Mozilla, the creator of Firefox, has recently removed its commitment to never sell users’ personal information, prompting concerns among its user base. Previously, the Firefox FAQ clearly stated that the company had never sold and would never sell user data. An archived version from January 30 stated:

Does Firefox sell your personal data?

Absolutely not. We have never engaged in this practice and never will. Our focus is to protect you from advertisers who do. Firefox is designed with your privacy in mind. That’s our commitment.

This assurance has now been removed from the current FAQ. Additionally, there has been a significant change in the data privacy FAQ, which previously stated, “Mozilla doesn’t sell data about you, and we don’t buy data about you.”

The updated privacy FAQ now clarifies that Mozilla has stepped back from making absolute claims regarding data sales. This change is due to certain legal jurisdictions interpreting “sale” in a much broader context:

Mozilla does not sell your data (in the conventional sense) and we also do not purchase data about you. For transparency, it’s important to note that the LEGAL definition of “data sale” can be quite expansive in some regions. As a result, we’ve adjusted our position on making absolute promises. We remain committed to ensuring that the data we share with partners—necessary for the commercial viability of Firefox—is anonymized, provided only in aggregate, or processed using our privacy-enhancing technologies (such as OHTTP).

Mozilla did not specify which jurisdictions possess these broad definitions of data sales.

User Reactions: “Unacceptable”

Concerns have been raised by users on platforms like GitHub and Reddit. One notable issue is the new terms of service, which state, “When you upload or input information through Firefox, you grant us a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that information to enhance your navigation, experience, and interaction with online content as dictated by your use of Firefox.”