( Fast Company ) -- Following increased pressure from the FTC , Google and Mozilla are introducing opt-out features to their Chrome and Firefox browsers . Soon , users will have the option to stop personalized advertisements , ads tailored to your Web-surfing habits that have sparked significant privacy concerns . Will these new features allay privacy fears and FTC meddling ? Last month , the FTC 's Bureau of Consumer Protection proposed a `` Do Not Track '' tool to curb concerns over personalized or behavioral advertising . The FTC hoped the tool might be similar to the `` Do Not Call '' registry -- the system that deterred telemarketers from causing so many headaches -- but offered very few technical details . Such a comprehensive opt-out registry , as some have pointed out , would be difficult to implement . Unlike `` Do Not Call , '' which relies on unique telephone numbers , `` Do Not Track '' could not depend on similar identifiers , as IP addresses are constantly changing . Google and Mozilla have addressed some technical issues with their features , but are far from offering streamlined opt-out systems . On Chrome , the feature is available as an extension called Keep My Opt-Outs , which enables users to save opt-out preferences even once a browser 's cookies have been cleared . Before , when one 's history was erased , so too was any opt-out preference . With this extension , Google has made these particular cookies permanent ; however , users will still be required to opt-out of ad tracking themselves . Firefox 's `` Do Not Track '' feature has a gaping loophole . For the tool to work , ad tracking companies essentially must opt-in to the system , and agree not to monitor web-surfing habits of users who have chosen to opt-out . Thus far , according to the Wall Street Journal , no companies have openly agreed to participate in Firefox 's `` Do Not Track '' program , though Mozilla is urging advertisers to `` honor people 's choices . '' `` Mozilla recognizes the chicken and egg problem , '' Alexander Folower , Mozilla 's global privacy head , wrote in a blog post . And so wo n't many users , who are likely to realize both Google 's and Mozilla 's `` Do Not Track '' features are not comprehensive . It 's also important to note that these extensions are opt-out systems , rather than opt-in . Many consumer advocacy groups and government officials have pushed for the latter feature , which would mean behavioral advertising would no longer come default -- users would have to opt-in in order to see personalized ads . If Mozilla , Google , and other browser companies do n't address these concerns soon , they could face legislative mandates , as FTC chair Jon Leibowitz has threatened . And such legislation could be as annoying to them as , well , telemarketers and personalized ads are to us . Copyright © 2010 FastCompany.com , a unit of Mansueto Ventures , LLC . All rights reserved .
Soon users will have the option to stop personalized advertisements . FTC hopes the tool might be similar to the `` Do Not Call '' registry . Many users are unlikely realize the features are not comprehensive .