Let's say Firefox recognizes within the browser client, without any browsing history leaving my computer, that I'm interested in gadgets, comedy films, hockey and cooking. As I browse around the Web, I could choose when to share those interests with specific websites for a personalized experience. Those websites could then prioritize articles on the latest gadgets and make hockey scores more visible. Destinations like the Firefox Marketplace could recommend recipe and movie apps, even if it's my first time visiting that site.

Great idea, which is why it will never leave the birth canal.

The idea is still in the experimentation phase, but Mozilla has run the ideas past Internet users, publishers, brands, advertising technology companies, developers, and privacy advocates. "The responses so far suggest that the ecosystem would welcome better intent and interest signals combined with active user participation," Anderson said.