Privacybadger: Add uBlock Origin to the FAQ

[cowlicks]

Recommended in a support email.

Add here.

[davidhedlund]

Yes, I've email this a couple of times.

It should be described because:
1) uBlock Origin is the second most popular add-on on addons.mozilla.org.
2) uBlock Origin is a WebExtension.

[gorhill]

I fail to see how uBlock Origin matches any of the rationale detailed in there:

could function well without any settings, knowledge, or configuration by the user

uBO's out of the box settings are pro-users, its default settings are that of an install-and-forget blocker for non-tech-savvy users.

produced by an organization that is unambiguously working for its users rather than for advertisers

uBO is completely pro-users, never compromised for advertisers, quite the opposite. Yes, I am not an "organization", but that should be irrelevant, the track record speaks for itself if my words are not good enough.

In our testing, all of them required some custom configuration to block non-consensual trackers

Turns out uBO has been picked as performing best with regard to trackers by Stiftung Warentest -- including against Privacy Badger: surely the opinion of a pro-consumers organization must be worth _something_, if only to not be lumped together with ABP, Ghostery et al.

Several of these extensions have business models that we weren't entirely comfortable with

There is no business model behind uBO.

By adding uBO to that list, it would wrongly associate uBO with any of the listed reasons.

Consider that Privacy Badger itself has imported code from uBO, so surely it shows there is a shared pro-users motivation between uBO and Privacy Badger, at least enough that uBO should not be just carelessly branded as any of the other blockers you list in that page.

[ghostwords]

Hi @gorhill! I agree; while uBlock Origin is indeed very popular, it is also in a class of its own. We shouldn't just add it to that paragraph and call it a day.

There are good reasons for both Privacy Badger and uBlock Origin to exist; I routinely recommend uBlock Origin to Privacy Badger users. It's not at all clear what updates we should make to Privacy Badger's homepage though.

[gorhill]

@ghostwords Thanks for the support.

I am just baffled by the suggestion of uBO being lumped with those other blockers (hence my reaction here) as if the substance and driving principles of the project are completely unimportant.

[alanton]

@gorhill

There is no question that we would lump you in with AdBlock Plus et al. Everyone at EFF holds you and uBO in the highest regard, and we know that it is a project that serves _users_ not private commercial purposes.

I think @cowlicks was just indicating that we should add something about uBO to the FAQ because we regularly get asked about other extensions, possible conflicts etc., so any reference to uBO will be as a recommendation not a warning.

[cladmi]

I ended up here because of the same concern. I am a long time uBlock origin user (using advanced settings), learned about Privacy Badger and was wondering if it would make sense to use both or use PB in replacement of uBO.

The FAQ only mention the other extensions and never uBlock Origin. So I agree that it will not go into the same section, but a reference would be appreciated there.
I was expecting to showing me what PB could give me different.
Its hard to do fair comparative description but if @gorhill is included in the discussion, it should be possible to get something nice.

Maybe the issue title is misleading in that case and I could migrate to another issue or if @cowlicks you are on the same page and want to change the title.

[ghostwords]

The closest answer we have to your question @cladmi is currently on this repository's wiki under "Is Privacy Badger compatible with other privacy extensions and/or ad blockers?". (I plan on moving the answers on the wiki to the website.)

1675 is related to your question.

[ghostwords]

Perhaps something like the following?

uBlock Origin is an excellent privacy tool. uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger should work well together.

uBlock Origin protects using lists, while Privacy Badger protects by automatically learning about trackers as you browse, which means Privacy Badger might catch things that uBlock Origin doesn't know about.

Privacy Badger will learn about far fewer trackers when used together with uBlock Origin, but that's OK.

[davidhedlund]

@ghostwords Go for it.

[cladmi]

@ghostwords Thank you for the links.
Your proposition looks good to me.

[ghostwords]

Documented as part of https://www.eff.org/privacybadger#faq-Is-Privacy-Badger-compatible-with-other-extensions,-including-other-adblockers?.