Do you want complete privacy? Don't let servers know even where you come from! Block referrers being sent to them simply and easily.

Every time you click on a link or submit a form, some headers are sent to the server in a GET or POST request. Every time you do that though, your browser sends some extra headers. One of them is the referrer - the address of the page where you clicked on that link (or submitted the form).

Why would you like to block the referrer? Well, everyone has his own personal reasons, better privacy being one of them.

There are more than one ways to block the referrer field though, easiest one though is by using the Web Developer toolbar for Firefox.

You can install it from: https://addons.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?id=60

Restart the browser (close and reopen) then you should see a bar on top of the page.


Among other useful functions you can find, there is also the option of blocking referrers from the first button (on the left).

Just switch select Disable Referrers from that menu and you're done!

Keep in mind though that by blocking the referrer field being sent to server may have some disadvantages though. It WILL trigger Leech Protection if it is enabled, preventing you from viewing some pages or only images/video depending on how it is configured on the server.

For more informations about Leech Protection check out this article: http://bubble.ro/Leech_HotLink_Protection.html

As a conclusion, having the option of blocking the referrers can be a very useful thing in some circumstances, but I'd advice you only to use it when you REALLY need to in order for you to view websites without many avoidable headaches.