EFF has brought its free Privacy Badger tracker blocker to Safari on macOS, giving users another way to stop websites from collecting their browsing data. The extension requires Safari 26.5 or later and is available through the App Store. EFF says more than 4 million people already use Privacy Badger, with Safari support among the features users have most frequently requested for years.
The Safari version targets a gap EFF identifies in the browser’s default protections: Safari restricts what information trackers can obtain while still permitting them to load. Privacy Badger instead stops those trackers from loading, which EFF says helps counter tracking methods that get around Safari’s protections. EFF credits improvements to Safari’s support for extensions with making the launch possible.
Embedded content is one target, including video players and widgets displaying tweets or comments. EFF says these elements can pass along user data without anyone interacting with them. Privacy Badger substitutes placeholders for tracking widgets, allowing users to activate the content with a click instead of having it load automatically.
EFF says the extension can operate alongside an ad blocker and can also complement Safari’s Advanced settings for blocking trackers across all windows. Privacy Badger learns automatically which trackers to block, a capability EFF says catches trackers other tools either miss or deliberately allow.
Privacy Badger also transmits Global Privacy Control (GPC), a signal asking websites to refrain from selling or sharing a user’s personal information. EFF says that signal carries legal force in several states, including New Jersey and California.
Users can turn Privacy Badger off for an individual website if blocking trackers interferes with its operation, while leaving protection active elsewhere. The extension’s popup includes a “Report broken site” button for reporting those problems. EFF also accepts problem reports through GitHub or by email at [email protected].
This is EFF’s first Safari release, and the organization says user feedback will guide further improvements. Support for Safari on iOS remains a separate prospect: EFF says it will investigate that after addressing any problems with the macOS version.
