NJIT Browsing Study

NJIT academic study on how browser speed affects everyday browsing, by adding slowdowns that vary with time. NJIT IRB approved.

The NJIT Browsing Study browser extension is built for a remote academic research study on how privacy and security protections affect everyday web browsing. This research is conducted by the lab of Professor Nathan Malkin (nathan.malkin@njit.edu) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). Modern websites can sometimes reveal sensitive information through subtle differences in how quickly pages load or respond. To reduce this risk, developers may intentionally slow down certain browser operations so that those differences are harder to observe. These protections can improve privacy and security, but they may also make browsing feel slower. This study looks at how noticeable that slowdown is during normal browsing, and how much of a delay people find acceptable. Once you join, the extension runs quietly in the background for seven days while you browse the web as you normally would. It applies a small, adjustable slowdown to your tabs, and each evening you answer a few quick questions about that day's browsing. On your final day, you complete a short exit survey. You can pause the study at any time. Throughout, the extension records only how many tabs you have open, and basic timing and activity data, and broad categories of websites you visit. It never collects your passwords, the content of pages, or your browsing history.