My questions are:

  • Does the DuckDuckGo Firefox extension “Privacy Essentials” add a local css file to every visited site?
  • Can others reproduce this?
  • Is this harmfull or not?

Background:

I have a simple static one page site with just one html and css file. It’s completely tracker free. Debugging it a bit with developer mode (F12) on I discovered a second css file. This file isnt on my webserver but added local. To pinpoint what caused this I removed every add-on / extension in my browser one by one, reloading and checking my website every time. Took me a while because didnt expect this one causing it.

To reproduce:

  • Install the extension from the link.
  • Open a random site
  • Check in developer mode the tab Style editor.
  • Scroll and look for a file named %3Ais(%5Bid*%3D’google_ads_iframe’%5D%.css or something like that.
  • Remove the extension and refresh.
  • Check if the file disappears.

Content of the css file: :is([id*=‘google_ads_iframe’], [id*=‘taboola-’], .taboolaHeight, .taboola-placeholder, #credential_picker_container, #credentials-picker-container, #credential_picker_iframe, [id*=‘google-one-tap-iframe’], #google-one-tap-popup-container, .google-one-tap-modal-div, #amp_floatingAdDiv, #ez-content-blocker-container) { display:none!important; min-height:0!important; height:0!important; }

Edit 25-03-2024: Changed title to not give the wrong impression. See comments below.

  • Gamma
    link
    fedilink
    English
    108 months ago

    So you didn’t even try to understand the css, did you?

    • Joël de BruijnOP
      link
      fedilink
      278 months ago

      No I did try and since you’re interested in my learning curve versus my personal effort: Since two weeks I learned css for the first time, hobby related and just about to start knowing about flexbox css grid float div and styling them.

      • Gamma
        link
        fedilink
        English
        198 months ago

        Sorry for being so harsh, that’s totally fair!

      • swayevenly
        link
        fedilink
        English
        6
        edit-2
        8 months ago

        Good luck. W3Schools is a great place to learn beginner stuff and for quick refreshers.

        • T (they/she)
          link
          fedilink
          48 months ago

          I hate W3Schools and Geeksforgeeks, I have them blocked on my search lol

          MDN all the way

          • Lemongrab
            link
            58 months ago

            What is wrong with them? I have found the useful and there examples help me to learn more about context. I am not saying anything about MDN, it may just be superior, but I’ve rarely referenced it.

          • @catloaf@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            English
            48 months ago

            W3Schools used to be terrible, but it’s gotten better. MDN is still great, but it’s very much a pure technical reference, not great learning material.