Firefox Update Will Prompt Users to Accept Terms of Use at Startup with Opt-Out options

Mozilla received a lot of flack for its new Terms of Use and Privacy Notice. The company is now preparing to show an upfront notification, prompting users to agree to and continue with the Terms of Service (ToS) by default for all new Firefox users in the version 138.x dot release on all official desktop builds, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Windows Installer, and Windows MSIX.

Mozilla introduced Firefox’s Terms of Use for the first time along with an updated Privacy Notice. The company had to rewrite the TOU. Users can opt out of these at any time by visiting Privacy settings.

The organization also wants new users to know about the new terms of service through a notification during onboarding. When they click “Continue,” they give consent for Mozilla to use their data, which can be used to show personalized ads on the NTP, send technical and interaction data to improve Firefox, allow personalized extension recommendations, install and run studies, or send daily usage pings to Mozilla.

At any time, current users can visit Firefox settings > Privacy & Security > Firefox Data Collection and Use and turn off relevant settings that let Mozilla collect data when they use Firefox.

For new users or those creating new profiles in Firefox, Firefox will show a notification asking them to read and accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Notice, which also includes settings to manage or opt out of sending diagnostic and interaction data.

Firefox’s Terms of Use and Privacy Notice notification reads as below

Welcome to Firefox
By continuing, you agree to the Firefox Terms of Use and our Privacy Notice. To help improve the browser, Firefox sends diagnostic and interaction data to Mozilla.

Basically, the notification includes three parts: Read our Terms of Use, Read our Privacy Notice, and Manage Diagnostic and Interaction Data. Users can expand each section to read through them. When they click “Continue,” they consent to Firefox using their data.

With the future Firefox 138 dot release, Firefox maker wants to enable and show Terms of service notification to users at startup with ability to opt out sending data to Mozilla.

Apart from the controversial ToS notification, Mozilla had planned to display the Firefox April Fools logo but pulled it for unknown reasons. The company is also testing PWAs on Windows 11 under the name “Taskbar Tabs” in Firefox