topic Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly) in Discussions

Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

stef — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 17:14:22 GMT

Hi everyone 👋,

I’m Stefan, a PM on the Firefox team. We’ve talked a lot about building AI in Firefox in a way that puts users in control. Today, I wanted to share something new we’re testing that does just that, and get feedback: AI controls.

As AI-enhanced features show up in more places across Firefox, we’ve heard that you want clearer ways to understand what’s enabled and how to manage it. This feature is a step towards that. You can read more about the approach in our Distilled blog post.

AI controls will be available to try later today in Firefox Nightly. We’re still actively working on it, so some details may change before this ships more broadly in Firefox 148 later this month.

What’s covered in AI controls today

From the AI controls page in Settings, you'll be able to manage the following AI-enhanced features:

Translations – generative translation of webpage content
Alt text in PDFs – generated image descriptions for improved accessibility
AI-enhanced tab grouping – suggested group names and related tabs
Link previews – AI-generated key points from a page before opening it
AI chatbot in the sidebar – quick access to a selected chatbot (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and more)

All features are optional, and you can choose a setup based on what works for you.

Blocking AI features

If you don’t want to use AI features at all, the Block AI enhancements toggle disables current and future AI features and suppresses prompts. You can always re-enable individual features if you want.

Feedback we’re looking for

Your feedback from Nightly is especially valuable as we look to continually improve the AI controls over time:

Is the settings UI clear, discoverable, and understandable without additional context?
Do the controls behave the way you expect when you enable or block a feature? If not, what surprised you?
Is anything missing that you expected to be configurable, or anything present that feels unnecessary?
Have you encountered any bugs, glitches, or confusing edge cases? Please include steps to reproduce where possible.
Does the language used in the UI clearly explain what each control does and what it affects?

Thanks for taking the time to try this out!
- Stef

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Agentvirtuel — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 17:26:02 GMT

Hello

I tested, among other, i tested, AI chatbot providers in sidebar, Blocked.
https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/thanks-for-making-my-browser-from-firebird-0-4-to-firefox-147/m-p/117060/highlight/true#M45693

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Signez — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 18:24:27 GMT

Hey there Stef! Great to discover that this feature (that is highly requested in my community) is at least being shipped.

My main frustration is with this "scare screen" that appear when we try to activate the kill switch. It really looks like the kind of tricks that the Big Tech companies pulls on us in their products, trying to make us think twice about doing something.

The setting is already buried in a specific tab in the settings page (something that I can understand), so, please, don't paternize me with a confirmation popup when I want to "block" those features. It not a destructive action and it's a dark pattern to do so. Thanks.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Apollo_01 — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 02:01:21 GMT

That's already a step in the right direction.

But what exactly does ‘blocked’ mean? Is it just the functionality that is disabled, and I still get all the bloat of software that is necessary for the AI features? Or does it also mean that the frameworks required for the features are excluded from download or get deleted when I block it?

Because if the former is the case, it should rather be called ‘deactivated’, and I would then like to have an explicit option to completely remove the AI features from my Firefox on a software basis like I can uninstall extensions.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

samuelitooooo — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 02:08:58 GMT

In terms of language, instead of turning "block AI enhancements" on, I'd rather turn "enable AI enhancements" off.

In addition, if turning "enable AI enhancements" off is a big kill switch, then all of the individual controls should disappear or be grayed out.

I do like that the big kill switch is all the way up top though, being the very first thing people see. Having "enable AI enhancements" off by default would be even better. And you can always use Firefox's "what's new" release notes as well as the onboarding flow to introduce people to the option to turn it on or off.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

PurpleRaccoon — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 02:39:55 GMT

Genuinely, it should be defaulting to Block, and the confirmation should be for unblocking the 'enhancements' with information about how that affects a user's privacy.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

TechHorse — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 03:52:25 GMT

stef, will turning off all AI features also clean up any local user data that has been stored by the AI components?

For example, any user usage history, or temporary working data?

I don't know if any of the AI components would store information that more privacy-focused users would not want to be left behind (such as records of websites visited, contents of websites, names of tab groups etc.), but if they do then this information would also need to be removed. Hence my query. Thanks.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Tony2077 — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 14:24:21 GMT

Really appreciate this new functionality. So a big thanks to you, Firefox team. 💝

The functionality itself and the switches seem fine to me. Really like the explanation below every AI feature, with the links to help. The blog post and the video are very informative as well.

But I think the language used to label the switches could be improved:

What's the difference between Available and Enabled? I would just expect either Enabled or Disabled.
Rather than a Block AI enhancements switch disabled by default I would instead word this as AI features enabled by default. Using the word Block looks weird because implies that what is shipped with Firefox is bad and has to be blocked, as if they were ads.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Agentvirtuel — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 09:22:10 GMT

Hello

A test carried out, Available, Enabled, Blocked.

Block generative AI features with Firefox AI controls.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-ai-controls
Key points in link previews.

And compare with Settings > General > Browsing section.
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/use-link-previews-firefox

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

nos1609 — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 10:47:19 GMT

Are NPUs supported as backend on Copilot+ PC's?
https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/windows-app-sdk/api/winrt/microsoft.windows.ai.text

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Agentvirtuel — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 11:26:06 GMT

AI controls, a test carried out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAbmcs1wNwY

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

stef — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 14:12:04 GMT

Hey Apollo, thanks for the reply! “Blocked” means more than just disabling a feature in the UI. If you previously used any of the on-device AI features and a local model was downloaded, blocking it will delete that model, clear any prior opt in state, and remove all related UI and entry points. The local AI models in the on-device features are not bundled with Firefox by default, they are only downloaded the first time you use the specific AI feature.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

stef — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 14:17:35 GMT

Hey Samuelitooooo, thanks for the feedback. On the idea that a global block ai toggle should gray out or hide the individual feature controls, we intentionally kept those available to support more granular choice. Someone might want AI enhancements broadly blocked including future features, but still find a specific feature like Translations useful. Keeping the individual toggles visible lets people opt into a specific feature they explicitly want, rather than forcing an all or nothing decision.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

stef — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 14:21:22 GMT

Hey Tony, Good question. “Available” just means the feature is visible so you can discover it and learn what it does, but it is not active yet. You still have to explicitly opt in before you can use it. “Enabled” means you have opted in, the feature can be used, and on first use the local model is downloaded. Nothing runs or downloads while a feature is only in the Available state.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

myspace — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 14:38:15 GMT

This is great news thanks! Quickly disabled all ai features minus the translations. 👍

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

SayNo2Ai — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 15:18:37 GMT

I do not want any AI on this browser. I've been using Firefox since probably around 2007 or 2008. This is what will probably make me jump ship to another browser. I actively boycott companies that use Ai.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

c0d3h4x0r — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 15:21:18 GMT

Here's the way it should work:

Allow AI to collect and use data about my browsing activity: NO/YES

(defaults to NO; when "NO", all granular settings below are greyed out; when "YES", all granular settings below are not greyed out and default to "OFF")

Specific AI feature 1: OFF/ON

Specific AI feature 2: OFF/ON

Specific AI feature 3: OFF/ON

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

MyMozillaUser — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 20:16:35 GMT

You don't seem to get it.

Give the user the option to disable/block/remove ALL so called "AI" garbage at once, if they prefer. If they prefer to use some, they'd just not disable everything, but "AI enabled" and choose the specific components they want.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

MyMozillaUser — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 20:18:40 GMT

Hello,

This shows why "AI" should not have access to our browsers. Ever.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Alarm-Siren — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 23:37:24 GMT

As I understand it, the actual functionality of the "Block AI Enhancements" toggle is not to disable AI features in-and-of-itself, but rather to change the default state of current and future AI functions. In other words, if Block AI Enhancements is "off", then when a new AI feature is added this will be "Available" by default, including new UI elements and pop-ups to introduce the feature. If Block AI Enhancements is "on", the browser will always set new AI features to Blocked by default and never show UI elements or pop-ups related to them unless the user explicitly enables that particular AI feature.

Further, this toggle is completely seperate to turning a given AI feature on/off/available - it affects the default state of a feature, not the state a user has set themselves.

Whilst I have understood what you're going for, and I agree it gives more flexibility, I think this UI is unintuitive - already several people above have questioned why this toggle doesn't just blanket turn everything off and grey out all the boxes, and I agree with them that would be what I would expect from the wording as presented.

I suggest that instead of the current wording:

Block AI enhancements [On | Off]
Blocking means you won't see new or current AI enhancements in Firefox, or pop-ups about them.

you could go with something like

Default AI enhancement state [Available | Blocked]
When the default AI enhancement state is set to Available, new AI features will be shown to you when they become available so that you can choose to use them or not. Alternatively, when the default AI enhancement state is set to Blocked, new AI features will be disabled by default and not shown to you at all, but you can still manage the availability of individual AI enhancements below.

(forgive my verbosity - it's just an example, I am sure it could be made more concise!)

A further four suggestions:

I think that on a clean install of Firefox, the user should be asked their preferred AI enhancement default state (and possibly even which features they wish to enable) as part of the onboarding experience.
I suggest that the window should explain what "Available" means (as distinct from Enabled) as this is not immediately obvious - I didn't know until I read Stef's reply on the subject.
I'm not sure I like the word "Blocked" here - it has a negative connotation that implies the AI is something bad or malicious, or conversely that the user who doesn't want an AI feature is "getting in the way" by refusing. "Disabled" has a much more neutral tone, and is a more obvious counterpart to the "Enabled" option.
On the individual AI feature enable toggles, is it worth mentioning which ones are purely local and which ones have privacy implications (i.e. use a cloud implementation)?

Edit: P.S. I am very pleased this feature is coming to Firefox, as someone who has zero interest in AI stuff it has always been tiresome on each update having to hunt down which badly-named about:config setting I need to hit to make it go away. I also appreciate that you and the Team are clearly making a conscious effort to give control and flexibility - I really do think that separating out "Will new AI be shown to me?" from "Is this specific AI feature enabled?" is a good idea, I just think the implementation is a bit rough around the edges in terms of helping people to truly understand what the various options actually do.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Tony2077 — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 05:52:05 GMT

Right, ok, I understand now. However, I find this granularity unnecessary. I think people are going to struggle to understand the difference between the two. And most importantly, why would we need to make this distinction at this point?

In my opinion, if the AI featured is enabled, whether the user has already opted in or downloaded the model is irrelevant. Users are going to argue that they are already opted in the moment the feature is available by default. Does this mean that if an IA feature is set back from Enabled to Available the consent will be removed and models will be erased? Why anyone would do this rather than simply disable the feature? The On-device AI tab on the Add-ons Manager already allows to remove models.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

samuelitooooo — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 03:33:42 GMT

It makes sense to have that granularity when the global "enable AI enhancements" is turned on. Even if people only want to use one feature out of all of them.

On the other hand, people who want absolutely nothing to do with AI will want the extra reassurance that AI is completely off. No doubts, no loopholes, nothing.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

GunChleoc — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 08:40:16 GMT

There should be a separate option to block all new enhancements. People might want to use the translation feature (which is generally useful) or image descriptions (which is an accessibility feature) but want to avoid any anything else by AI.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Bane — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 10:58:08 GMT

All I'm going to say is please do not turn my long-time favorite web browser into yet more AI slop.

Please focus on real features and stop wasting resources on a dead-end technology from a speculative bubble.

Adding a setting to disable all AI features is one thing, but anyone with basic pattern recognition knows that, if a company/group/whatever starts pushing for something, they'll keep pushing for it more and more, unless they decide to kill it completely. So I really don't like this direction for Firefox and I'm concerned I'm going to have to switch to whatever browser advertises itself as privacy-focused and "AI-free" in the future if you don't completely stop your AI endeavors.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

jthibeault — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 14:00:14 GMT

Serious question: why was AI integration (especially the features that use LLMs to generate tab group names, causing high CPU usage) integrated into mainline Firefox in the first place? This should have been an extension. It should be moved to an extension. Optional and not enabled by default, that's not good enough to me. I don't want an LLM artifact on my computer of dubious plagiaristic provenance generating tab names.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

stef — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 18:57:29 GMT

Update (February 4th, 2026): AI controls now available in Beta 148.0b11

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Alarm-Siren — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 19:31:58 GMT

This is already how the implementation works, its just (in my view) poorly worded so that its not clear that it is how it works. See my post above .

If you want to do as you suggest, you would set Translation and Image Descriptions to Enabled, the other AI features to Blocked, and switch 'on' Block AI Enhancements toggle. This will cause the two specific AI features you want to be enabled, the others all disabled, and any future AI features added to Firefox will also be disabled by default.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

RJCA — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 16:52:33 GMT

Hello Firefox community!

I’m genuinely excited to see Firefox exploring AI integration, and I’d be very happy to contribute user feedback to help shape the next stage of “Fox Intelligence”!

I’ve always appreciated Firefox’s open‑source philosophy and the broader social project behind it. It’s a browser with excellent features and a mission I deeply support.

Link Previews, for example, are already a great step — but they remain limited compared to what deeper AI integration in the browser could enable.

In my daily workflow — which involves reading, analyzing, and taking notes from large amounts of web content — Firefox currently falls behind browsers like Edge and Brave in terms of built‑in AI capabilities.

Right now, Firefox lacks deeper AI integration that can directly access and interpret page content — including the built‑in PDF viewer — without requiring users to manually copy text, extract links, or upload content. This kind of direct access is what makes modern AI tools dramatically more efficient. For example:

Summarizing articles, PDFs, video transcripts, and other in‑page content
Asking specific questions about page content without needing to copy or upload anything

For users who rely on the browser as a tool for filtering information, learning, and staying productive, these capabilities are far more than conveniences — they fundamentally reshape how we process web content. Early generations of browsers were designed primarily for navigation. But today, with the sheer volume of information online, the next generation of browsers should also help users interpret, summarize, and act on what they read. Integrated AI is a natural evolution of browser’s purposes, enabling faster and more meaningful processing of web information.

At the moment, this limitation is the only reason Firefox is not my default browser — though I hope that will change soon. I would love to see Firefox evolve in this direction, and I’m eager to help with feedback as these features develop.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

s_hentzschel — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 18:03:32 GMT

@MyMozillaUser wrote:
You don't seem to get it.
Give the user the option to disable/block/remove ALL so called "AI" garbage at once, if they prefer. If they prefer to use some, they'd just not disable everything, but "AI enabled" and choose the specific components they want.

No, you're the one who hasn't understood something. This is what the global AI toggle aready does.

Mozilla's solution is perfect because it gives EVERYONE what they want. Stef's example was very good because I know people who generally don't want AI features — with the exception of the translation feature. So this is a very real use case. The current implementation doesn't cause you any harm. You can disable AI features globally and are not forced to set exceptions.

PS: It's difficult to have a mature discussion when someone dismisses features as "garbage". Please respect that different people have different requirements and preferences when it comes to browsers. I'm pretty sure you also use Firefox features that others don't need.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Kyanche — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 04:15:02 GMT

Yes, please! Even if it's part of the startup process.

I've been using Firefox since it was called Firebird, and the appeal at the time was that it was a simpler no nonsense browser that didn't have all of the bloatware Netscape had.

I am really happy that Mozilla is adding a way to turn all of that off, but I also wish Mozilla had considered their all-in-one-digital-assistant-browser as a separate product, they could give it a name, say Netscape. lol.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

lele1 — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 08:23:18 GMT

AI slop should be OFF by DEFAULT! And only opt-in. You could display a one-time popup asking users if they want to enable the feature and if not keep if OFF!

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Apollo_01 — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 10:39:03 GMT

Thanks for clarifying that. So, to put it simply, if I block an AI feature, everything necessary for its use – the models, the framework, the UI components – will be deleted? Is that correct? I think you should communicate and explain this very clearly in the browser.

And perhaps you should find a clearer word for it than “blocked”. Because it would then be more like “uninstall” or “remove”.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

s_hentzschel — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 16:10:45 GMT

I don't know what you mean by "deleting the framework and UI components," but all three possible states are explained on the settings page. Also, there is a link to the knowledge base where you can get more information.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

misteralex844 — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 08:02:04 GMT

This is a solid move by the Mozilla Firefox team giving users clear visibility and control over AI features is the right approach. The global Block AI enhancements toggle especially feels important for trust. It’s also nice to see flexibility with sidebar options like Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini instead of locking users into one tool. Looking forward to testing how intuitive the UI feels in Nightly — transparency and predictability will make or break this feature.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Cocaine_Owlbear — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 15:16:27 GMT

Waterfox, Librewolf, Helium, and Vivaldi have all taken a strong anti-AI stance. I recommend moving to one of them and then telling Mozilla exactly why you left them.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Cocaine_Owlbear — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 15:22:16 GMT

Just letting you know, Stef, that I don't use Firefox anymore and won't until all AI is removed from the browser. Y'all wanna make it an addon or something that I would have to explicitly install in addition to the browser, fine, although fixing ten year old bugs might be a better use of y'all's time.

Waterfox, Librewolf, Helium, and Vivaldi have all taken a strong anti-AI stance. I recommend folks move to one of them and then telling Mozilla exactly why you left them. It's literally the only way they'll listen.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

s_hentzschel — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 18:15:26 GMT

Don't you think this is the wrong platform for such "recommendations"? In fact, AI is no reason at all to switch the browser. Even before the new AI settings, every AI feature in Firefox was always optional. And there are a lot of people who like these features. All others don't have any disadvantage at all. Some people should start respecting the fact that not everyone sees the world in the same way. It's great that Mozilla is striving to meet the needs of as many people as possible.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

s_hentzschel — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 18:18:52 GMT

Sorry, this makes no sense at all. You don't have to use any of these features at all. And it would be really sad if Firefox were the only browser that could no longer translate websites without an extension. I would argue that for many people, this is an essential feature of a browser.

But it's clear that you're not interested in Firefox anyway, as can be seen from the fact that you repeatedly (!) recommend other users on a Mozilla platform to use other browsers.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

RonL — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 18:49:23 GMT

I'd rather they dump this "A.I." b.s. altogether and stay off of the "We must put 'A.I.' in EVERYTHING!" bandwagon. I've been a long-time user of Firefox, going all the way back to when they first started, and I'm a (now retired) computer and electrical engineer. I absolutely will not use anything with "A.I.", so I'm going to have to say good-bye to Firefox and start using LibreWolf since they firmly refuse to put that idiocy into their browser...at least so far.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

RonL — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 19:04:14 GMT

I've been using Firefox since you folks started. It was a sad day for me when you announced that you've sold out to this "A.I." nonsense. I'm a (now retired) computer and electrical engineer and I absolutely will not use anything that has "A.I." in it. I don't care that you have a "disable" switch -- the fact that you've even gone the route of jumping onto that bandwagon has made me no longer want to use your browser or be associated with Mozilla. I already have another browser that has a firm stance against "A.I." and I'll be using it instead of Firefox. I might hang around if you totally dump any and all "A.I." and refuse to use it, though I don't think that'll happen. You've lost my support, folks. 😞

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Cocaine_Owlbear — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 19:33:21 GMT

I'm giving people options since they're moving away from Firefox because of this AI nonsesne. This is literally the ONLY place where comments like this make sense, and if I didn't care about Firefox, I wouldn't comment at all - I'd just move on.

If you like AI, that's great. You do you. But telling people not to offer alternatives in the place where they can find them is nonsensical.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Cocaine_Owlbear — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 19:37:29 GMT

Actually, I have always adored Firefox. I came to it from Netscape. I've been using it for as long as it's existed.

I am disgusted that they've decided to go full techbro-trend here. And AI fueled hallucinatory mistranslations aren't an improvement. But sure, it's worth burning the planet for, I guess.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

lackey — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 20:51:04 GMT

I have a better idea. How about we remove every AI feature Mozilla has recently added, and it can be your choice to install it in an optional extension later.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

s_hentzschel — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 22:07:44 GMT

I definitely don't want to have to install an extension first in order to be able to translate websites … And you definitely won't suffer any harm from features that you don't need to use at all. So why are you suggesting that other users should have features taken away just because you don't need them? This is selfish.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Cocaine_Owlbear — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 00:57:44 GMT

I definitely don't want to have AI in my web browser … And you definitely won't sufferfrom clicking two buttons to install an extension. So why are you suggesting that other users should have features they don't need or want just because you want them? This is selfish.

Can you see how unconvincing that is when you're on the other side of it? Both sides are "being selfish" in this instance, because they're asking for additions or removals based on their own needs and wants. It's not a relevant point.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

jthibeault — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 18:11:30 GMT

Translation services existed in Firefox prior to using an LLM agent to do it poorly. If the argument is that translation services need LLM, and therefore you need to download a giant plagiarism blob so your Firefox can do it locally, this is undermined by the fact that you could translate things via Google Translate or other services just fine without tying it to a binary blob of, as I said elsewhere, dubious legal provenance.

Tying AI together with translation in order to force people who use translation to require AI is the same sort of shifty stuff Microsoft did to extend hegemony back when they weren't regularly breaking Notepad by stuffing vibe code in there. Can Mozilla please go back to its foundational principles of being a good software steward? Because bundling things people don't want with things people do is NOT a good look.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

s_hentzschel — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 18:30:08 GMT

Yes, you can use cloud services like Google Translate. That's exactly what many Firefox users do not want. Privacy is an important part of Mozilla's DNA and therefore a local translation feature is a perfect fit for Firefox. If you don't need it: Fine! You don't have to use it. And you don't have any disadvantages if Firefox offers it for other users. You also can't argue with the size of the data because it doesn't affect you at all if you don't use it. And people who use it are fine with that.

Just respect that not everyone uses the browser the way you use it. Firefox offers choice and that's a great thing.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

jthibeault — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 18:35:51 GMT

In actuality, I no longer have the choice to use Firefox as a browser that does not download a local LLM model unless I revert to an older version of Firefox. While that is still available, why is there so much resistance to, let's say, an interstitial screen that instead of asking "hey, do you want to turn off all these things we really, really want you to use despite your outcry against?", you could instead have a single button to opt-in, and that downloads the extension that turns Firefox from a browser into a slop-engine.

This seems like you're angry that there's resistance to using an LLM as default, not to the friction against "choice". And I'll be honest, me, and probably most of the people arguing against the inclusion of an LLM outside of the scope of what Firefox is supposed to be (a web browser, you'll remember!), we're all mad too. We're mad that the default is being forced on us and that even when we opt out we've still downloaded a bunch of stuff that could expose us to legal risk because it's pirated content. We're mad that people saying "they give you a choice" aren't getting that we DON'T have a choice any more, that it's there, installed, whether we like it or not, when just a few versions ago we had a Firefox that was completely functional and completely free of all this stuff we loathe even downloading.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Tony2077 — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 01:23:33 GMT

Firefox does not come with any LLM model. The first time you use translation, tab ordering or key points you are shown a pop up informing that if you want the AI feature you need to first download the model. And even if you agree and download the model, you can remove it afterwards any time from the On-device AI tab in the Add-ons panel.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Agentvirtuel — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 07:47:10 GMT

Bonjour

Traduction avec Firefox https://support.mozilla.org/fr/kb/traduction-sites-web

Un test https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HX7oWXhlohU

To complement.
Available languages' models.
To see it in operation, you can also type about:translations in the address bar.

Configure installed languages https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/website-translation#w_configure-installed-languages
You can test, about:translations, offline.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Waston_John — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 22:22:07 GMT

Can we block all new enhancements??

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Aas — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 17:03:20 GMT

So when do you add AI to the browser? I need to know so that i can ditch this browser before that happens

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Alarm-Siren — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 18:12:18 GMT

They already did. All the features that can be controlled with this new settings page are already present in Firefox:

Translations
Alt text in PDFs
AI-enhanced tab grouping
Link previews
AI chatbot in the sidebar

Translations I think have been around for a good while now, but they were not previously billed as an "AI" feature. The others have been added relatively recently, couldn't tell you exactly when but they've definitely been around for at least a couple months.

That being said, much as I dislike AI myself (or, more correctly, fancy predictive text engines dressed up as AI), "ditching" seems like an overreaction when the whole point of this new settings page is it lets you globally and permanently disable all such features current and future, so they need never bother you ever again if that is your wish.

Indeed, supporting Firefox is still a positive thing - even if the foray into AI is, in my opinion, misguided - because it uses a genuinely independent rendering engine, whereas pretty much every other browser on the planet is cribbing on Google's work, so they all have the same foibles as Chrome does - such as Manifest v3 destroying adblockers, which is not an issue on Firefox. If we want a genuinely free internet we can't be wholly reliant on Google's code, because that gives them too much power.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Alarm-Siren — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 18:15:00 GMT

Yes, that's what the Block AI enhancements [ON] option does.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Aas — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:01:38 GMT

So it can be "disabled" but it is enabled from start which is all it takes to learn everything about you before you reach the off-switch. That in itself is not a choice, its forced enabled

And seeing how almost everything else in the world is based on lies, its most likely just a matter of time before its discovered that the off switch is just for show, or that it will "accidentally" be enabled after an update...

Im just glad i disabled the auto update a few months back.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Alarm-Siren — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:44:39 GMT

You are entitled to your opinion of course, but I think you're overreacting here. As several people have gone to great pains to point out in this thread, none of the AI features are active until you purposely engage with them, and all of them except the "AI Chatbot" are local anyway so there's no data transmitted anywhere even if they are active - and the "AI Chatbot" requires you to, y'know, type things in to it before anything happens. So if the first thing you do when installing the Firefox update is set Block AI Enchancements to On... no models have ever been running on your computer, no data has been gathered (let alone transmitted), and it need never trouble your browsing experience ever again.

If any of this was not true, it would be in the Tech-press very quickly because Firefox is open-source so anyone can check what's really going on.

The being said, I do agree that Firefox should be more upfront about the available options; indeed I made a direct suggestion to the Firefox team in an earlier post that new installs should have these options surfaced during the new-user-onboarding experience. Its possible they may have actually done so, I haven't tested, but they did incorporate some of my other suggestions into the final 148 build which I have just installed so pretty chuffed to see that.

I also share your pessimism about the state of the Tech sector and I have a particular dislike for having AI forced on me. However, again, I really think flinging mud at Firefox trying to do the right thing and give people options (even if the implementation may be flawed) is tantamount to shooting oneself in the foot. The other browsers don't give a toss about user autonomy and privacy, whereas with Firefox, we complained about unwanted AI in the browser and about it being hard-to-impossible to disable... they listened, made it easy to disable, and also designed it in such a way that no AI-stuff happens without your knowledge and active assent anyway. This seems like a win to me, and a win that won't be repeated in Big Tech browsers.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Aas — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 21:02:08 GMT

The thing that i thought was a bit unclear, (atleast for me) was the "Block AI Enchancements to On"-option. To me it sounded like you could change it AFTER the install by going to options, and thus that it was enabled by default I did not read all of the replies and conserns you mention. And beeing AI it doesnt need much time to crawl your whole PC if it wanted.

And yes, im old and experienced enough to have justified disbeliefs about big companies (like firefox), that promises things they have no intentions of keeping, such as: "we will not sell your data", and one day that just changes with alot of confusion and 40 pages of legal jargong to get away with things just because they name it sharing instead of selling, or whatever excuse is needed for the agenda...

However, Ill have a deeper look at this new update and hopefully ill be satisfied

Thanks Alarm-Siren for taking the time

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Tazer_Silvascar — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:08:44 GMT

Thanks for clarifying that your translation option was in fact a test of this AI nonsense. I'd rather not have to even see AI options - after all, making these bolt-ons as extensions was kinda the point of Firefox from the very beginning. I'd rather the option to not have any AI at all be the default, because I do not trust AI functions to not be running in the background, scraping my personal data, even if you do claim they're 'switched off', or 'not on the computer', I have no evidence of that. I just have to 'trust' you, and quite frankly, until you implemented this, I did. Now I don't. Your competitors are looking mighty tempting.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

no11 — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 06:06:50 GMT

"You asked for more control over AI. We listened." No, we told you we didn't want AI in Firefox. You didn't listen.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

s_hentzschel — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 06:37:04 GMT

Do not speak for others. You don't want AI features. I (and I am by far not the only one) want features like a website translation and suggestions for tab groups. If you don't need it, it's totally fine. Just don't enable it. It doesn't concern you at all. And the new AI controls give you even more control. This way, every Firefox user gets what they want or don't want. There's no point in complaining about it to give users control. It just makes no sense at all.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

SarahSyna — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 13:27:37 GMT

Will be abandoning Firefox now thanks to the addition of AI slop. The fact you're so determined to add this crap against the wishes of your community means you cannot be trusted with anything.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

SarahSyna — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 13:29:08 GMT

We were able to translate websites well before AI was a thing. There's literally no reason for that feature to be reliant on AI when it wasn't before.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

SarahSyna — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 13:34:35 GMT

Website translation was a thing before AI was. Why have you chosen to make it an AI feature when it doesn't have to be?

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Tony2077 — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 13:41:32 GMT

You are a bit lost, mate. Without AI whatever you translate has to be sent to 3rd party servers, and your history is easily traceable. With AI the translation is done locally with an open source model. If you are not interested in this sort of privacy, it is better for everyone if you just ditch Firefox for Chrome, they will love your data. 👍

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

SarahSyna — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 13:50:17 GMT

My lad, what do you think the AI is up to? They wouldn't be so desperate to have it crammed into every orifice if they were getting nothing out of it. And it just burns the planet on top of that.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Tony2077 — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 13:55:55 GMT

Good luck finding an alternative to Firefox, that it's not a Firefox fork, and provides more control over privacy and AI than Firefox does.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

SarahSyna — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 14:03:06 GMT

I don't want control over AI. I don't want it at all. So a Firefox fork that explicitly does not have AI is pretty much exactly what I'm after.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

no11 — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 14:25:54 GMT

Why don't you vibe code yourself an AI enabled browser then instead of insisting on screwing up a perfectly good one?

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Tony2077 — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:14:59 GMT

Using Firefox forks is a great way of using Firefox. Simply pick one. That’s the solution for your problem, not bashing the developers.

Mozilla has to make a great deal of guessing all possible combinations of features and configurations that every single user wants. You already have plenty of configurations, extensions and forks to suit your specific needs. What else do you need?

Remember that Mozilla and Firefox, even when they’re far from perfect, they’re an oasis in the dessert of Big Tech browsers, browsers that have very different incentives behind their development.

You don’t know what you have until you lose it. And you’re being disingenuous when you have such a strong negative reaction for what is no more than yet another feature (that you can disable with a click) out of hundreds in Firefox, used by millions of users of this browser, that has no commercial purpose, unlike the rest.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Wsky20 — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 14:43:30 GMT

Yeah nah. Won't be using AI at all. In fact if it is ever installed on anything I use, or is related to anything I use I am going to uninstall it and demand that it be taken out. I want nothing to do with AI just like I want nothing to do with scammers, cartels, ponzi schemes, fake food and everything fraudulent and artificial. Sorry I like Authentic Intelligence.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

SarahSyna — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 15:07:00 GMT

Putting AI into Firefox makes it clear that the only difference between them and Big Tech is time.

What I'm having a negative reaction to is company after company chasing yet another idiotic fad, willfully and gleefully destroying the environment that we live in for a godamn thneed with a body count. People are literally dead because of AI encouraging them to commit suicide. There's others suffering psychosis, and every day I see ads for AI suggesting to replace your real life friends with it, outright preying on deeply vulnerable people.

It's vile, it's disgusting, and it is actively anti-human. So yeah, I have a pretty strong and extremely justified negative reaction.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

c0d3h4x0r — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 15:35:23 GMT

Please refer to my suggested rewording in my earlier comment before shipping the final version of this feature.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Rukarr — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 16:43:18 GMT

I've been a Firefox user since its inception. By forcing AI on us (I'm not dumb enough to believe that blocking it will stop it from mining my data and habits) you've ensure one less user for Firefox. GG.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

s_hentzschel — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 16:47:49 GMT

Really? Conspiracy theories?

To stick to the facts: you are not being forced to do anything. AI-based features have been available in Firefox for several years now, so this is nothing new at all. What is new is a new settings page that makes it easier than ever to disable AI features. There has never been anything like data mining in Firefox, and it's pretty cheeky of you to insinuate that.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

SarahSyna — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 16:54:02 GMT

Nothing cheeky about it. AI only functions based on all the data it already stole. When people desperately want to force the thing down your throat it's pretty bloody obvious as to why.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

c0d3h4x0r — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:16:37 GMT

Mozilla (the maker of Firefox) isn't a company; it's a non-profit organization. But the rest of what you wrote, I agree with.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

c0d3h4x0r — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 17:20:10 GMT

They already did -- secretly and surreptitiously -- months ago. Then users started noticing and complaining vociferously about it, such that they are now adding these settings to try to save face after-the-fact. It's a sleazy way to operate; they should have introduced these "AI" features as opt-in, with clear settings to control them, from the start.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

jthibeault — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 08:33:02 GMT

Genuinely, I'm amazed that s_hentzschel has spent the entirety of this thread telling people not to speak for others while also telling them that their dislike for AI is not as important as their personal preference for AI.

A web browser is a web browser. Mozilla was the stewart of what counts as being part of a web browser. They decided that the use of LLM artifacts was in the web browser's best interests. When people said no, s_hentzschel was there to tell them "how dare you say no when I say yes".

This is the problem, ultimately. The Mozilla foundation has decided to put non-web browser parts into a web browser and not as an extension, as a place of privilege where it's part of the browser whether you want it or not.

Imagine a scenario for a moment: your web browser goes to a website like normal. That website requests translation services in Firefox and sends an artifact to your LLM. The shim that sends to the local LLM turns out to have a code execution exploit that allows jailbreaking from the LLM into the system. Firefox now has an attack vector that it didn't have before because the calls to the LLM aren't part of normal "browser" behaviour and they're totally new code, having been added to cram the LLM into the browser.

Now you can go to a website and have it execute code on your device locally. Because the code was granted privilege and is not mature enough to have been secured.

Now imagine that the coders vibe-coded the LLM shims.

You say this can't happen. I'm a security guy. I say it'll happen next Tuesday.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Tazer_Silvascar — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 13:33:52 GMT

Yeah, it's a bit much. Hentzschel needs time in the dug-out.
There's been a few tech YouTubers I follow who've seen this coming for a while, so I agree, it's absolutely a massive security risk.
Not saying I agree with everything those techbros are talking about (after all, many of them - such as Mutahar/SomeOrdinaryGamers - are still pro-AI), but if *they* are calling it out, it must be something to take seriously.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

acburt — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 20:51:30 GMT

THANK YOU!! I used Firefox before but this feature update means it's now my preferred browser.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Lilya — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 07:07:36 GMT

A sad day to see this unethical climate ruining hallucination crap infect my go-to browser and especially to see that it's opt-out instead of opt-in. It was a good 21 year run we had but the corporate interests finally got you.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Tazer_Silvascar — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 10:46:31 GMT

As you've confirmed, however, the translation service IS part of the AI systems, and not everyone can just 'choose' not to use it. In fact, it's so critical, it's included in the mobile version of the app, where it STILL isn't mentioned that it's AI. And at the end of the day, AI is still very much a blackbox, only some people know for sure how it works, and it could very well be doing operations in the background that you aren't privy to knowing about. The only way to know for sure that it's fully operating locally is to NEVER be online, which kinda defeats the purpose of the browser.

As I said before, if, as is probably the case, Mozilla are using existing AI framework, the tech press would never get to learn about such stuff because it's a blackbox. There's parts of that code that are entirely inaccessible unless you work for the corporations who made it.

There's no harm in calling out Mozilla for not doing enough, when they very specifically said they were implementing a full-on kill switch for those AI services. AI corporations have been highly distrustful from day one, so organisations who use their services should also be looked at with a degree of distrust. I think what a lot of people want is a complete absence of AI - for there to be absolutely nothing there. No options to switch it back on again, no options to activate select services, a complete kill switch. As it is, we now have no way of knowing for sure if stuff is actually fully switched off, totally not there. We only have Mozilla's word, which is now starting to look like it can't be trusted.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

ttdkellykane — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:02:30 GMT

(wrong account)

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Wsky20 — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:03:55 GMT

Thank you Sarah. Well stated. Thanks for introducing me to the word "thneed" too.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Wsky20 — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:07:46 GMT

Think you are out of touch with reality my man.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

c0d3h4x0r — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:25:37 GMT

Sadly, they've still effed up by making it a buried "opt out" rather than an unmissable "opt in".

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

c0d3h4x0r — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:31:00 GMT

People need to STOP referring to it as a "kill switch" (which implies that "A.I. enhancements" should be on by default and "opt out"), because that's exactly backward from what most users are expecting!

It should be a "permission switch", meaning all "A.I." (which isn't actually intelligence) "enhancements" (which aren't really enhancements) should be "off by default" and "opt in".

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Wingding — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 18:08:21 GMT

AI is actually the reason I’m abandoning Firefox after using it since I was old enough to spell. Don’t care that it can be disabled, people used Firefox because there was no ai period.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Wingding — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 18:16:47 GMT

If you want integrated ai and your data stolen that bad go use google, don’t advocate for the few decent broswers left to ruin their reputation

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Alarm-Siren — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 20:22:08 GMT

... but it is opt-in?

That's what "Available", which is the default option for all AI features, is. It means that the browser will surface an AI feature at a relevant moment and ask for permission before enabling it. Until you give permission for a given AI feature, it is not operating, and indeed the relevant models haven't even been downloaded.

Honestly, I am very confused by your stance, because as far as I can tell the browser works exactly the way you want it to. No AI is on or installed by default and, unless you manually change some settings, none of them will ever be active unless you opt-in when it asks. Are you just cross that it asks? Because you can stop it asking, too...

The Block AI Enhancements toggle just stops the browser surfacing the prompt that asks if you want to turn AI features on. It doesn't need to turn them off because they weren't on to start with.

I do agree that the Block AI Enhancements option should itself be more prominent, perhaps shown to new users as part of an on-boarding experience, so that if they already know they want no AI features they can prevent Firefox from asking - but to say that the AI is 'on' by default is just false.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Lawnmowerman — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 22:38:44 GMT

How about giving the user the choice first?
Do NOT enable any part of AI and allow the user to decide if THEY want this turned on?
A lot of people out there will have no idea about whats going, have zero technical ability with this stuff and do not want AI in their life.
But it seems all of you big techs are just forcing people onto it and then have that little caveat added that many A. cannot do, B. do not have time to sit there and dig through this and C. just do not know what they are looking at.
So why not disable AI entirely and have that little button, as you have stated, turn it on if they want?

This next bit of rant. I know. People just don't want to hear it.
This AI stuff, for those who give a **bleep**, is destroying our very lives. The amount of water AI consumes is astounding. And our water has now become the most valuable resource. And no, I am not a 'tree hugger' but seriously, what the hell. It is so much more destructive than bloody oil was.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Alarm-Siren — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 09:01:06 GMT

On the subject of the first half of your post, that's already exactly how it works. Its already opt-in.

The Block AI Enhancements toggle just stops the browser surfacing the prompt that asks if you want to turn AI features on. It doesn't need to turn them off because they weren't on to start with.

On the 2nd half of your post, I agree. I'm no AI-lover, and I can't wait for this bubble to pop, but this thread isn't about "is AI good or bad"... whether we like it or not, AI exists in firefox for the time being, and has done for many months before this particular update. This thread is about the new settings page that's been added to control it, which I think is a good thing - at the very least now I don't have to hunt down whatever badly named about:config pref disables the latest AI rubbish every update (and the pop-ups asking me to enable them), I can and have just set Block AI Enchancements On and now never have to worry about it again.

The best thing we can all do to get rid of AI entirely from Firefox is disable it all, and leave telemetry switched on. When they see 80%+ of their users disabling it, they'll conclude its not worth their time to maintain. For the record, this is what I have done: Mozilla is the only company I deliberately leave Telemetry switched on, because I want them to adapt the browser toward my preferences. Ironically we nerds and power-users shoot ourselves in the foot when we disable telemetry, because then the decision-makers don't see us in their statistics when making their decisions.

P.S. I'm amused by you bundling Mozilla, of all companies, into the "Big Tech" bucket. They're really not. Even if you think they're behaving like Big Tech (debateable), they don't have the scale: Daddy Google could crush them with a thought.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

WaterBottle — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 14:36:57 GMT

Since AI has already been added to Firefox (I wish it hadn't been) please could you make it so that users have to opt-in to using AI features on the browser instead of opting out.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Alarm-Siren — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 23:01:06 GMT

Its already opt-in.

The Block AI Enhancements toggle just stops the browser surfacing the prompt that asks if you want to turn AI features on. It doesn't need to turn them off because they weren't on to start with.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

CHaSeD — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 23:07:40 GMT

Sure, it's like that *for now*. But how long will it be before some greedy suit-wearing MBA decides that they can hoover up all that sweet juicy user data, privacy policy be hanged? These gibbons don't respect users, privacy, or human decency; only the hallowed bottom line is to be honored above all else.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Alarm-Siren — Sat, 28 Feb 2026 23:50:31 GMT

Firstly, Mozilla is a non-profit, so they don't have a motive to "hoover up all that data". They are not "Big Tech". They follow the Mozilla Manifesto which, amongst other things, reads: "Individuals’ security and privacy on the internet are fundamental and must not be treated as optional." So I doubt the future you are scared of will come to pass, as it would require a fundamental restructure of the Mozilla Foundation. The fact Firefox is even offering these options and being opt-in, is testament to that - the Big Tech browsers have no such luxuries. Firefox is also the only major browser left that still supports proper adblockers; something I'm pretty sure Google would pay them handsomely to neuter, if the Mozilla team were so inclined as to take the money.

Secondly, there's no point in fretting over a future that may or may not come to pass. If it does happen you can be rightfully indignant, but in there here-and-now, it hasn't happened so there's nothing to be annoyed about and you certainly don't need to insult the team. To be clear, I share your skepticism of Big Tech: they do not hold their users' interests at heart, because their incentives do not align with the users', but to tar Mozilla with that ssame brush is to do them a disservice.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

CHaSeD — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:04:31 GMT

Delude yourself however you want, bro, but they've let the mask slip and I can see the monster lurking underneath. Once a company begins to slip away on morals, they *never* recover. Mozilla is going to fall to the allure of the diamond mine of data they're sitting on, just you wait.

Meanwhile, feel free to slurp up that disgusting AI slop as much you want, but I won't touching it with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole. There are strings attached to it that have yet to be pulled.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

Alarm-Siren — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:32:51 GMT

On your first paragraph, I think you're unnecessarily jaded. I understand, there's a lot of bad stuff in the world and a lot of two-faced corporations too, but that doesn't mean everyone is the same. Not every company is out to get you.

Firefox is unbelievably important to the free internet. Firefox's Gecko engine is the only independent engine that is not made by, or based on, Google's Chromium engine. This is why I want Firefox to succeed, even when they make mistakes. Without Firefox, Google effectively controls the internet, and that's not good for anyone.

As to your second paragraph: your assumption is incorrect. I do not like AI, in fact I hate it and I disabled all the AI features in Firefox the moment they dropped, long before this update I might add. I cannot wait for this bubble to pop and I will dance on its grave when it does.

But my dislike of AI doesn't mean I'm going to go around brandishing wild conspiracy theories, insulting random people and insinuating malice where there is no evidence.

Instead, I celebrate when companies and organisations actually listen and give people options, as Mozilla have done in this case. Perhaps the implementation could be improved, but its so much better than no options at all, which is what we get with Big Tech, so I will take this as a win for us.

If you don't trust Mozilla not to go back on their values, then perhaps you should consider switching to a different browser. Palemoon, Waterfox and Librewolf are all good options.

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

CHaSeD — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 01:17:37 GMT

Call me jaded if you like, but that cynicism comes from seeing years and years of supposedly good companies bend the knee to naked greed and corporate interests over the consumers they supposedly served. There's no way I'm going to believe that a company *supposedly* invested in my right to privacy will do *anything* with my interests at heart if the won't *LISTEN* to and *AGREE* with what the community *VEHEMENTLY* opposes! If you hate AI as much as you claim, then you cannot, in good conscious, accept that Mozilla's inclusion of the technology *by default* in the browser, is motivated by anything other than a desperate need to not be left out. It's pathetic!

Honestly, it feels like I walked into a grocery store, made my way to the produce section, only to discover that there's a huge pile of feces opposite the potatoes and corn display. "You don't have do anything with it" the store clerks assure, but it's still a *LITERAL PILE OF FECES* across from the food I want to purchase! I don't care if I don't have to touch it, buy it, or even look at it; the very idea of it digusts me, and I don't want it near my food!

The same logic applies to Firefox. AI is crap. The users say it's crap. Mozilla shovels it in anyway. They aren't listening to a single word we're saying that contradicts their insipid corporate direction. And if they won't listen to anyone now, how do you suppose they'll respond when they make the *next* unpopular decision?

Re: Try out AI controls in Firefox (Nightly)

c0d3h4x0r — Sun, 01 Mar 2026 08:15:22 GMT

Repeat after me until you understand it:

Mozilla. Is. Not. A. Company.

Firefox. Is. Not. Made. By. A. Company.