Mozilla, the developer of the Firefox browser, has once again updated its Terms of Use on Friday, marking the second revision within a week. The changes come after criticism regarding the use of overly broad language, which seemingly granted the company rights to all information uploaded by users.
The latest version of the Terms of Use now states:
“You grant Mozilla the necessary rights to operate Firefox, including processing your data as described in the Firefox Privacy Notice. Additionally, you provide a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to manage the content you input into Firefox as per your request. However, Mozilla does not claim ownership of that content.”
Previously, the version that took effect on February 26 stated:
“When you upload or input information through Firefox, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that information to help you navigate, experience, and interact with online content as you do when using Firefox.”
This revision comes just days after Mozilla first introduced the Terms of Use for Firefox, along with an updated Privacy Notice aimed at enhancing transparency regarding how the company handles user data.
Mozilla’s Response to Criticism
Ajit Varma, Mozilla’s Vice President of Product, stated:
“We have listened to concerns from our community regarding certain parts of the Terms of Use, particularly around licensing. Our intention was to be as clear as possible about how Firefox operates, but in doing so, we inadvertently created confusion and concern.”
Mozilla emphasized that it does not sell or purchase user data. The policy revision was made because some jurisdictions interpret the term “sell” more broadly, encompassing various ways in which a user’s personal information may be shared with third parties in exchange for financial or other benefits.
Additionally, Mozilla acknowledged that it does collect and share some data with its partners through optional ads on new tabs and sponsored suggestions in the search bar as part of its commercial viability strategy.
Mozilla also clarified that while it does not access users’ conversations with third-party artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots enabled via the sidebar and shortcuts, it does collect technical and interaction data to improve Firefox’s performance.
The collected data includes how often third-party chatbot providers are selected, how frequently suggested prompts are used, and the length of selected text.
“Whenever we share data with our partners, we take great care to ensure that the data is stripped of personally identifiable information, shared only in aggregate, or processed through our privacy-preserving technologies (such as OHTTP),” Varma added.
Privacy Concerns and Comparison with Google’s Policy
The backlash against Mozilla’s Terms of Use coincides with Google’s new ad tracking policy, which has also faced criticism from regulators and privacy advocates.
Google’s updated advertising platform policy, which took effect on February 16, 2025, allows the use of IP addresses for fingerprinting users and tracking them across platforms without requiring re-identification. The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has deemed this an “irresponsible” move.
“Organizations seeking to implement fingerprinting techniques for advertising must demonstrate how they comply with data protection regulations,” ICO stated in an official release. “This includes providing users with transparency, obtaining clear and freely-given consent, ensuring fair processing, and upholding privacy rights, such as the right to erasure.”
