**Editor's Note 3-9-25**: Firefox has further clarified what the changes mean [here](https://blog.mozilla.org/en/products/firefox/update-on-terms-of-use/), effectively explaining that state laws are the main reason for their overhaul. This makes sense, and if that's where the story ends, then great. No need to freak out. However, it really just feels like what we see often in the corporate landscape these days: They overreached and played their full hand, and walked back a few things after public outcry. If they continue to follow a corporate playbook, they'll push more slowly to get back to that original point after people have moved on from the story. For me, the damage is done, and I've fully migrated to Librewolf. I truly hope they don't devolve further, as I've loved Mozilla's services for over a decade now. --- ### Main Up till this point I've been one of the biggest supporters of Mozilla out there. Their commitment to user privacy, backed by their open-source ethos, meant that I relied on them for my internet browsing. A bit more heavily than I should have. At the end of last week, Firefox made some changes to their Privacy Notice ([and a new Terms of Use](https://blog.mozilla.org/en/products/firefox/firefox-news/firefox-terms-of-use/)): "When you upload or input information through Firefox, you hereby grant us a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that information to help you navigate, experience, and interact with online content as you indicate with your use of Firefox." ([Thanks Brendan](https://x.com/BrendanEich/status/1895231159040385198)) Now, it should be noted that since then, they've updated their blog post I linked above to provide a little more "clarity." However, by looking at [Github commits to compare before and after](https://github.com/mozilla/bedrock/commit/d459addab846d8144b61939b7f4310eb80c5470e), I still feel like this whole debacle is at best, a canary in the coalmine for how Firefox is changing their stance on how they will operate in the future. **Let's use just the first change as an example.** "The Best Privacy" changes to "Always Protected." That just FEELS damning. They themselves are removing the soft promise that they're no longer the best for privacy. Further down, they remove a sentence saying that they don't sell access to our data. And at this point, I'm going to call it and say it's time to switch. Feel free to keep going through it if you want a good laugh. I've previously tried [Brave](https://brave.com/download/), but I can't say I'm a huge fan of it. Since that's more of a personal taste thing more than anything else, do give it a shot. They're open source and have a transparency report as well. --- ### Install Librewolf and Import I'll be using [Librewolf](https://librewolf.net/) which is a somewhat hardened version of Firefox. And since I finished setting up my new Linux desktop a few days before this news dropped, I'll be moving over my Firefox profile like this: ``` cp ~/.mozilla/firefox/profiles.ini ~/.librewolf/ ``` And making sure that the bookmarks are copied by following Mozilla's export guide https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/export-firefox-bookmarks-to-backup-or-transfer and then importing them in about:preferences (literally just type that in your search bar and press enter) and clicking on the "Import Data" button near the top of the page. For devices that do not support Librewolf, such as my Android and mobile Apple device, I'm now using [IronFox](https://gitlab.com/ironfox-oss/IronFox/) and [Brave](https://brave.com/download/) respectively. F-droid and the App Store are the respective locations for download there, nothing crazy. --- ### Final Thoughts I wish they'd done this a week or so before they decided to, because now I have to uninstall Firefox from my shiny new Linux install. And I guess it just goes to show that you should never be too invested in any company, and always have a backup plan ready for when they put a stick in their bike wheel.