Something that hasn't been made clear: Firefox will have an option to completely disable all AI features.
We've been calling it the AI kill switch internally. I'm sure it'll ship with a less murderous name, but that's how seriously and absolutely we're taking this.
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reshared this
Firefox for Web Developers
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •All AI features will also be opt-in. I think there are some grey areas in what 'opt-in' means to different people (e.g. is a new toolbar button opt-in?), but the kill switch will absolutely remove all that stuff, and never show it in future. That's unambiguous.
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aburka 🫣
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •aburka 🫣
in reply to aburka 🫣 • • •Firefox for Web Developers
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •I'm not asking for faith in our direction - the thing I love about the Firefox community is how open, honest, and technical it is.
But I do ask that you don't have the opposite of faith. Like, try not to be determined that we're going to do the wrong thing here.
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Firefox for Web Developers
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •I hope we can (re)gain your trust here.
I don't personally work on this stuff, but I'll try hard to answer any questions you have.
And other than that, I'll get back in my lane, and stick to web platform stuff.
- Jake (@jaffathecake)
Firefox for Web Developers
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •Christophe Henry
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •Mother Bones reshared this.
Scott Williams 🐧
in reply to Christophe Henry • • •Christophe Henry
in reply to Christophe Henry • • •Christophe Henry
in reply to Christophe Henry • • •It's like Mozilla is a car company and it's advertising a new car with leather in it. Ok, cool but what is it? A berline, a pickup, a SUV? Will I recharge with electricity or fuel? And Mozilla's answer is: "it has leather in it!"
It's… not great.
Nicolas Silva
in reply to Christophe Henry • • •Nicolas Silva
in reply to Nicolas Silva • • •Christophe Henry
in reply to Nicolas Silva • • •catch
in reply to Christophe Henry • • •@christophehenry @nical they very publicly had to walk back accepting crypto donations in 2022. It's not quite putting crypto miner in Firefox or linking it to a crypto exchange but still.
techcrunch.com/2022/01/06/mozi…
Firefox maker Mozilla pauses crypto donations amid backlash
Manish Singh (TechCrunch)rachael laura yay ~
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •Seachaint
in reply to rachael laura yay ~ • • •@rachaelspooky Also, that whole bit where the new CEO kited blocking adblocks? Lost me forever. Critical moral failure. You try to fuck with my overton window I throw you out it.
If we want a real humane browser it needs to be 1) Nonprofit, actually this time, no Google buyouts and 2) Flat out reject inhumane tech (DRM, AI, whatever the next shitty thing is), 3) stop hand-wringing about "market share". It's not a market. It's a medium for humans.
Tom Walker
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •Boyd Stephen Smith Jr.
in reply to Tom Walker • • •@tomw @jaffathecake Or they could copy Google and other AI-obsessed big tech by taking working features, integrating AI, and then having the AI "kill switch" disable the feature entirely instead of using the AI free version.
(Google has done this to spell checking in GMail and translation in general.)
It's the stage of enshitification where investors are prioritized over users.
Josh “Yoshi” Vickerson
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •@jaffathecake it’s hard to believe the “kill switch” will actually do what it says. We’ve been told time and time again “AI” will be “opt-in” just to have the features repeatedly turned back on after users have disabled them.
Why is this *any* different?
Firefox for Web Developers
in reply to Josh “Yoshi” Vickerson • • •Josh “Yoshi” Vickerson
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •@jaffathecake the “AI” chat flag resets every now and then. browser.ml.enable as well. I don’t have them all memorized, but I’ve had to disable them more than once (yes, same browser profile).
I run Dev Edition. Maybe it’s a bug 🤷♂️ but against the backdrop of doubling down on things Mozilla’s users explicitly reject, it sure is a strange coincidence.
Josh “Yoshi” Vickerson
in reply to Josh “Yoshi” Vickerson • • •@jaffathecake “kill switch” is opt-out, btw.
Opt-in would be users having to separately choose to install and enable it.
Firefox for Web Developers
in reply to Josh “Yoshi” Vickerson • • •Josh “Yoshi” Vickerson
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •Maddie
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •I read the thread and see where the confusion is coming from, this is for sure a PR minefield. That said, it seems clear that there's a significant opt *out* aspect of the consent model here that ought to be acknowledged...
I appreciate you interfacing with users, which can be particularly stressful digitally, especially with the new CEO. Working with the users, rather than for users, is the key.
Maddie
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •I've experienced this with a growing list of config options, the earliest being browser.ml.enable. If I were to guess, it may be getting re-enabled every update, I'm not sure.
You can imagine the frustration multiplies with other pain points. Like, I often right click a page to select "View Page Source". It was a bit frustrating when the split second before I can click it, "✨ Summarize with AI" loaded into the context menu and I accidentally clicked that.
David Gerard
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •@josh @jaffathecake I have had browser.ml.* settings I disabled by hand in about:config re-enable repeatedly with new versions. I posted about it on bsky and a pile of other people chimed in saying the same had happened to them too.
Do not try to pretend you don't know this was happening.
the elder sea
in reply to David Gerard • • •@davidgerard @josh @jaffathecake
I just checked on this PC and had to disable them *again.*
David Gerard
in reply to the elder sea • • •ToddZ Ⓥ
in reply to David Gerard • • •@davidgerard @eldersea @josh @jaffathecake
I don't know what everybody's upset about. All AI features are opt-in only. You have to deliberately opt-in by failing to repeatedly disable several cryptic default settings hidden behind an obscure configuration URL.
Anthony
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •All of the ones listed in this post, for a start: buc.ci/abucci/p/1763845084.289…
Since writing that I've found more. It's like mold growing in the basement.
A few versions ago Firefox had maybe 5 (?) such ML-related features. Since then, the number of configuration options has exploded. Many (most?) of these features are ON (set to true) by default. Worse still, the "namespaces" are not just
browser.ml. There'sbrowser.aiwindow,browser.tabs.groups.smart,extensions.ml, andsidebar.notification.badge.aichat.How do you intend to earn trust against this backdrop? I fully expect that every time I update Firefox I'm going to have to scour through
about:configto find the 2, 5, 10, ??? new AI-related options and double check that they are off. You haven't given anyone a reason to believe that the "master kill switch" you keep referring to is going to cover every single one of these settings sprawled across so many different places. At this point in time the only thing I trust is that Mozilla will keep pushing AI into Firefox and that I will have no choice but to put in a lot of work to keep it turned off--or give up using Firefox altogether.Incidentally, and speaking of trust and consent, will the proposed "kill switch" be turned off by default? You talk of "opt-in" as if it is confusing, but it is not: this switch should be OFF unless a user wants it on.
@josh@vickerson.me @jaffathecake@mastodon.social
Anthony
2025-11-22 20:58:04
Firefox for Web Developers
in reply to Anthony • • •Anthony
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •The user experience sucks because I don't want AI anywhere near my computer, and I don't want to have to put in work on my web browser to ensure this. By adding these features you've introduced more friction in the form of a configuration tax each and every time I update the browser.
@josh@vickerson.me @jaffathecake
Firefox for Web Developers
in reply to Anthony • • •Anthony
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •Is it always off by default? Are all of the configuration options it covers off by default and stay off even if I turn the kill switch back to on?
Are all the options listed here controlled by the kill switch? buc.ci/abucci/p/1763845084.289…
@josh@vickerson.me @jaffathecake@mastodon.social
Anthony
2025-11-22 20:58:04
Firefox for Web Developers
in reply to Anthony • • •2005800 - Add Disable AI section to gen ai settings
bugzilla.mozilla.orgAnthony
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •You haven't answered my questions. You've not given me any assurance that people who can answer my questions will get back to me. You've also given me a homework assignment.
You are doing the opposite of building trust with such a response. I just got done telling you the browser is creating work for me, and that I objected to this. Following that by giving me work to do is an irritating move--you see that don't you?
@josh@vickerson.me @jaffathecake
Mother Bones
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •It's *inherently* the wrong thing, though.
I also don't want to buy eyeglasses that include eyeball-poking blades "but with a kill switch to retract them in case you don't like those." I just want eyeglasses with no eyeball-poking blades to begin with.
Mina
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •The thing is: Adding LLM-stuff to FF and burying the possibility to disable it in about 6 different "about:config" settings is not exactly how trust is built.
It's the corporate bullshit (like those bloody TOS) that is killing Firefox, and hence Mozilla.
Kev Quirk
in reply to Firefox for Web Developers • • •I think your CEO publicly stating that Firefox "will evolve into a modern AI browser" is what's got people on edge.
Further, this is just another step in a raft of poor decisions by Mozilla, which has me (after 20+ years of happy use) looking for an alternative.
Morten Juhl-Johansen
in reply to Kev Quirk • • •Jonathan Lamothe
in reply to Kev Quirk • •Kev Quirk
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • • •@me no. That's a direct quote from the post.
blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/le…
Mozilla’s next chapter: Building the world’s most trusted software company
Rebecca Smith (The Mozilla Blog)Jonathan Lamothe likes this.