Firefox’s developer, Mozilla, has released an updated version of its Terms of Use, marking the second revision within a week, following criticism over broad language that appeared to grant the company rights to all user-uploaded information.
The revised Terms of Use now state:
You grant Mozilla the necessary rights to operate Firefox, including processing your data as described in the Firefox Privacy Notice. This also includes a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use the content you input in Firefox for the purpose of fulfilling your requests. This does not imply Mozilla’s ownership of the content.
A previous version of this clause, effective February 26, stated:
When you upload or input information through Firefox, you grant us a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that information to facilitate your navigation, experience, and interaction with online content as indicated by your use of Firefox.
Mozilla introduced the Terms of Use for Firefox for the first time, along with an updated Privacy Notice, aiming to provide users with more transparency in its data practices, just days before the update.
Ajit Varma, VP of Product at Mozilla, stated, “We’ve been listening to concerns from our community regarding parts of the TOU, specifically about licensing. Our intention was to be clear about how we make Firefox work, but we created confusion and concern instead.”
Mozilla emphasized that it does not sell or buy user data and made the changes due to varying definitions of “sell” in different jurisdictions, which may incorporate the exchange of personal information for monetary or other benefits.
In addition, the company noted that it collects and shares some data with partners from optional ads on New Tab and sponsored suggestions in the search bar to maintain commercial viability.
Mozilla also pointed out that while it does not access users’ conversations with third-party AI chatbots enabled via the sidebar, it gathers technical and interaction data to improve the Firefox browser.
This includes the frequency of each third-party chatbot provider chosen, the use of suggested prompts, and the length of selected text.
“Whenever we share data with our partners, we ensure that the shared data is stripped of identifying information, shared in aggregate, or put through our privacy-preserving technologies,” Varma said.
The backlash against Mozilla’s Terms of Use follows Google’s new ad tracking policy, which has raised concerns among regulators and watchdogs due to potential privacy issues.
The Ads platforms program policies, effective February 16, 2025, allow the use of IP addresses to fingerprint users across platforms without re-identification. The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has deemed this change “irresponsible.”
“Organizations using fingerprinting techniques for advertising must demonstrate compliance with data protection law requirements, including transparency, consent, fair processing, and upholding information rights,” the ICO stated.
