector, starting with Google Chromegoing by Edge, and ending Firefox. It is precisely this last option that we want to talk about below. And it is that from what is being known now, all those users who download the aforementioned mozilla web browser from their official website, they get a unique identifier. This is attached to the installer itself that sends us the signature when installing and running it for the first time.
As you can imagine, this is a movement that most may not like. Specifically, and to give you an idea, this token named dltoken used by Mozilla, it really serves to link downloads to installs and first runs of Firefox. It is important to know that it is unique for each installer of the program. This means that the information is sent to the company each time it is used.
It is true that it is possible to download new installers every time a new version of Firefox is released. Of course, we can also reuse that same installer downloaded at the beginning, for that purpose. All this has been known thanks to a report on the official Mozilla website. the same confirm the use of the download token that we mentioned. Although the document is not public, the list itself confirms its use and offers an explanation of the reason for its implementation.
Why Firefox embeds an identifier
From the point of view of the company itself, it argues the use of this token to obtain certain information from the program. Specifically, they confirm that these data will allow them to relate telemetry IDs to download tokens in addition to the Google Analytics IDs. In addition, they add that this element allows them to track what installations result from certain downloads and know exactly what installations are made on a daily basis, for example.
In short, Mozilla uses this identifier to analyze the download and installation trends of its program, among other things. We must bear in mind that this integrated element exists in all Firefox channels. It is very possible that from this moment many users prefer to download the program’s installer without unexpected additions that could be used for espionage. Therefore, those who prefer to download the browser without the unique identifier can do so in two ways.
First of all, they can make use of the installer from the Mozilla HTTPS repositorywhat used to be done via FTP. At the same time they can be connected to certain third party download pages that have this installer. Of course, we must be careful with our choice in this case and always use totally reliable and trustworthy websites. In fact, as of this moment, these may be the best choices before using Firefox.