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Q&A

Covering Your Browser Tracks

Q. Do all web browsers have the anti-tracking feature? How do I turn it on in Firefox and does it actually work?

A. Most major web browsers — including Apple Safari for OS X and iOS, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Opera — support the Do Not Track technology. It is not an ad-blocking program, but the Do Not Track system sends opt-out requests to websites and advertising networks that collect information about your surfing travels to better serve targeted advertisements to you.

In Firefox for the desktop, go to the Menu button in the browser toolbar and select Options (called Preferences in the Mac version) and then click Privacy on the left side of the window. Under Tracking, turn on the checkbox next to “Request that sites not track you” to have the browser make Do Not Track requests.

The most recent version of Firefox includes a Tracking Protection feature that is enabled by default when you are using the Private Browsing mode to skip saving cookies, searches and visited sites in the browser’s history. Tracking Protection may interfere with the way some sites work, but you can turn it off temporarily by clicking the shield icon in the Firefox address bar. Firefox for Android also includes the Tracking Protection feature.

As to the effectiveness of Do Not Track, adherence is optional, although several sites have pledged to comply. Still, many companies ignore the requests and the Federal Communications Commission recently dismissed a petition from a consumer advocacy group that would have forced big sites like Facebook, Netflix, LinkedIn and Google to honor Do Not Track preferences.

Q. I am trying to use the Google Cardboard box to watch virtual reality videos on my iPhone 6, but I’m seeing double when I try to watch. What am I doing wrong?

A. If you have the iPhone in a bulky case, try removing the protective layer before putting the phone in the back of the viewer. Also, make sure the phone is centered in the viewing area.

You may also be seeing double if you have the screen-enlarging Display Zoom feature on the iPhone 6 enabled. To switch back to the standard display, open the Settings icon, select Display & Brightness and under Display View, switch to Standard from Zoomed.

TIP OF THE WEEK Just as a traditional X-ray lets you see inside something, Amazon’s X-Ray feature gives you more information about the book or video you are viewing. Kindle books that support X-Ray can display lists of people or topics — and where they appear throughout the text — which can be helpful for sorting out long novels with a large cast of characters.

To use X-Ray on a Kindle title in progress, tap the screen to open the reading toolbar and then tap the X-Ray button to see the list of popular people and terms, and how they appear in the book. Background information from Wikipedia and other sources may also be available. Recent Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets and reading apps support Amazon X-Ray, although not every Kindle book works with the feature.

On Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets and Nintendo Wii U game consoles, if you see an X-Ray icon on the detail page for a movie or show on the TV screen, you can use X-Ray to get biographical information on actors and other details about the video. Earlier this year, Amazon also added the X-Ray feature to video playing on a television through Amazon’s Fire TV and Fire TV Stick devices. Many movies or shows from Amazon’s Instant Video service can display background information about the actors from IMDb.com right on your television.

Personal Tech invites questions about computer-based technology to QandA@nytimes.com. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually.

Personal Tech invites questions about computer-based technology to QandA@nytimes.com. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section B, Page 11 of the New York edition with the headline: Covering Your Browser Tracks. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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