Browsers and privacy, part 2

As an update on web browsers and privacy, Mozilla Firefox is also working towards a privacy mode:

"Privacy seems to be the magic word in the browsers world these days. Surfing without leaving any trace seems to be the ultimate offer for any browser out there. Internet Explorer has it, Google Chrome offers it and now it seems like the next version of Firefox, Firefox 3.1, will add it as well.

Since the release of Google Chrome, every browser maker has entered in an emergency mode and it seems like Mozilla is paying attention to what is happening with the competition.

According to note from Mozilla Wiki, the next version of Firefox will offer a Private Mode. In fact, the feature was intended to be released in the version 3.0, but it was dropped to keep the browser on schedule.

Mike Connor, Firefox lead develop, has a pretty good description on how the Private feature will look like.

“Ensure that users can't be tracked when doing "private" things. There should be a clear line drawn between your "public" and "private" browsing sessions. It is acceptable to let things touch magnetic storage, as long as the cleanup mechanism is robust enough to clean up,” he wrote in a note.

”Non-goal for 3.1: Separate process sharing (some) data. When we get process-per-tab we can make it more IE-like, but doing this also means that we have to have something like their "hey, you're in private browsing mode" banner on the URL bar for all the world to see. Which, to me, is fail” Connor also wrote."