Opt in to all telemetry / Zero telemetry by default / Reduced telemetry dependence

[orangecandycorn]

Firefox browser should by default have all telemetry as an opt in option or have zero telemetry within the browser on first start. I understand this could hinder the Firefox development team from making decisions about new features, etc, but some changes in regards to telemetry usage could help promote Firefox's reputation as privacy-friendly. Or Firefox should have less dependence on their telemetry measurements and focus more on general community feedback (ie: this Mozilla Connect page, support pages, social media posts, or even emailed poll questions asking users what they want to see in browser, etc, etc.)  I think a lesser importance on the telemetry data and more community feedback and public discussions would help better Firefox's features and redesigns but also help Firefox/Mozilla's privacy mission.

[Jon]

Thanks for submitting an idea to the Mozilla Connect community! Your idea is now open to votes (aka kudos) and comments.

[Anonymous]

I agree, Firefox should ask for permission before it collects information from users.

[Anonymous]

I also think mozilla should take the community's opinion seriously. Especially, I have concerns about the way discussions are going right now. See below:

• https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/why-are-quot-discussions-quot-left-unattended-which-viola...
• https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/is-the-discussion-here-really-a-discussion/td-p/11397

[Anonymous]

Good idea!

[MintMain21]

The capacity for Mozilla Firefox to thrive based on community input instead of telemetry (which in turn is a core value of Mozilla and has been for years) ultimately depends upon whether Mozilla has a viable outlet to productively gauge user participation. I think Mozilla Connect has proven to be a success in offering a user-friendly means for users to directly interact with Mozilla developers and productively influence the development of the browser, but there's no telling how much of the browser's userbase actually uses Mozilla Connect or other outlets in contrast to letting telemetry do the job for them.

Worst case scenario, even if Mozilla Connect was nonviable (and for the record, it is very, very viable) there are still outlets like Github from which Mozilla could manage user contributions.

The way I see it, Mozilla is ready to transition out of telemetry dependency, but the transition isn't going to be quick or easy.

They should start small with a single pop-up upon launching the browser for the first time, offering users the ability to opt-in or opt-out of telemetry. It doesn't matter if it's checked by default or not, the presentation of this as early as the browser first launching will go a long way to empower users and offer transparency to the practice of telemetry in itself.

[Jon]

Thanks for the honest feedback @Anonymous & @MintMain21! Mozilla Connect is now 6 months old, which means there is still a lot of work to do and room to grow. And our focus is to continue getting more product teams/developers/engineers involved and making sure feedback reaches the right internal teams. This type of productive, detailed feedback really does help with our product development process, so thanks for the participation 🙌. We're excited to see so much activity here and look forward to more in the months/years ahead.

[Anonymous]

The disadvantage of rapid releases is that it is difficult to know the magnitude of the changes that will be made in the next version. Therefore, user opinions should be sought in advance about new features in order to avoid confusion. For example, the need to make the roadmap easy to understand has already been discussed. Telemetry is passive, so relying on it may delay the action.

[vprelovac]

Not only that, but Mozilla can not be claiming that Firefox is privacy-respecting on its home page if Firefox has built-in telemetry enabled by default. All telemetry sends user's personal information to the browser vendor, at minimum their IP address.

[ansiklopedici]

Relevant Idea:

• Remove "Google Firebase Analytics"

[Demoris]

This would be great. Currently Mozilla is just hypocritical.

[brakus]

Make Firefox Data Collection and Use opt out by default

Please make Firefox Data Collection and Telemetry opt out the default.

[Jon]

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

[Jon]

Similar idea here: Ask about telemetry on first startup 

[shazmcgraw]

100% in agreement with this idea. While I appreciate that Open Source Software succeeds with the community using and giving feedback, the execution of garnering improvements and analysing usage does need improvements. Why not have opt-in studies that we know that we can (or will)  contribute towards.

For an organisation that drives the conversation of privacy awareness, for which I am a die hard Mozilla fan, this is not a good look.

I have stopped using Audacity for a similar reason, whereby they enabled telemetry much to the dismay of their community. There is also a minimum age requirement (13, think) in Europe for such telemetry, but Audacity's Ts and Cs were updated with don't use it. Whether that's still true to this day, I don't know.

Nevertheless, as parents (such as myself) have started encouraging their children towards Firefox and away from Chromium-based browsers, this is becomes a very serious issue. Hence my disappointment with Mozilla here.

[anon17402101]

Trying to enable telemetry without users' consent is unethical. This are abusing the fact that most people don't know what telemetry is, like Big Techs. This is actively harming their reputation.

https://soatok.blog/2024/02/27/the-tech-industry-doesnt-understand-consent/