no, they do sell your data, they just make an effort to anonymize it:
We still put a lot of work into making sure that the data that we share with our partners (which we need to do to make Firefox commercially viable) is stripped of any identifying information, or shared only in the aggregate, or is put through our privacy preserving technologies (like OHTTP).
they used to think this technically didn't count as "selling your data", but some privacy laws are better written than they thought.
Not everyone who opposes Firefox is a cryptodick. The person above is incorrect. Use a fork that doesn't send telemetry, or get a pihole, sure, but pretending like this isn't a disgusting betrayal by the only decent browser available is just factually inaccurate.
Again, the person above is wrong. They did not move the text. They "clarified" that what they actually mean is that they DO sell your data, they just try to anonymize it. This is specifically NOT what they claimed in the diffed text. This is a betrayal.
Mozilla tried to explain this change by, IIRC, claiming you had misunderstood, and that their behaviors ran afoul of the legal definition of "sell". They did not clarify what they were doing, which could be counted as "sale."
If you don't care about the extra security and privacy stuff that it adds and just want an unfucked firefox fork you can follow this reddit comment:
/u/aaaaaaaaabbaaaaaaaaa
Go on about:config. Type "privacy.clearonshutdown". Many options will show up. Make sure those between "privacy.clearonshutdown.cache" to "privacy.clearonshutdown.sitesettings" (including the two) are set to FALSE.
Then type webgl.disabled and set it to FALSE.
Go on Settings:
On General->Startup, Enable Open previous windows and tabs
On Privacy & Security->Cookies and Site Data, uncheck "Delete cookies and site data when LibreWolf is closed"
On Privacy & Security->History, check the three options there.
On LibreWolf, disable "Limit cross-origin referrers", "Enable ResistFingerprinting", "Enable letterboxing", "Silently block canvas access requests", and "Enforce OCSP hard-fail".
Why LibreWolf and not waterfox? I'm genuinely asking, at the moment I migrated from FF to WF, but wasn't quite sure. What I read was that LW was restricted to the point where some extensions or sites broke, but I'm not sure if that's right or not
LibreWolf is more heavy-fisted with its security and privacy setup. It does break some sites, though that reddit comment I pasted helps mitigate that problem a bit.
I don't use WaterFox but from what I understand it's a decent alternative that doesn't send it full-throttle on removing telemetry, tracking, ads, cookies, etc. which makes it less safe but way more usable.
I thought most all of this stuff could easily be re-enabled through the Settings screens themselves (including a LibreWolf-exclusive page that lets you unbreak the canvas sizing), including the first section of your recommendations!
Wasn't this just a change in the wording? They added a similar text in another file.
Edit: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/02/firefox-deletes-promise-to-never-sell-personal-data-asks-users-not-to-panic/
no, they do sell your data, they just make an effort to anonymize it:
they used to think this technically didn't count as "selling your data", but some privacy laws are better written than they thought.
IIRC they just moved that text elsewhere
edit: MY BAD I RECALLED INCORRECTLY
Yeah, but how will the Brave shills shill their crypto slop by telling the truth?
Not everyone who opposes Firefox is a cryptodick. The person above is incorrect. Use a fork that doesn't send telemetry, or get a pihole, sure, but pretending like this isn't a disgusting betrayal by the only decent browser available is just factually inaccurate.
Not saying FF is free of fault or anything, far from it, but moving text is a disgusting betrayal? really?
Again, the person above is wrong. They did not move the text. They "clarified" that what they actually mean is that they DO sell your data, they just try to anonymize it. This is specifically NOT what they claimed in the diffed text. This is a betrayal.
"Don't be evil".
Looking at the ars technica article shared in this thread, that does not seem to be the case. They just removed it.
Where? Because IIRC, they didn't.
Mozilla tried to explain this change by, IIRC, claiming you had misunderstood, and that their behaviors ran afoul of the legal definition of "sell". They did not clarify what they were doing, which could be counted as "sale."
Ironically, after eroding almost all the trust in even much of their die-hard user base, they recently announced an AI initiative to "build the world’s most trusted software company"
(edit: fixed link)
That's like fucking for virginity 🙄
Johnathan_Frakes_It_Never_Happened.gif
???
You have misunderstood.
It is them saying "it never happened", not me.
Oh, I get you now.
They gotta pay for furry costumes for their CEO
Furry costumes are not the problem, but their CEO is.
What is the best Firefox alternative?
LibreWolf
If you don't care about the extra security and privacy stuff that it adds and just want an unfucked firefox fork you can follow this reddit comment:
Why LibreWolf and not waterfox? I'm genuinely asking, at the moment I migrated from FF to WF, but wasn't quite sure. What I read was that LW was restricted to the point where some extensions or sites broke, but I'm not sure if that's right or not
LibreWolf is more heavy-fisted with its security and privacy setup. It does break some sites, though that reddit comment I pasted helps mitigate that problem a bit.
I don't use WaterFox but from what I understand it's a decent alternative that doesn't send it full-throttle on removing telemetry, tracking, ads, cookies, etc. which makes it less safe but way more usable.
Why not Earthfox or Windfox?
Earthfox is great but only regionally effective. There are no privacy issues in Ba Sing Se.
Windfox became unviable when the Firefox Nation attacked.
Exactly, when firefox attacks you have to start with the browser of Water, earthfox comes after.
Waterfox — fork
Airfox — add-on
Earthfox — theme
Which one is September, then?
Need a wake up call at the end?
Eternalfox
Or Heartfox?
I thought
mostall of this stuff could easily be re-enabled through the Settings screens themselves (including a LibreWolf-exclusive page that lets you unbreak the canvas sizing), including the first section of your recommendations!This is good to know, though.
yeah, all of these are options in the settings screen.
I'm using Waterfox (based on Firefox but without the bloat), both desktop and mobile versions. Have nothing but good things to say about it.
A good middle ground between usability and privacy is also Zen Browser.
https://zen-browser.app/