Firefox
Free and extensible Web browserFirefox made by Mozilla is the most popular free software web browser. Browsers are highly complex programs, and being popular means that security bugs are more likely to be noticed and fixed than in browsers that receive less usage and therefore less scrutiny. Firefox can also be enhanced by installing browser extensions that provide countermeasures against online tracking and advertising. However, Firefox also introduces a host of ethical pitfalls and privacy hazards in the form of anti-features.
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Free Software: Free (as in freedom, not price) software puts the user in control by allowing you to use the software for any purpose, modify it, and redistribute it. This also implies that you can examine the source code and see what it does and how it works. This represents a baseline requirement for recommendation in this guide.
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Supports Interoperability: Interoperability increases freedom and usefulness by allowing different systems to work together. When a service is hostile to other services interoperating, particularly a communication service, this places users in a walled garden, which limits choice and can make it difficult to switch to or from an alternative.
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Recommends Proprietary Software: When a program recommends the installation of proprietary programs or add-ons without clearly warning the user, it can result in the user accidentally installing such software without understanding the implications.
In this case, Firefox offers to download and install DRM into the browser and recommends proprietary browser extensions through Mozilla’s extensions directory.
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Contains Anti-Features: An anti-feature is a feature of a program that prioritizes the interests of some party other than the user of the program—often those of the program’s developer. In many cases, the feature actively works against the interests of the user, for example by artificially limiting the functionality of the program or subjecting the user to surveillance.
See the dedicated list of anti-features in Firefox.
Anti-Features
Even though Firefox is free software it nevertheless contains various anti-features:
- Firefox sends information about your usage of the browser to 3rd parties including Mozilla (so-called telemetry) and Google (Google Analytics) under the pretense of helping Firefox’s developers, who believe that they are entitled to this information without obtaining consent, improve the software. Telemetry can be disabled via Privacy & Security > Firefox Data Collection and Use > “Allow Firefox to send technical and interaction data to Mozilla” in Firefox’s preferences.
- Firefox encourages users to save their bookmarks to a SaaSS called Pocket instead of locally to their own computer. Pocket is a browser extension that can be disabled by setting
extensions.pocket.enabledtofalseinabout:config. - Firefox intersperses its address bar suggestions with advertisements. This can be disabled by un-checking the Privacy & Security > Address Bar — Firefox Suggest > Contextual suggestions item in Firefox’s preferences.
- Firefox’s “Activity Stream” is a vehicle for delivering stealth advertisements. Activity Stream can be hidden by setting the items under Home > New Windows and Tabs to Blank Page in Firefox’s preferences.
- Firefox contains a back door (“Shield”) that allows Mozilla to remotely change Firefox without your consent or knowledge. This back door has already been abused by installing marketing for a TV show into victims’ browsers. Fortunately, this back door can be closed by disabling Privacy & Security > Firefox Data Collection and Use > “Allow Firefox to install and run studies” in Firefox’s preferences.
- Firefox contains another back door (“Normandy”) that allows Mozilla to remotely change your browser preferences. You can disable it by setting
app.normandy.enabledtofalseinabout:config. - Firefox contains another back door that allows Mozilla to disable your browser extensions. This back door cannot be closed by the user.
- Firefox offers to install “digital handcuffs” called DRM as a browser plugin. Make sure General > Digital Rights Management (DRM) Content > “Play DRM-controlled content” is disabled in Firefox’s preferences.
Further privacy enhancement and hardening of the browser are possible through Firefox’s about:config page. See PrivacyTools’s guide for a more in-depth rundown of options.
Alternatives
There are very few alternatives to Firefox that respect your freedom and privacy. Some such alternatives, all based on Firefox, include:
GNU IceCat
Free and extensible Web browser based on Firefox
Tor Browser
Free and extensible browser for use with the Tor anonymity network
LibreWolf
A fork of Firefox focused on privacy, security, and user freedomRecommended Extensions
Browser extensions (also known as browser add-ons) are small programs that extend the functionality of your Web browser, including enhanced privacy features.