Mozilladiscourse
- Your data trains their AI only if you opt in.
- Your data is used to target ads at you; you can opt out.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- The documents do not say who can read your content.
Firefox keeps most browsing on-device, but New Tab ads, telemetry, and account terms still apply.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
Collected
Technical data, settings, IP-based location, usage, and sometimes crash or search data—not your full history by default.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Mozilla collects certain data, like technical and settings data, to provide the core functionality of the Firefox browser and associated services, distinguish your device from others”
Training
Used to run Firefox, search, New Tab ads, security, studies, and marketing if you allow it; local AI is not trained without consent.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“These operate locally — web page content, PDFs, images and tab URLs stay on your device and are not sent to Mozilla’s servers or used for training purposes without your explicit consent.”
Sharing
Service providers, ad partners (limited non-identifying data), search providers, and Mozilla affiliates may see some data.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“To support this, we may share limited, non-identifying information — such as device type, IP-derived location information, and category of content viewed — to help determine which ads to display.”
Kept
They generally keep personal data no more than 25 months; deletion requests are gone in 30 days except interaction data.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“In general, we do not retain personal data for more than 25 months, but actual retention periods may vary depending on the type of data and the purpose(s) for which it was collected”
Controls
You can turn off telemetry, search suggestions, New Tab ads, and studies in Firefox settings, and via a portal.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“You can update your data collection settings for Desktop and Mobile at any time.”
Fine print
Accounts are as-is, $500 cap, you cover their legal costs, and they can close access for any reason.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services at any time for any reason, including, but not limited to, if we reasonably believe: (i) you have violated these Terms”
Expand “Read the exact line” to see the source alongside the explanation.
What you can turn off
The controls and opt-outs their own documents describe, and where they say to find them.
Turn off technical and interaction data (and Daily Usage Ping if you want)
Firefox data collection settings for Desktop and Mobile
Turn off New Tab sponsored content and search suggestions
Browser settings (New Tab; Search settings)
of Firefox data
Mozilla Access Request Portal; or dpo@mozilla.com / compliance@mozilla.com
Enable Global Privacy Control
Firefox settings that provide GPC
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
If someone sues Mozilla because of how you used the account services, you may have to pay their legal bills.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“You agree to and Mozilla, its contractors, contributors, licensors, and partners, and their respective directors, officers, employees and agents”
For example, if a note you synced caused a copyright fight, you could be on the hook for Mozilla’s lawyers.
If Mozilla’s account services mess up your data, they say they will not pay more than $500.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“THE COLLECTIVE OF MOZILLA AND THE PARTIES UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT EXCEED $500 (FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS).”
For example, if sync wiped years of bookmarks, their written cap is five hundred dollars.
They can shut off your Mozilla account for many reasons, including that the service is no longer worth offering.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services at any time for any reason, including, but not limited to, if we reasonably believe: (i) you have violated these Terms”
For example, they could drop VPN access and try to email you about it.
The new-tab page can show ads, and Mozilla uses usage and location-ish data to pick them unless you turn that off.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Firefox shows content on New Tab, along with advertising to support its development. You can turn these off at any time in your browser settings.”
For example, New Tab tiles may be sponsored and clicks can be measured.
Ad companies can get coarse device and location category data, not your name.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“we may share limited, non-identifying information — such as device type, IP-derived location information, and category of content viewed — to help determine which ads to display.”
For example, an ad partner might learn you are on a phone in a city, not who you are.
Built-in on-device AI is not supposed to train Mozilla’s models unless you clearly agree.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“web page content, PDFs, images and tab URLs stay on your device and are not sent to Mozilla’s servers or used for training purposes without your explicit consent.”
For example, PDF alt-text suggestions stay on your laptop unless you opt in to sending them.
If you turn on a sidebar chatbot, Mozilla says it cannot read those chats; the chatbot company can.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Mozilla does not have access to your conversations or the underlying content you input into the selected chatbot.”
For example, a summary you send to a third-party bot follows that company’s privacy policy.
You ask Mozilla to delete, and most Firefox data should be gone in a month; click data lasts up to 90 days.
Read the exact line
Privacy policy
“Please note that, when you of your Firefox data, it will be deleted within 30 days of the request (with the exception of Interaction Data, which has a standard retention period of 90 days”
For example, after a portal request, telemetry tied to you should drop within 30 days.
They can use what you upload only to run the account services, not a forever resale license in this sentence.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“By uploading content, you hereby grant us a nonexclusive, , worldwide license to use your content to provide the Services.”
For example, they can store and sync your Notes so they show on your other devices.
Accounts are for people 13+, but they do not describe checking your age beyond you saying so.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“You must be 13 years old or older to create a Mozilla account.”
For example, a 12-year-old could still type a birth year and sign up.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- consent
- Your clear agreement to something, given by an action like ticking a box or tapping Accept. For example, a pop-up asking if the app may use your location is asking for consent.
- personal data
- Any information that is about you or can be linked to you, from your name to your phone's ID. For example, your email, your IP address and the list of apps on your phone are all personal data.
- retention
- How long a company keeps your data before deleting it. For example, a policy might keep your messages for 30 days after you delete them, or for as long as it likes.
- indemnify
- You promise to pay the company's legal costs and losses if your use of the service gets it sued. For example, if you post a song you do not own and the label sues the app, you owe the app's lawyer bills.
- service providers
- Outside companies that handle your data on the app's instructions, such as a cloud host or an email sender. For example, the company that stores the app's files in the cloud sees your data but only does what the app tells it.
- limitation of liability
- A cap on what the company will ever pay you if something goes wrong, often only what you paid in the last year. For example, if a leak of your data costs you thousands, the most you may get back is a month's subscription fee.
- inputs and outputs
- Inputs are what you type, say or upload to an AI; outputs are what it gives back to you. For example, the question you ask a chatbot is an input and its answer is an output, and both may be stored.
- right to erasure
- Your right to have a company delete the personal data it holds about you, with some exceptions. For example, you can ask a social app to wipe your old posts and profile and it must, unless a law says otherwise.
- worldwide license
- You let the company use your content anywhere on earth, usually for free and for as long as it likes. For example, a video you post can be shown in ads in any country without asking you again.
- royalty-free
- The company can use your content without ever paying you for it. For example, your photo can appear in the app's ads and you get nothing.
How we got here · grade A · score 60/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 3 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
Besides what you type, they collect technical data, settings, unique IDs, IP-derived location, and interaction data. Full browsing usually stays on your device unless a feature sends it.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
The notice lists camera and microphone as permission settings, not as Mozilla recording voice or face for biometrics.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
On-device AI content is not sent or used for training without your explicit consent. Third-party chatbots follow those providers’ rules.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
Not stated in the documents.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
New Tab can show sponsored content using technical, language, and IP-derived location data. You can turn sponsored content off in settings.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share with providers and, for ads, limited non-identifying data with advertising partners. GPC is described as a do-not-sell style signal.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
Account terms give Mozilla a worldwide license to use uploaded content to provide the services, not a broader resale grant in that clause.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
Deletion of Firefox data is through a request portal, generally within 30 days; interaction data lasts 90 days. They also say they usually keep personal data no more than 25 months.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
Not stated in the documents.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They describe OHTTP, encryption, crash reporting choices, and Safe Browsing, but not an independent audit in these pages.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
Mozilla accounts require you to be 13 or older. No extra age check is described.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
Both notices are dated. They say they will post updates and announce substantive changes through usual Mozilla channels.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They may suspend or end access at any time for any reason and say they will make reasonable efforts to email you. No export step is described there.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
Services are as-is, liability is capped at $500, and you must indemnify Mozilla for third-party claims related to your use.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Not stated in the documents.
The privacy policy is 5,417 words at a college level (Flesch reading ease 43.1); the terms are 1,462 words at a college level.
