Mozilla is removing Do Not Track from Firefox in version 135, the first major browser to add and now remove it, saying few websites honor the privacy preference
Will Chrome, Edge, and Other Privacy-Focused Browsers follow this move? — Mozilla is removing the Do Not Track (DNT) setting from the Firefox browser.
Context & Ripple Effects
Do Not Track was already losing browser support as Microsoft moved away from enabling it by default in future browsers. Mozilla’s decision closes the loop for a preference signal whose usefulness depended on voluntary website compliance.
Firefox has increasingly emphasized protections it can apply itself, from blocking web trackers by default to stripping certain tracker parameters from URLs. Removing DNT clarifies that direction: browser-enforced controls are more dependable than a request sites can ignore.
First-order effects
- Firefox 135 users lose the Do Not Track setting and the browser will no longer send that privacy preference to websites.
- Sites that still recognized DNT lose a Firefox-originated signal, though Mozilla’s stated low adoption means the immediate practical effect should be limited.
Second-order effects
- Firefox’s privacy tooling becomes more concentrated in controls the browser can enforce directly, rather than in voluntary signals to publishers and ad-tech operators.
- Chrome, Edge, and other browsers can treat Firefox’s removal as further evidence that DNT does not deliver interoperable privacy protection, while retaining or revisiting their own settings independently.
Third-order effects
- The move reinforces a web-privacy model in which meaningful defaults are implemented in browsers or backed by enforceable rules, rather than delegated to site-by-site promises.
- If browser privacy features continue to be judged by measurable enforcement rather than declarations, legacy preference mechanisms will face pressure to evolve into controls with clearer technical or policy consequences.
The trend: Browser privacy is shifting from voluntary opt-out signals toward protections that browsers can apply directly and consistently.