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  3. We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users.

We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users.

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firefoxopensource
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  • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

    We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

    Link Preview Image
    Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

    Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

    favicon

    It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

    #firefox #opensource

    timagal@mastodon.socialT This user is from outside of this forum
    timagal@mastodon.socialT This user is from outside of this forum
    timagal@mastodon.social
    wrote last edited by
    #2

    @itsfoss No.

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

      We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

      Link Preview Image
      Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

      Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

      favicon

      It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

      #firefox #opensource

      celeduc@mastodon.socialC This user is from outside of this forum
      celeduc@mastodon.socialC This user is from outside of this forum
      celeduc@mastodon.social
      wrote last edited by
      #3

      @itsfoss a free VPN which allows Mozilla to spy on *all* your traffic, sounds delightful.

      oldcoder@dansu.orgO 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

        We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

        Link Preview Image
        Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

        Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

        favicon

        It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

        #firefox #opensource

        mellivora@im-in.spaceM This user is from outside of this forum
        mellivora@im-in.spaceM This user is from outside of this forum
        mellivora@im-in.space
        wrote last edited by
        #4

        @itsfoss I already moved to forks. lol

        They should instead add stuff like web serial.

        1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

          We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

          Link Preview Image
          Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

          Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

          favicon

          It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

          #firefox #opensource

          juanjimenezmartinez@neopaquita.esJ This user is from outside of this forum
          juanjimenezmartinez@neopaquita.esJ This user is from outside of this forum
          juanjimenezmartinez@neopaquita.es
          wrote last edited by
          #5

          @itsfoss Since I can switch off the AI I have returned to #Firefox

          1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

            We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

            Link Preview Image
            Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

            Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

            favicon

            It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

            #firefox #opensource

            gokushrm@mastodon.socialG This user is from outside of this forum
            gokushrm@mastodon.socialG This user is from outside of this forum
            gokushrm@mastodon.social
            wrote last edited by
            #6

            @itsfoss why everyone so keen to add AI in every software? Open source community already said that we don't need AI. Thn why developers adding Ai shit?

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

              We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

              Link Preview Image
              Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

              Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

              favicon

              It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

              #firefox #opensource

              tschigi@swiss.socialT This user is from outside of this forum
              tschigi@swiss.socialT This user is from outside of this forum
              tschigi@swiss.social
              wrote last edited by
              #7

              @itsfoss Nope. Not me. I’m never going back because I‘ve switched to @Vivaldi and I 😍 it.

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

                We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

                Link Preview Image
                Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

                Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

                favicon

                It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

                #firefox #opensource

                mostlytato@mstdn.socialM This user is from outside of this forum
                mostlytato@mstdn.socialM This user is from outside of this forum
                mostlytato@mstdn.social
                wrote last edited by
                #8

                @itsfoss
                Isn't it a proxy tab rather than a VPN? If so, Vivaldi do this using Proton VPN and Opera have been doing it for years.

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

                  We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

                  Link Preview Image
                  Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

                  Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

                  favicon

                  It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

                  #firefox #opensource

                  H This user is from outside of this forum
                  H This user is from outside of this forum
                  heartcode_dev@mastodon.social
                  wrote last edited by
                  #9

                  @itsfoss Still waiting for Ladybird 😉

                  L 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • H heartcode_dev@mastodon.social

                    @itsfoss Still waiting for Ladybird 😉

                    L This user is from outside of this forum
                    L This user is from outside of this forum
                    laurenz0071@mastodon.social
                    wrote last edited by
                    #10

                    @heartcode_dev @itsfoss https://drewdevault.com/2025/09/24/2025-09-24-Cloudflare-and-fascists.html recently stumbled over this blog post.

                    H 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • L laurenz0071@mastodon.social

                      @heartcode_dev @itsfoss https://drewdevault.com/2025/09/24/2025-09-24-Cloudflare-and-fascists.html recently stumbled over this blog post.

                      H This user is from outside of this forum
                      H This user is from outside of this forum
                      heartcode_dev@mastodon.social
                      wrote last edited by
                      #11

                      @Laurenz0071 @itsfoss Sorry, but i don't care. I also don't like that everything people do and say leads to facism nowadays...
                      We need more engines. Everyone is just relying on Chromium or Firefox based browsers.

                      L 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • H heartcode_dev@mastodon.social

                        @Laurenz0071 @itsfoss Sorry, but i don't care. I also don't like that everything people do and say leads to facism nowadays...
                        We need more engines. Everyone is just relying on Chromium or Firefox based browsers.

                        L This user is from outside of this forum
                        L This user is from outside of this forum
                        laurenz0071@mastodon.social
                        wrote last edited by
                        #12

                        @heartcode_dev @itsfoss sure we need more engines, but from open, trustworthy, bottom up, democratic structures that do not depend on big techs financial support.

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • celeduc@mastodon.socialC celeduc@mastodon.social

                          @itsfoss a free VPN which allows Mozilla to spy on *all* your traffic, sounds delightful.

                          oldcoder@dansu.orgO This user is from outside of this forum
                          oldcoder@dansu.orgO This user is from outside of this forum
                          oldcoder@dansu.org
                          wrote last edited by
                          #13
                          The "AI" part isn't going to help. It'll be more like an anchor dragging Firefox down to Davey Jones's Locker.

                          The sentiment that informed users have towards "AI" is remarkably negative. To announce that a browser is even going to have support for "AI" is an autopsy report in advance.

                          The part about the VPN is more nuanced. It'll probably allow Mozilla to see what sites and pages you're visiting, but not the actual content as long as "https" is used.

                          I'd say "no", regardless. Whatever you do in that tab is likely to go to billionaire-owned documentation systems. Possibly to #ICE and Donald #Trump as well as the billionaires are his associates. Mozilla says, certainly not, but trust needs to be maintained and the organization shows no understanding of that.

                          If #Firefox needed these two features, "AI" and VPN, to keep going, as the saying goes, that's all she wrote.

                          I recommend #LibreWolf, Ungoogled Chromium, and Tor Browser as alternatives. Yes, 2 of the 3 rely on Firefox as upstream. However, if Firefox goes under, all 3 alternatives are likely to continue in one form or another.

                          Personal perspective: Firefox was once the up and comer. I used it from the mid-2000s to its effective end with the release of Quantum in 2017.

                          Quantum was, in fact, the end of Firefox. Not so much because of the fact that XUL was removed, but because of the dismissive tone that Mozilla adopted at the time [and has since] towards developers and users.

                          This was the turning point where Mozilla decided that Firefox needed to be Chrome except it would be weaker. Once the decision was made, the course to the iceberg was set.

                          The statements that #Mozilla and its boosters offered in 2017 were similar to this: "March forward into the future. Don't be left behind. If you question what we tell you, you're a Luddite."

                          If developers brought up technical issues, they were washed away in a flood of market-speak. Does this sound familiar? It was very similar to the "AI" talk today.

                          Developers and users need to be treated as partners. Not as serfs or as krill. If a commercial or #FOSS product treats you as a serf or as krill, walk away.
                          Link Preview Image
                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

                            We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

                            Link Preview Image
                            Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

                            Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

                            favicon

                            It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

                            #firefox #opensource

                            haystackstech@mastodon.socialH This user is from outside of this forum
                            haystackstech@mastodon.socialH This user is from outside of this forum
                            haystackstech@mastodon.social
                            wrote last edited by
                            #14

                            @itsfoss Give me TOR, then we can talk!

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

                              We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

                              Link Preview Image
                              Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

                              Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

                              favicon

                              It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

                              #firefox #opensource

                              forgetpassword@unredacted.socialF This user is from outside of this forum
                              forgetpassword@unredacted.socialF This user is from outside of this forum
                              forgetpassword@unredacted.social
                              wrote last edited by
                              #15

                              @itsfoss lol

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

                                We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

                                Link Preview Image
                                Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

                                Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

                                favicon

                                It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

                                #firefox #opensource

                                judahhansen@mastodon.socialJ This user is from outside of this forum
                                judahhansen@mastodon.socialJ This user is from outside of this forum
                                judahhansen@mastodon.social
                                wrote last edited by
                                #16

                                @itsfoss The AI is causing the decline, it certainly won't help stop it.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

                                  We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

                                  Link Preview Image
                                  Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

                                  Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

                                  favicon

                                  It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

                                  #firefox #opensource

                                  ilja_tihhonov@mastodon.socialI This user is from outside of this forum
                                  ilja_tihhonov@mastodon.socialI This user is from outside of this forum
                                  ilja_tihhonov@mastodon.social
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #17

                                  @itsfoss I think VPN should cover all network connections, not only web-browser.

                                  In-browser solution is better than nothing, but still...

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

                                    We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

                                    Link Preview Image
                                    Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

                                    Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

                                    favicon

                                    It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

                                    #firefox #opensource

                                    abstractsun@social.linux.pizzaA This user is from outside of this forum
                                    abstractsun@social.linux.pizzaA This user is from outside of this forum
                                    abstractsun@social.linux.pizza
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #18

                                    @itsfoss If privacy + security are high priorities, then as far as regular browsers go, Firefox is the browser to use and it's simply no contest.

                                    I recommend μBlock Origin as a first line of defense for browser spyware/malware/etc. Firefox's browser engine is now the only one where it works properly and isn't subject to arbitrary limitations. This wasn't a feature Firefox added. It was a feature that the other browser engine altered because it made it harder to sell ads, and in turn most other browsers have less effective μBlock because they use that engine.

                                    Firefox also now has built-in support for offline translations for dozens of languages, courtesy of Project Bergamot.

                                    These are just recent, more user-facing developments. As far as technical enhancements go, Firefox has implemented sandboxing of third-party site data to the current host (aka "total cookie protection") and was an early adopter DNS-over-HTTPs. If you go way back, you'll find that Netscape, Firefox's progenitor, was a pioneer in the development of HTTPS.

                                    If a regular web browser isn't good enough privacy-wise, then there is Tor, which is based on Firefox' web engine and is specifically built to minimize browser tracking at the cost of convenience.

                                    abstractsun@social.linux.pizzaA 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • abstractsun@social.linux.pizzaA abstractsun@social.linux.pizza

                                      @itsfoss If privacy + security are high priorities, then as far as regular browsers go, Firefox is the browser to use and it's simply no contest.

                                      I recommend μBlock Origin as a first line of defense for browser spyware/malware/etc. Firefox's browser engine is now the only one where it works properly and isn't subject to arbitrary limitations. This wasn't a feature Firefox added. It was a feature that the other browser engine altered because it made it harder to sell ads, and in turn most other browsers have less effective μBlock because they use that engine.

                                      Firefox also now has built-in support for offline translations for dozens of languages, courtesy of Project Bergamot.

                                      These are just recent, more user-facing developments. As far as technical enhancements go, Firefox has implemented sandboxing of third-party site data to the current host (aka "total cookie protection") and was an early adopter DNS-over-HTTPs. If you go way back, you'll find that Netscape, Firefox's progenitor, was a pioneer in the development of HTTPS.

                                      If a regular web browser isn't good enough privacy-wise, then there is Tor, which is based on Firefox' web engine and is specifically built to minimize browser tracking at the cost of convenience.

                                      abstractsun@social.linux.pizzaA This user is from outside of this forum
                                      abstractsun@social.linux.pizzaA This user is from outside of this forum
                                      abstractsun@social.linux.pizza
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #19

                                      @itsfoss Also, browser theming in Firefox is very much alive and well via user chrome js/css. I presume that most of the Firefox UI is an HTML DOM these days, so if you're well-versed in that you can do quite a lot. See for example: https://www.reddit.com/r/FirefoxCSS/

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • itsfoss@mastodon.socialI itsfoss@mastodon.social

                                        We wonder if Firefox's decision to add a free VPN and AI can bring back lost users. 🧐

                                        Link Preview Image
                                        Can Free VPN and AI Save Firefox From Decline?

                                        Mozilla is betting on free VPN and AI to revive Firefox browser. Can this bold strategy bring users back or is it too late already?

                                        favicon

                                        It's FOSS (itsfoss.com)

                                        #firefox #opensource

                                        swissjace@mastodon.socialS This user is from outside of this forum
                                        swissjace@mastodon.socialS This user is from outside of this forum
                                        swissjace@mastodon.social
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #20
                                        This post is deleted!
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