Privacy Badger
Privacy Badger is a free browser extension created by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) that automatically learns to block invisible third-party trackers. Using algorithmic detection rather than manual blocklists, it identifies and blocks advertisers and other domains that track you across websites without your consent. Designed for everyday users who want strong privacy protection without complex configuration, it is a set-it-and-forget-it solution backed by a leading digital rights nonprofit.
Key Features
- Automatic tracker detection — Algorithmically identifies and blocks third-party domains that track you across multiple websites, without relying on manually curated blocklists
- Global Privacy Control (GPC) — Sends the GPC signal to opt you out of data sharing and selling, giving legally enforceable privacy rights under CCPA and similar laws
- Do Not Track enforcement — Sends the Do Not Track header and learns to block any tracker that ignores it
- Click-to-activate widget replacements — Replaces social media widgets (video embeds, comment boxes, share buttons) with placeholders that only activate when you click them
- Outgoing link click tracking removal — Strips click-tracking parameters from links on Facebook and Google, preventing off-site activity monitoring
- Cookie blocking — Blocks tracking cookies from privacy-violating domains, with a graduated yellowlist system that allows non-tracking cookies through to avoid breaking websites
- Fingerprinting protection — Detects and blocks browser fingerprinting attempts where trackers try to uniquely identify you by your browser configuration
- Visual privacy controls — Colour-coded sliders (red, yellow, green) let you see exactly which domains are tracking you and control whether each is blocked, restricted, or allowed
Why Use Privacy Badger?
Privacy Badger provides automatic, adaptive protection against the vast tracking networks that monitor your browsing across the web. Unlike traditional ad blockers that depend on manually curated blocklists, Privacy Badger learns and adapts as it observes tracking behaviour, enabling it to catch new and obscure trackers that haven’t been catalogued yet. It is developed by the EFF, a trusted nonprofit digital rights organisation, so you can be confident it works for users — not advertisers or data brokers. It also sends the Global Privacy Control signal, granting you legally enforceable opt-out rights under privacy laws like CCPA and GDPR.
Use Cases
- Everyday browsing privacy — Automatically blocks hidden trackers across all websites you visit, making daily browsing more private with zero configuration
- Research and journalism — Prevent tracking networks from profiling your reading habits and identifying your sources
- Social media widget control — Replace Facebook Like buttons, Twitter embeds, and similar widgets with placeholders so they cannot track you unless you explicitly activate them
- Comprehensive privacy stack — Complements ad blockers and VPNs by adding algorithmic tracker blocking that catches what manual blocklists might miss
Platform
Chrome · Firefox · Firefox for Android · Edge · Opera · Brave
Licence
GNU General Public License v3.0 or later (GPLv3+)