this post was submitted on 02 Mar 2025
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AI Summary:

Overview:

  • Mozilla is updating its new Terms of Use for Firefox due to criticism over unclear language about user data.
  • Original terms seemed to give Mozilla broad ownership of user data, causing concern.
  • Updated terms emphasize limited scope of data interaction, stating Mozilla only needs rights necessary to operate Firefox.
  • Mozilla acknowledges confusion and aims to clarify their intent to make Firefox work without owning user content.
  • Company explains they don't make blanket claims of "never selling data" due to evolving legal definitions and obligations.
  • Mozilla collects and shares some data with partners to keep Firefox commercially viable, but ensures data is anonymized or shared in aggregate.
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[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 hours ago

Too late. That wasn't a typo, Terms are going downhill from here. I'm gone.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

People hate whenever Brave is mentioned... But when it comes to privacy, I have not regretted my decision to use it

[–] [email protected] 5 points 36 minutes ago* (last edited 23 minutes ago)

I mean if you are already ok with using a Chrome reskin from a crypto ad company your standards are already set too low.

People who use Firefox are concerned that Firefox is slowly shifting into what Brave is now. Aka an ad company.

I swear to god Brave browser is a cult. People who are into it a really into pushing it. No, I don’t want your crypto-bro, ad company run, chrome reskin.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 3 hours ago

Already uninstalled, I went with duckduckgo

[–] [email protected] 24 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Mozilla collects and shares some data with partners to keep Firefox commercially viable

How hard is it to be specific? People are concerned about this, can they not tell us the exact data they share and with whom, or is doing so going to make people more concerned so they are avoiding telling us?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

They can’t be specific in the legal note because that would close their options and prevent them from auctioning off every month to the new highest bidder.

They certainly could keep a page of what they’re currently selling to whom, but even if it was innocuous (doubtful) that would again put them in the news every time they changed it.

Tried and true ~~legal~~ PR strategy: say nothing and hope the attention goes away

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 hours ago

Already uninstalled everywhere. Better luck next time, Mozilla.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 hours ago

they were effectively owning everything you fo in firefox, how is that nothing

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 hours ago (3 children)

Anyone have a decent Android alternative? Updated my phone last night and this morning got a notification that Firefox had full permissions for accessing my location data. I'd like to move away from Firefox before enshitification is in full swing.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 20 minutes ago

Did you give it to it?

It can be a pretty nice feature for using map-based apps in the browser.

I haven't used such websites for a while and I don't see Firefox in the recent users of the location API, even though I use Firefox Android all the time. (Info available in Android under Settings/Location.)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Try out Ironfox. It can be installed through F-Droid.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 hours ago

Dope, I'll give it a go 👍

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 hours ago

I switched to waterfox. Looks pretty much the same, no issues so far.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

this is them rolling it back cause of the outcry, they don't want to admit it worked

[–] [email protected] 7 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

The terms were never actually bad. This is them responding to the backlash, yes, but that's just because everyone freaked out over nothing. They're not "rolling back" anything, and this comment is just more disinformation.

[–] Brumefey 4 points 9 hours ago

The proof that even techies can confuse « rollback » and « fix ».

[–] [email protected] 32 points 1 day ago (2 children)

A FOSS browser has and never will require collecting user data.

This should not happen at all.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

What do you think a browser does?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 hours ago

The browser manufacturer doesn't need a license to my inputs to process them and give them to the server it's supposed to give them to. If you type a text in Libre office, does it ask you for a license to the text in order to save it?

[–] sugar_in_your_tea 46 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

Certain features certainly could be considered as doing that, such as:

  • Firefox sync
  • crash reporting
  • add-on store

I certainly want those. And then there are others that I don't want:

  • Pocket
  • telemetry
  • studies
  • AI

My understanding is that this change is primarily motivated by a recent law change in California that has a pretty broad definition of "selling user data" and this is less likely to be a fundamental change in how Mozilla operates. However, let's see what they come back with.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

That second list should also include

  • Ads

Because ads in the search bar results are one of the things Mozilla cited as precipitating the need for ToS.

[–] sugar_in_your_tea 1 points 19 minutes ago

Is that a pocket thing? Because I disable pocket and changed the default search engine.

If they laid out precisely which features result in data collection by Mozilla and how to disable them, I'd be pretty happy with it. However, if they're unilaterally collecting data and not really separating concerns, then I'll need to find something else.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 19 hours ago (5 children)

What's the alternative for Android? Fuck Chrome I want to move off this shit onto something that actually gives half a shit about me.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Boy have i got a treat for you, Ironfox! the continuation of Mull

https://gitlab.com/ironfox-oss/IronFox

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 hours ago

Will check it out, thanks.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 19 hours ago

Fennec on F-Droid, which is Firefox fork

[–] [email protected] 4 points 19 hours ago
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[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 day ago (9 children)

Too late, I switched to Floorp.

Because of privacy stuff? No. Because of repeated drama? Yes.

I don't have time for this stuff. I don't have time to track every minute twist of the knife that Google's funding drives Mozilla to embark on.

I'm bored of using software and watching it go through "death by a thousand minor dramas"

So now I use a web browser that has a name so stupid I don't even recommend it to other people. Brilliant.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago

Try zen browser. It's just like floorp but has that Arc browser aesthetic.

I was a floorp user until I tried zen browser. You should give it a try too.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 hours ago

Never heard of this one before. too bad it doesn't have a mobile version as well.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

The drama isn't exactly their fault. There are a lot of rich organizations that want them to cease to exist. Most 9f which want track you online and/or shove ads down your throat.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 19 hours ago

A fair amount of drama is exactly their fault. Mozilla chose to increase management pay and fire people, Mozilla chose to flirt with ai, Mozilla bought an ad firm, and so on. It's not like someone was holding a knife to their throat.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 17 hours ago

Truly an outstanding move

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 day ago

Floorp isn't recommended for its privacy features anyway, it's recommended by users for the amount of customization you can do. It's got some features that Firefox has that I don't want to do without.

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[–] [email protected] 73 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I didn't sell your shit, I collected it and shared it to keep myself comercially viable.

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[–] [email protected] 187 points 1 day ago (22 children)
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