Make AI Features Opt-In/Make Disabling AI Features Simple

[Herbburgleman]

Hello,

Today I highlighted some text and clumsily selected a wrong item from the drop down menu, and was disgusted to see I had started some AI slop built into Firefox. I then spent some time trying to figure out how to disable all the AI features that had been added/integrated into Firefox and enabled without my knowledge.

I don't care for AI. I don't want it running on my machine locally. I do not want my browser interacting with external AI without my knowledge. Period. I'm alarmed this crap was enabled without my knowledge or consent.

And if you like using AI, power to you. Similar to a variety of personal choices, I am happy for those who partake. Just don't force it on me. Enabling these features by default and not notifying users adequately is just awful. To me it is clear these features are not wanted or useful because if they were, you would allow users to opt in rather than force this on all users. I'm sure there is a rea$on this stuff gets stealth enabled for all users.

There should, at an absolute bare minimum, be a very clear setting that disables/removes ALL of the AI elements of Firefox. I should NOT have to consult a non-Mozilla guide to find all the dozen or so about:config entries to disable.

Absolutely shameful behavior and disrespectful to users. I expect better from a company presenting a product as a more consumer friendly and privacy-focused alternative to Edge or Chrome. The differences get smaller every update.

[DonNinja]

All AI Features and options need to be Opt-In.

A lot of people are using Firefox to have a comfortable browser while also having at least a smidge of privacy while browsing, AI goes directly against that. If AI is Opt-Out, the browser can't be marketed as private. AI is actively made to invade privacy and "learn" on the user's actions.

[CALNA]

Ease of Access; Disabling AI Tools/Features

Growing number of AI features are leeching into Firefox, and I can see a future where there are 12 different places to turn off AI, make setting page for AI that congregates all AI features like auto-subtitle/chatbot/tools and be able to turn them off with master switch or individually.

[aether27]

I use firefox because it isn't  an AI browser, and pivoting to make it one will make me look for alternatives.

I beleive many of your users will feel the same.

[mrblorps]

+1. I do not need an AI assistant or tools built into my browser, thank you. I have stuck with Firefox for privacy protections and the fact I can customize things. I will move to another browser if Firefox continues to roll out AI things.

[squ]

just get rid of it, no discussion. Now you added a tooltip which appears after a text is select and I have to go thru browser.ml in about:config. Stop this behaviour when you enable all new features for everyone by default!!!

[wittysquiddy]

I would like AI to not be included in your software but if your current CEO is so determined to start bleeding out your audience and users make it opt in. No here's how to turn it off, make it off to begin with and the small percentage that actually want it will use it for everyone else they won't have to take any extra steps doing what they've been doing.

I do not like AI garbage, and I do not want to produce any AI garbage. It's very annoying to have to go to about:preferences after every update and make sure that all AI garbage is disabled.

[TheNederman]

Today was the day that I lost trust in Firefox because of this AI-Slop baked into the browser. I have been using Firefox as my primary browser since the start of the project. I don't care for anything AI that is connected to the internet. Now installing and configuring one of two browsers for Mac that don't have AI-slop baked in. The fact that there was no opt-in is the reason I moving to one of the last browsers without AI. Bye bye Firefox and Mozilla; you lost my trust and even if you add a switch, it's too little too late. 2026 will be my year of "Open Source" without all the AI-slop and hype for me.   

[myspace]

appreciate that we can somewhat easily opt-out of AI features, but it would be better to have them opt-in only 

[samyotix]

Suggestion: Button to disable ALL Ai functionality

Location: On top of the settings menu (not hidden in some arcane menu that 70% of users will be too scared to look for)

This should block all AI functions in Firefox, AI generated "answers" on search engines, AI summaries in search engines and on Youtube, etc

[samyotix]

PLEASE add a button to opt out of ALL AI functionality, including Google's AI generated lies in Search, video summaries on Youtube, and all other such slop.

[AliceWyman]

Related bug report filed December 12, 2025: Bug 2005800 - Add Disable AI section to gen ai settings

[samyotix]

I totally agree that AI crap needs to be OPT IN. This bull**bleep** wastes energy (and if I wanted to consume AI slop all day I'd use Microslop 666 or whatever their former "office" is called nowadays).

[Jon]

(Note: similar ideas have been merged into this thread)

[Cocaine_Owlbear]

@JonBy "Similar ideas have been merged into this thread" are you including "Remove all AI from Mozilla and stop wasting on environmentally destructive and human-harming techbro trends?" Because if so, I object strongly. That's a different issue.

See, this issue doesn't allow for the fact that Mozilla shouldn't be working on AI at all. Let someone not affiliated with Mozilla - or a Mozilla person in their off time, I don't care - work on an extension. Mozilla should be working on the browser not trends that are tech-bro nonsense promoted by misogynists, child porn creators, and white supremacists.

And no, I am not exaggerating or being unnecessarily inflammatory. I guess I can't prove the white supremacist angle, but when Grok started making kiddie porn and undressing pictures of women without their consent, they put the ability to do so behind a paywall.

SO, I repeat: Mozilla needs to pull all AI from the platform and make a strong statement against it. And then maybe work on bugs, performance, and stability. You know, the actual things we need in a browser?

In the meantime... sent from Waterfox.

[Herbburgleman]

Hello again,

Thought I'd pop back in. Seems I am not alone with being frustrated with how Firefox is jumping on the AI bandwagon and auto-enabling AI implementation in the browser with no clear, easily accessible opt-out.

I understand that recently on a "nightly build" in Firefox which enables you to activate an AI control panel via about:config. Maybe it is live. I don't know. I stopped updating Firefox. But it does appear to be coming.

I had asked in the non-feedback area for troubleshooting what all about:config entries I would need to disable to disable all LLM AI integration. I never got my question answered before the thread was closed, but I was advised I shouldn't mess with about:config. Never had problems messing about in the past. Odd.

I recently saw Mozilla is positioning itself as part of an "AI rebel alliance" for smaller companies to take the fight to the big ones and fight for ethical, user-friendly AI implementation.

I dunno. I've gotten to the point where I disabled Firefox auto-update for the first time ever, so I can wait a beat and make sure the latest patch isn't gonna force more of this on me in the exact same way the big companies do.

Mozilla had an opportunity to start implementing these ideas in ways that DO respect the user, but there is no version of events in which I will accept that they couldn't have or shouldn't have implemented a very clear settings page to easily disable all of these things. I should never have been in a position where I could inadvertently click a wrong drop-down in my browser and have an AI summarize a paragraph for me like I need reading assistance. Dunno if the AI was running just on my machine, dunno if it was running elsewhere. Don't care. Shouldn't have happened. They had the cart before the horse and it seems are desperately trying to turn it around.

So I am a bit skeptical of Mozilla. I think the real rebel thing to do would be to move to a different program. In the short term, I'll try LibreWolf, which is just a fork without the slop. Long term, I don't know. Chrome is out. Edge is... ahahahahahaha.... BWAHAHAHA. Heee hee. Hoo. Yeah, no Edge.

There are use cases for AI. From time to time I mess about with them. But it is on my terms. When I choose to. Having this stuff forced on me gives me the ick. Mozilla has given me the ick. I can't trust Mozilla to be acting in the best interest of users. Reputation! Tough to build, easy to ruin.

I think I'm just a bit heartbroken that browsing the internet has become a more and more awful experience all around. I can't trust videos, can't trust photos. I can't trust posts from ostensibly human beings. Search engines don't function like they used to, though with a little trickery you can search for troubleshooting discussions from the Before Times when it was actual human beings sharing solutions that can still help me with whatever the problem is today. And now it has crept into my browser itself. The cancer has well and truly metastasized.

Before I get off my soap box and wander off, I just wanted to share a quote from a book I once read. 
“Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.” Frank Herbert, Dune

Thank you for reading, I wish you all the best. I think things are gonna get bumpy, and the just and the unjust alike are about to endure a lot of Finding Out. I'd be glad to be wrong.