Firefox disables loophole that allows sites to track users via battery status

Search company cuts access to feature, called battery status API, which allows websites to request information about the capacity of a visitor's device

Mozilla Firefox is dropping a feature that lets websites see how much battery life a visitor has left, following research showing that it could be used to track browsers.

The feature, called the battery status API, allows websites to request information about the capacity of a visitor's device, such as whether or not it's plugged in and charging, how long it will last until it is empty, and the percentage of charge remaining.