Mozilla Testing an Opt-Out System For Firefox Telemetry Collection (bleepingcomputer.com)

An anonymous reader writes: "Mozilla engineers are discussing plans to change the way Firefox collects usage data (telemetry), and the organization is currently preparing to test an opt-out clause so they could collect more data relevant to the browser's usage," reports Bleeping Computer. "In a Google Groups discussion that's been taking place since Monday, Mozilla engineers cite the lack of usable data the Foundation is currently receiving via its data collection program. The problem is that Firefox collects data from a very small fraction of its userbase, and this data may not be representative of the browser's real usage." Mozilla would like to fix this by flipping everyone's telemetry setting to enabled and adding an opt-out clause. Engineers also plan to embed Google's RAPPAR project [1, 2] for anonymous data collection.

Comments

In Other Words...

[Anonymous Coward]

Not enough people were choosing to compromise their privacy, so we're going to do it for them.

Oxymoron alert!

[QuietLagoon]

...Engineers also plan to embed Google's RAPPAR project [1, 2] for anonymous data collection....

Using the word "google" with the phrase "anonymous data collection" may invoke laughter. And disbelief.

Odd PR move in the wake of what's coming

[bjdevil66]

My first response: They're about to kill its best, remaining feature in the minds of many, and now they say, "Let me spy on you."

But I ultimately get what they're trying to do. After all this online complaining, they may finally be having to accept that they really need to know more about how people use their product. Considering how many people here have complained about how the Mozilla devs "don't know what we really want!! Why are they doing X??", this should be something they should consider doing.

Sounds like they're damned if they do, damned if they don't. Maybe us complainers should look in the mirror and realize we may be one of the toughest crowd of browser users in the world to please. "No, you can't collect my data!.... Wait - Why are you removing X? I USE THAT FEATURE! Don't you know that about your users?

Maybe that's why Google Chrome has outstripped Firefox over the last several years when it comes to user base size. They KNOW what most people want, even if we don't like to admit to everything we want?

I'm a loyal Firefox user - and I'll probably still opt-out while I grumble about losing most of my add-ons. But I won't honestly be able to say that Firefox's eventual demise will be on the Mozilla Foundation alone.

Firefox's privacy policy scares the heck out of me

[Anonymous Coward]

Anybody who claims that Firefox protects their privacy probably hasn't actually looked at Firefox's privacy policy.

Below are some excerpts from the Firefox privacy policy that is dated July 31, 2017.

Be sure to notice the type of information being collected and possibly even transmitted to third parties (including Google, some "Leanplum" company, a "mobile analytics vendor", and "certain developers"). We see terms like:

• - "IP address"
• - "browser version"
• - "operating system"
• - "locale"
• - "language preference"
• - "list of add-ons you have installed"
• - "phone number"
• - "email address"
• - "URLs associated with the downloaded file"
• - "hardware configuration"
• - "commonly visited domains"
• - "location"
• - "the active URL"
• - "Google advertising ID"
• - "personal information"
• - "key word searches"
• - "Wi-Fi networks"
• - "cell phone towers"

Here are the excerpts:

Once per day, Firefox sends the following info to Mozilla when it checks for browser updates: your Firefox version information, language preference, operating system, and version.

Firefox contacts Mozilla once per day to check for add-on information to check for malicious add-ons. This includes, for example: browser version, OS and version, locale, total number of requests, time of last request, time of day, IP address, and the list of add-ons you have installed.

About once per day, Firefox connects to Mozilla and provides you with new snippets, if available. Mozilla may collect how often snippets are clicked, snippet name, browser locale, and which version of Firefox you're using.

Firefox sends Mozilla a monthly request to look up your location at a country level using your IP address.

Some Mozilla sponsored snippets are interactive and allow you to optionally share your phone number or email address.

This data includes, for example: device hardware, operating system, Firefox version, add-ons (count and type), timing of browser events, rendering, session restores, length of session, interaction with search access points and use of Firefox search partner codes, how old a profile is, basic information about errors and crashes, and count of pages.

Firefox sends to this third-party information identifying the site's certificate.

About twice per hour, Firefox downloads Google's SafeBrowsing lists to help block access to sites and downloads that are malicious or forged (Google's privacy policy is at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/).

Firefox may send metadata, including URLs associated with the downloaded file, to the SafeBrowsing service.

Usage statistics or "Telemetry" is a feature in Firefox that sends Mozilla usage, performance, and responsiveness statistics about user interface features, memory, and hardware configuration. Your IP address is also collected as a part of a standard web log.

Firefox sends to Mozilla data relating to the tiles such as number of clicks, impressions, your IP address, locale information, and tile specific data (e.g., position and size of grid).

In Firefox Beta, certain short-term Telemetry experiments (see above) for Tiles may collect information about commonly visited domains.

Firefox sends Mozilla a request once to look up your location at a country level using your IP address.

Firefox may send the terms you type in the Awesome Bar or Search Bar to your