With similar features already built in to Safari, IE8, and Google Chrome, the Mozilla gang is once again looking to add private browsing to Firefox.
While the Stealther addon can already provide this functionality, FIrefox is looking to implement it in the 3.1 release before year's end.
The goal will be to store as much data from private browsing sessions as possible in memory to avoid writing to the hard drive. Information that users save explicitly - bookmarks, for example - will still be written to the disk. Subtlty appears to be a goal as well, since IE's Inprivate mode notification "is fail," according to developer Mike Connor. I'll assume he's not a fan of Chrome's tiny Spy Guy either.
Why add the feature? There are a number of reasons given at the wiki, including planning a surprise party, viewing porn, or cheating on your spouse. I believe I see a pattern forming. Others - like me - probably just want the assurance of being able to browse without leaving traces of activity on a local machine.
Specifics about Mozilla's goals for private browsing can be viewed at the wiki.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Firefox 3.1 To Add Private Browsing?
