Mozilla introduces TOS to Firefox

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In February 2025 Mozilla introduced terms of use (TOS) for the Firefox browser for the first time as well as an updated privacy policy. These terms of service contain a section about the rights and permissions the user gives to Mozilla. This has caused concern among Firefox users due to how this section was initially phrased.

Background

On February 26th 2025, Mozilla announced they were introducing terms of service and updating their privacy policy for the Firefox web browser. Until February 2025, Mozilla always relied on Firefox's open source license (the Mozilla Public License version 2.0) for the browser and their public commitments. They say that by adding these terms, they want to make their commitments "abundantly clear and accessible".

Questionable phrasing in the TOS and consumer response

The new terms contained phrasing that has caused concern by users of Firefox and the reasoning for its inclusion in the privacy focused browser. Concerns center especially around the phrasing of terms outlined in the section titled "You Give Mozilla Certain Rights and Permissions".

This is what that section originally said:

You give Mozilla all rights necessary to operate Firefox, including processing data as we describe in the Firefox Privacy Notice, as well as acting on your behalf to help you navigate the internet. 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.

The vagueness of the terms resulted in users questioning how much of their data they were granting Mozilla a license to use, especially since the company puts a lot of emphasis on transparency and privacy on their manifesto. One notable concern is the possibility that license to user input could be used to train artificial intelligence tools. This became a concern since Mozilla has recently been working on AI tools.

AI training concerns

• Mozilla’s original TOU could have allowed AI training on user input: Mozilla's wording in their first round of TOS changes granted Mozilla a "nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license" to "use" user input, without specifying clear limitations. Mozillla's vague writing caused concern among firefox users that their input could be used for artificial intelligence training, especially given Mozilla’s AI-related projects. After backlash, Mozilla revised the TOU to clarify that data usage is restricted to user-requested actions.

Date of effect

It is also worth noting that the announcement of the introduction of the TOS and new privacy policy was made in a blog post one day after the terms and privacy policy are to take effect. No other communication was made to users of the browser as of February 27th 2025.

Change of Firefox's FAQ

File:Firefox-faq.png

Firefox FAQ wording changes, new left old right.

Also of note is a recent change to the Firefox FAQ page to remove the section promising not to sell personal data.

Before its removal, this is what the section said:

Does Firefox sell your personal data?

Nope. Never have, never will. And we protect you from many of the advertisers who do. Firefox products are designed to protect your privacy. That’s a promise.

Another section Mozilla changed is removing part of the answer to the question "Is Firefox free?". This section concluded with the phrase "and we don’t sell your personal data.". This section has since been removed.

Both of these were present in the FAQ until at least January 30th 2025.

• Mozilla’s Terms of Use no longer prohibit selling user data: Previously, Mozilla’s FAQ explicitly stated, "Nope. Never have, never will," regarding selling user data, but this statement was quietly removed. Mozilla justified this by pointing to broad legal definitions under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which define "selling data" as any transfer of data for "valuable consideration," even if anonymized. However, the new Terms of Use do not explicitly prohibit Mozilla from selling user data in the future, meaning they could legally do so if they chose.

Mozilla's response

Partial screenshot of lawful basis section for data usage from the Firefox privacy policy.

Initially, Mozilla added an update to their initial blog post in an attempt to clarify the language of the terms of use.

This is what the update says:

UPDATE: We’ve seen a little confusion about the language regarding licenses, so we want to clear that up. We need a license to allow us to make some of the basic functionality of Firefox possible. Without it, we couldn’t use information typed into Firefox, for example. It does NOT give us ownership of your data or a right to use it for anything other than what is described in the Privacy Notice.

Notably, this update doesn't address the concerns relating to the broadness that can be attributed to the wording of the terms.

Mozilla's privacy policy contains fairly extensive and clear statements on how Mozilla uses user data. It does not explicitly mention artificial intelligence tools other than the ability to use third party chat assistants. The privacy policy clarifies that Mozilla has no access to these chats.

On February 28th, Mozilla updated the terms of use to address the concerns people were having. The section about rights and permissions given to Mozilla was reworded to be more clear:

You give Mozilla the rights necessary to operate Firefox. This includes processing your data as we describe in the Firefox Privacy Notice. It also includes a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license for the purpose of doing as you request with the content you input in Firefox. This does not give Mozilla any ownership in that content.

As well as this, the new terms have removed the reference to the acceptable use policy.

Mozilla have also provided explanation for why they changed their FAQ. They say this is because different legislation has different definitions of "sale of data" and this makes it uncertain on whether a business is legally considered to be selling data.

Community Concerns & Digging into the validity of them

Mozilla’s Terms of Use & Privacy Policy update led to loud public protest over them. Here is an analysis of the primary concerns raised by the Firefox community:

Valid Concerns

• Vague licensing language in the TOU: Initially, Mozilla’s TOU granted the company a "nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license" to user input, which raised concerns about potential data ownership and usage rights. This was later revised after backlash.

• Mozilla removed explicit language about not selling user data: Mozilla’s FAQ previously stated, "We don’t and never will sell your personal data," but this was quietly removed from its website and documentation. Mozilla later stated that different legal jurisdictions, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), had vague definitions of "data selling," which led them to revise this wording.

• Users were not notified before the TOU changes took effect: Mozilla announced the new terms on February 26, 2025, but they had already taken effect by February 25, 2025.

• Lack of clarity on why Mozilla needs a license to user input: Users questioned why Mozilla needed licensing rights over user input when browsers have worked for 25+ years without these terms.

Concerns Likely Based on Misinterpretation

• Mozilla will log & track all user browsing data: Some users assumed the TOU granted Mozilla unlimited access to browsing history. However, Mozilla’s privacy policy still states that it does not store user browsing history or personal data beyond necessary telemetry.

Mozilla tried to clarify where they stand on data privacy, but the way they've written their terms as well as the manner in which they communicated them has resulted in user protest & distrust.

See also

• Mozilla