Install an automatic consent pop-up filler on Firefox
Some browser add-ons help you to automatically fill out consent pop-ups while you browse the internet. In this guide, you’ll learn how to install one such add-on and how to configure it according to your preferences.
Depending on where in the world you are visiting from, websites may seek consent as one way to justify their collection of data about you. This has become general practice across the web, and the typical way to ask for user consent is via banners that pop up first thing when the webpage loads. Often these banners will make use of design elements and user interfaces aiming to mislead or influence you in giving away consent to collect and process your data - these are called Dark Patterns and are a well documented degenerate practice.
Consent-O-Matic is a browser add-on that allows you to set your desired privacy preferences in advance (e.g. Reject all non-essential cookies), and fills in cookie consent banners automatically for you according to those preferences. This way you avoid having to navigate dark patterns and manually parse and fill consent forms.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to install Consent-O-Matic on Firefox.
Note: There are likely other add-ons or apps available and you can test alternatives. At PI we believe add-ons/apps should be open source as they can be audited. By using an independent, open-source and unencumbered/free add-on/app, you are more likely to avoid products with conflicts of interest, spyware, data-leakage, or blockers with “acceptable ads” programs. Here we show the set-up and settings of one such add-on/app that we’ve used at PI; others are likely similar with varying levels of configurability.
Installation
Like any other add-on, install Consent-O-Matic by visiting the Mozilla Firefox Add-ons page and clicking Add to Firefox (Fig. 1) and then clicking on Add when prompted (Fig. 2).
Upon successful installation a notification appears on the top-right corner, and the Consent-O-Matic icon is added to your toolbar (Fig. 3). When you visit a website that requires your consent for tracking, Consent-O-Matic automatically fills the form according to your privacy preferences. If you wish to disable the add-on for the current website you are browsing, you can do so by clicking the add-on icon and then unticking the option under Keep running on this site? (Fig. 4).
By default, Consent-O-Matic sets your privacy preferences to not consent to any tracking. If you wish to change this, you can do so by toggling the appropriate category(s) in the settings page.
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