Block trackers and fingerprinting the easy way

You do not need ten extensions to browse privately. In fact, piling on tools often makes you easier to fingerprint and harder to maintain. This guide sets up a small, durable configuration: one strong content blocker, your browser’s built-in protections, and a couple of settings. Together they stop the large majority of tracking with almost nothing to manage afterwards.

Start with one content blocker: uBlock Origin

The single most effective addition is uBlock Origin, a free, open-source content blocker that stops ads, trackers, and many malicious scripts from loading at all. It is efficient, does not sell data, and needs no configuration for most people: install it, and its default filter lists do the work.

• Firefox: install uBlock Origin from the official add-ons site. This is the recommended combination as of July 2026 because Firefox still supports the full, powerful version.
• Brave: Brave already blocks ads and trackers with its built-in Shields, so an extra blocker is usually unnecessary. If you want uBlock Origin as well, Brave supports the full version.

The Manifest V3 catch in Chrome

If you use Chrome (or another Chromium browser that follows Google’s rules), there is an important limitation. Google has moved all extensions to a new framework called Manifest V3, which replaced the flexible blocking system (the webRequest API) that uBlock Origin relied on with a more restricted one (declarativeNetRequest). As a result, the full uBlock Origin no longer works in Chrome. Only uBlock Origin Lite, a reduced version, is available, and it cannot filter as thoroughly. Through 2026, Chrome has been closing the remaining workarounds that kept the full version alive. The practical takeaway: if effective blocking matters to you, use Firefox or Brave rather than Chrome.

Turn on your browser’s built-in tracker blocking

Your browser already ships defences that complement the content blocker. There is no harm in having both; they target overlapping but different things.

• Firefox: Settings, then Privacy & Security. Keep Enhanced Tracking Protection on (Standard is fine, Strict is stronger). This blocks known trackers and gives each site its own cookie jar so a tracker cannot recognise you across sites.
• Brave: leave Shields on (the default). It blocks trackers and cross-site cookies automatically.
• Safari: its Intelligent Tracking Prevention is on by default and blocks third-party tracking cookies with no setup.

Disable third-party cookies

Third-party cookies are the classic tool for following you between sites. Modern private browsers either block or isolate them by default, but it is worth confirming:

• Firefox: Total Cookie Protection isolates them automatically in Standard mode. Strict mode blocks known tracking cookies outright.
• Brave and Safari: block third-party tracking cookies by default.
• Chrome/Edge: open Settings and set cookies to block third-party cookies. This is the most important single toggle on these browsers.

Keep connections encrypted (HTTPS)

HTTPS is the encrypted version of the web that stops others on your network from reading or tampering with the pages you load. Every major browser now defaults to trying HTTPS first, so this is largely handled for you. If your browser offers an “HTTPS-only” or “always use secure connections” option (Firefox, Brave, Chrome, and Safari all have a form of it), turn it on so you are warned before any rare unencrypted page loads.

Resist fingerprinting (the right amount)

Fingerprinting measures your device’s quirks (screen size, fonts, graphics hardware) to identify you without cookies. This is the hardest tracking to stop, and here more tools do not help. The reliable approach is to let a purpose-built browser handle it:

• Brave adds small per-site randomness (“farbling”) to the values sites use to fingerprint you, so each site sees a different, non-matching result. This is on by default.
• Mullvad Browser and Tor Browser take the opposite approach: they make everyone look identical by standardising window sizes, fonts, and hardware details. This is the strongest defence.
• Firefox includes a fingerprinting-protection option you can enable in Privacy & Security, and Safari 26 blocks known fingerprinting scripts from reading detailed device data.

A word on limits: no browser makes you completely invisible. Fingerprinting protection reduces how unique and trackable you are, it does not erase you, and turning on aggressive settings can occasionally break a site. Pick the level that matches your needs rather than the most extreme one.

Why less is more

Each extension you add is itself a signal that can make your browser more distinctive, and every tool is one more thing to keep updated and trust. A clean setup of one content blocker plus your browser’s own protections covers the vast majority of tracking, stays easy to maintain, and does not turn you into a walking fingerprint. Resist the urge to stack more on top.

For choosing the browser underneath all this, see our private browser guide. For locking down mobile, see phones.