New Experiment: Firefox VPN Beta

[Santiago]

We’re excited to share that we’ve begun work on a new feature called Firefox VPN - a free, browser-only VPN capability built right into Firefox. While still in its early stages, this experiment reflects our broader commitment to bringing even more privacy and security protections directly into Firefox.

Over the next few months, we’ll be testing Firefox VPN with a small group of users. We’ll start simple, then gradually add new capabilities while learning how it impacts browsing, usage, and overall satisfaction. Our long-term vision is ambitious: to build the best VPN-integrated browser on the market.

The first version of Firefox VPN will allow testers to connect to our VPN network and secure their Firefox browsing. Over time, we’ll experiment with new and more powerful capabilities that we hope will truly delight.

How can you help?

Your voice helps to shape how we build Firefox features, just like this one. And we want to keep our community (you!) informed and involved from the very beginning. Whether you’re randomly selected for the experiment or not, your insights will help us shape where Firefox VPN goes next. 

In particular, we’d love to hear: If you had a magic wand, what would you want to see in an integrated VPN feature inside your browser?

Feel free to reply to this Connect post with your thoughts. While we can't reply to every comment, rest assured we read and review them all. Thank you for helping to make browsing safer, more private, and more empowering for everyone.

One last thing: Firefox VPN is not Mozilla VPN: Mozilla VPN remains our full-device, paid subscription product that can cover up to 5 devices at the same time. Firefox VPN is different: it’s a free, browser-only feature inside Firefox.

— The Firefox VPN Product Team

[Synchro]

Wow, great news to hear! I guess it will be clean whether any third parties get the users' traffic for any purposes? What about the features I would like to see, I guess they are:

1. "White" list of web-sites the traffic to which won't go through VPN.

2. A possibility to chose whether a particular web-site should use a particular VPN-server destination. Like, site A should think that am in Canada and site B that I am in Australia.

[s_hentzschel]

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@Santiago wrote:

If you had a magic wand, what would you want to see in an integrated VPN feature inside your browser?

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The ability to turn on the VPN for only one tab.

[Santiago]

Thanks @s_hentzschel! Can you add more color as to why you'd want the VPN protection on a single tab? Is it about creating "a special tab" where VPN is always enabled, with all other tabs not being VPN enabled? Or is it more about enabling VPN for a certain website but not for others?

[s_hentzschel]

My only use case for a VPN are geo-restrictions (for example, streaming a sports event). That means I currently only turn on the VPN when I need it for a single website. It's not necessary to redirect all traffic through a VPN for this. I also don't want to always load a specific website through a VPN, but rather be able to activate the VPN for a single tab when needed and then deactivate it again afterwards.

[jojo_69]

Why not apply it to a tab profile in this case?

If you choose the SPORT JAPAN profile, the VPN activates automatically when you point to Japan.

[david134]

That sounds really promising! A built-in VPN right inside Firefox would make browsing so much simpler for people who just want quick privacy without extra setup.

If I could add one wish — it’d be awesome to have an option to automatically turn the VPN on when visiting certain sites or using public Wi-Fi. Also, having clear info about which region or server is being used would be great for transparency.

Really looking forward to trying it out once it’s available for testing!

[Kvin]

Hello

I have a few questions

Will the built-in firefox vpn also be released for the mobile version of Firefox?

Will there be an option to enable vpn only for a specific site or sites?

And also, an option to auto-launch vpn when the browser starts?

And the last thing, why did you decide to make a separate firefox vpn from mozilla vpn? Have you thought about building Mozilla VPN into Firefox but making it semi-paid, as it is now in Opera, Opera has a free vpn and there is a pro version
Thank you!

[Santiago]

Great questions!

1. For now, we’re focused on the desktop experience as we continue to learn and improve. That said, mobile is definitely a natural next step, and it’s great to hear that it’s something you’re interested in!

2. and 3. Both ideas, per website VPN controls and auto-start capabilities, are excellent suggestions. Stay tuned 😉

4. As for Firefox VPN and Mozilla VPN, think of them as part of the same family. We’re experimenting with new ways to bring privacy and protection directly into Firefox for free, while continuing to offer the full Mozilla VPN app for those who want a more complete, system-wide solution. It’s a bit like Opera’s approach, though we’re aiming to do it in a way that reflects Mozilla’s values and product philosophy,  focused on transparency, user control, and trust.

Thanks again for your thoughtful questions!

[haingdc]

I think about common case is that some special sites need to be open with VPN. While the other sites should be accessed as normal, without VPN. Of course, It'd be great to have national flag or something like this when a tab is using VPN as It's a Sign for user to identify them. I guess the Sign can be placed on Tabbar or Toolbar.

[FreeRussia]

I hope this gonna work fine in Russia! Because we have extremely powerful censorship here, like the Chinese firewall. The only VPN protocols that still work for us are mainly VLESS/XRay/Shadowsocks... Regular OpenVPN or WireGuard have long since stopped working. We really lack free, working VPNs because buying paid ones is often impossible or extremely difficult. And we really want to read proper news (not state propaganda).

[myspace]

This is exciting! Any idea when it could be available for all Firefox users? 

[jojo_69]

With a free VPN, I'm not asking for the same experience as a paid VPN (number of countries available)

but simply to have access to the X largest countries in terms of traffic

(USA - JAPAN - BRAZIL - ...)

At worst,

- either you have the same traffic (connection speed)

- or you have a larger but slower number of countries

[wutongtaiwan]

Can it be used in China? VPN protocols are easily blocked in China, so VLESS and Trojan protocols need to be used. For example, VLESS WebSocket TLS and Trojan WebSocket TLS. This is because it can make the proxy traffic appear like normal browser traffic.

[bmazak]

I find it a waste of time when the format here on adding a comment causes me to search for the link to add a comment.  Where is the click here to post a comment? The use of acronyms is too high.  Now for the subject, VPNs.  My experience with VPNs, after paying for lifetime use, is that they will throttle you down if you watch movies because they do not have the bandwidth and enough servers.  That kind of CONTROL we do not want.

[happymoodhubpro]

• I’d love a one-click toggle + visual indicator of VPN being active.
• Ability to choose regions or “auto-choose best latency” mode.
• Please keep it free and browser-only (so it doesn’t interfere with PC/mobile apps).
• Smooth compatibility with extensions and sites (so no weird breakage).

Also, as a casual tip: if anything feels off during the beta, you can test it in a fresh profile or separate install so your main setup remains safe (kind of like using an happyapps store for mods — you test before going full use).