Telemetry was added to create an aggregate count of searches by category to broadly inform search feature development. These categories are based on 20 high-level content types, such as "sports,” “business,” and “travel”. This data will not be associated with specific users and will be collected using OHTTP to remove IP addresses as potentially identifying metadata. No profiling will be performed, and no data will be shared with third parties. (read more)
The Copy Without Site Tracking option can now remove parameters from nested URLs. It also includes expanded support for blocking over 300 tracking parameters from copied links, including those from major shopping websites. Keep those trackers away when sharing links!
This is great, definitely what was needed in a HTTP client. Here is how to disable this (yet another) fucking stupid decision that took time and money to develop: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/share-data-mozilla-help-improve-firefox
Thanks Mozilla!
For anyone wondering, it’s controlled by the existing top-level Send Technical And Interaction Data toggle in the privacy menu that’s been there for ages, so most users who care about privacy have probably already opted out.
I hate to be that guy, but it’s an optional thing. Voluntary analytics are fine. You opt in/out, and that’s the way it should be.
Seriously, it’s about choice. It’s not about there never, ever being any information sent back.
Opting-out is not optional and is the opposite of private.
A few months ago, I had trouble with Firefox on Android, so I started looking again in the settings; something you really rarely do in a browser. Finding a few things like data collection, usage data, marketing data, and “occasional studies” being all enabled by default sure reminded me that Mozilla isn’t what it used to be.
For the love of Darwin, really?
Any product manager needs data about how a product is used to make the product better. Of course they need to test if moving a button to a different place leads to an easier to understand setting screen; or if moving extensions into a separate menu means fewer people find the malicious extension and turn it off.
I’ll be the first person to say that Mozilla is bigger than it needs to be and their org size isn’t justified by their results. But to think collecting data automatically makes them suspect seems to me lazy. It’s what they do with the data that counts.
