Firefox to show sponsored ads based on users' browsing habits

Mozilla has announced that its internet browser Firefox will start showing sponsored ads based on users' browsing history, like Google.

As of next week, Firefox Beta users would start seeing ''Suggested'' tiles when they opened a new tab.

Currently, opening a new tab in Firefox shows up a screen with tiles from sites user previously visited. Some of those tiles would now be ads based on users' browsing history. For example, if one had been searching for a new camera, one of the tabs might lead the user to the website of a camera store.

It was not the first time Mozilla had brought ads to Firefox, in 2014, Directory Tiles, that are randomly selected ads that would appear in a newly installed version of Firefox were introduced.

However, these ''Suggested'' tiles are different as the programme would be looking at user's history. It meant Mozilla was now treading the line between advocating privacy and bringing in revenue.

While Mozilla, a nonprofit corporation had promised it would not collect users' data to sell to third parties, many people rightly remain concerned.

Mozilla's advocacy of internet privacy was what led many of its current users to Firefox over other browsers such as Google's Chrome.

The company promised beta testers would see tiles promoting Firefox for Android, Firefox Marketplace, and other Mozilla causes, but did not offer a full list of tiles for when the feature would come to Firefox's stable channel ''later in the summer.''

Suggested Tiles could promote Mozilla content (such as campaigns on policy issues), publisher content, or advertising. Relevance of the content to the user would be based on a number of URLs related to a given category.

When one of those URLs appeared in users' list of most frequently visited sites, Mozilla showed the content.

Suggested Tiles fall under Mozilla's Directory Tiles programme, which is designed to ''improve the first-time-with-Firefox experience,'' the company said. Instead of seeing blank tiles when a new Firefox user opens a new tab, Mozilla thought it would be best that they see ''content.''

Directory Tiles, which are basically sponsored content, were Mozilla's first initiative to bring advertising to Firefox users.

Suggested Tiles go a step further since they are based on what sites users had visited.

The tiles also only show up a fixed number of times before they are removed automatically, Mozilla said, without disclosing the number.