Mozilla reneges on promise not to sell user data

Mozilla has introduced official Terms of Service for the Firefox browser for the first time and updated its Privacy Policy, saying it was done to increase transparency. However, the changes caused a scandal among users.

First of all, Mozilla publicly guaranteed that it does not sell access to user data. Now, the GitHub repository has discovered the removal of this phrase. Although Mozilla claims that the data transmitted to third parties is not personalized, the very admission of this has caused a wave of criticism.

Additional questions have arisen due to the wording in the Firefox Terms of Service, according to which, when entering data into the browser, users supposedly grant Mozilla a free license to use it. The company explained that this is necessary for basic functions to work, but does not mean transferring ownership of user data.

While the changes are in line with the practice of commercial browsers, Mozilla’s steps have become particularly noticeable because of its former reputation as a privacy advocate. Firefox’s falling market share is forcing the company to more actively seek ways to monetize, which could lead to further policy changes.

Mozilla has announced the release of a new version of its browser – Firefox 90. It has received a number of compatibility improvements for Windows, as well as a fast WebRender renderer and an improved SmartBlock social network tracker blocker.

An important innovation in the new version of the browser is the updated SmartBlock 2.0 social network tracking blocking feature. It increases users’ privacy while working on the Internet. In this version, Facebook scripts for collecting personal data are completely blocked, but if the user decides to log in using a Facebook account on any other website, the scripts will be launched at login time to simplify the procedure.

Users of the Windows version of the browser will not need to launch Firefox to install updates. Instead, they will be applied in the background. In addition, the browser will receive a tool that helps detect any compatibility issues caused by third-party programs that may cause problems in Firefox.

In the latest version of Firefox, Mozilla developers are deploying the fast WebRender renderer, which makes surfing smoother even on weak computers, thus increasing the comfort of working on the Internet for many users.