During our testing of Firefox Suggest, we did not receive such a message. According to Mozilla, opting-in seems to currently rely on a notification message from Firefox asking users to specifically agree to sharing additional data. We did, however, receive a Wikipedia suggestion on our search of “Germany” and a Firefox Pocket suggestion on our search of “chicken soup,” as shown below.ĭuring our testing, we also could not find a way to opt-in to improved contextual suggestions.

When Malwarebytes Labs tested Firefox Suggest, we could not produce any sponsored content results. If you do not see that label then the default experience is enabled with no new kinds of data sharing.”Īs shown in the image below, though we did find this setting in Firefox’s preferences, we did not find the exact language about “location, search queries, and visited sites.” “If you see ‘Contextual suggestions’ checked with the string ‘Firefox will have access to your location, search queries, and visited sites’, you have opted in. Mozilla said that, for those who go into Firefox’s preferences:

Unfortunately, when Malwarebytes Labs installed the latest version of Firefox (93.0 for MacOS), we could not find the exact language described in Mozilla’s support page. Under the heading, “ Opt-in Suggestions,” however, Mozilla only said that a “new type of even smarter” suggestion is being presented for some users that the company hopes will “enhance and speed up your searching experience.” Mozilla said that it “source and partner with trusted providers to serve up contextual suggestions related to your query from across the web,” which sounds confusingly similar to the default contextual suggestions that come from the company’s “trusted partners” and are “based on what you’re searching for.”įortunately, Mozilla offered a way for users to check if they’ve opted-in to the data sharing required for improved contextual suggestions. No new types of data are collected, stored, or shared to make these new recommendations.” Under the heading “ What’s on by default,” Mozilla said that, starting with Firefox version 92, users “will also receive new, relevant suggestions from our trusted partners based on what you’re searching for. How that additional data produces separate results, however, is unclear, because Mozilla remains frustratingly vague about the experience that users can expect if they have the default “contextual suggestions” enabled compared to users who have opted-in to “improved results for Contextual Suggestions.”

On its support page for Firefox Suggest, Mozilla explicitly said that “contextual suggestions are enabled by default, but improved results through data sharing is only enabled when you opt-in.” That data sharing, covered in more detail below, broadly includes user “location, search queries, and visited sites,” Mozilla said. That’s because there appear to be two different levels of suggestions for Firefox Suggest, which are only referred to by Mozilla as “Contextual suggestions,” and “improved results for Contextual Suggestions.” Though the explanation seems simple, the implementation is not. But with the new Firefox Suggest feature, users will also receive suggestions from, according to Mozilla, “other sources of information such as Wikipedia, Pocket articles, reviews, and credible content from sponsored, vetted partners and trusted organizations.” That has included suggestions based on users’ bookmarks, browser histories, and their open tabs. Much like other browsers, Firefox already offers users a bevy of suggestions depending on what they type into the search and address bar. According to Mozilla, Firefox Suggest “serves as a trustworthy guide to the better web, finding relevant information and sites to help you accomplish your goals.” The advertising experiment lies within a feature called “Firefox Suggest,” which was announced in September. Mozilla is trying a novel experiment into striking a balance between ad revenue generation and privacy protection by implementing a new way to deliver ads in its Firefox web browser-presenting them as “suggestions” whenever users type into the dual-use search and URL address bar.

Firefox limit speed