this post was submitted on 26 Feb 2026
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TL;DR: Mozilla recently released AI controls for Firefox: a single control panel that lets people disable AI features in the browser or pick and choose which to leave on. On the surface, this sounds like a win for user choice in an era of AI-everything.

If we dig deeper, you can start to see that the kill switch isn’t the whole story. This feature acts like an accountability sink. By giving you an off-switch, Mozilla’s leadership shifts the ethical burden of AI onto the user - turning their design choices into your responsibility.

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[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

Bro, just turn it off if you don't want it.

Or use Tor Browser or Mullvad Browser if you don't wanna deal with it.

[–] LostWanderer@fedia.io 7 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

LLM features should be opt-in by default, full stop. Just turning it off without being given a choice to refuse is very scummy behavior on the part of Mozilla. What if they wanted to use the default Firefox? Shouldn't a user be allowed to opt-in and have LLM features off by default on every fresh install?

It's nice having options that respect your freedom of choice and don't force their deluded ideas upon you...I feel that mainline Firefox, made by Mozilla should do that as well! By not holding Mozilla to higher standards, you get another Microsoft Edge or Chrome situation all over again, this time in open source spaces.

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world -2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Like I said, then use a fork.

Tor and Mullvad made some excellent browsers.

[–] LostWanderer@fedia.io 4 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Still not the point, if Mozilla wanted to implement LLM features, they needed to do it right! Opt-in is the ethical and user respecting way to handle it. We can all use Forks, but if you let a corporation get away with insane defaults...It will get worse.

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world -1 points 3 weeks ago

Feel free to make the pull request, dawg

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 2 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

bro use another thing. don't complain or suggest something should be different! Just abandon toot sweet. Seriously im in process of moving to either waterfox or librefox but the browser is practically an abstracted next level of the os so moving over is just a bit faster than moving my os. At least for my main browser.

[–] ParlimentOfDoom@piefed.zip 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Librewolf keeps crashing my machine whenever I alt tab out of a game to it.

[–] yoasif@fedia.io 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Might just be a Firefox bug, since it's a very light fork. Try Firefox and see if it does the same thing.

[–] ParlimentOfDoom@piefed.zip 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I switched back to Firefox after the third time it happened. Not a Firefox issue

[–] yoasif@fedia.io 1 points 3 weeks ago

Well, you could import the same policies into Firefox that LibreWolf uses, or it might be some workaround in your graphics driver that acts on the filename of the Firefox executable.

Obviously you don't need to test, but just throwing out ideas if you would want to.

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Better yet, just make a pull request. Its open source. Can build your own Firefox.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social -3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

xactly. or why even fork. just start building a new browser writing straight assembly or better yet bro code it with ai.

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The source code is there. Why reinvent the wheel. Its like 2 or 3 commands to build it.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

oh building it straight up removes the ai? do builds ever fail? what are the three commands. I won't need specific libraries or other requirments for my os yeah?

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Ezpz

  • Download source
  • Delete ai commits
  • Install deps per Firefox and OS docs
  • Build per Firefox and OS docs

Now you won't ever have to worry about it.

Better yet, install Tor Browser or Mullvad browser and save yourself from typing 3 command lines.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

im already moving to either waterfox or librefox. comes down to if my addons have any issue with either. hoping waterfox as I already sorta have waterfox for a specific setup I don't want to change.

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Ah well I wish you luck with the fingerprint issues with those two browsers. Weird to care about AI being in your browser but not about that, but I guess its better than Chrome.

[–] HubertManne@piefed.social 1 points 3 weeks ago

thanks. You have good luck with it to.

[–] yoasif@fedia.io 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

What fingerprint issues are you aware of?

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

https://github.com/BrowserWorks/waterfox

Search "fingerprint" on the issues page. Read the "closed" issues as well, because all they did was close the issue and direct them to a discussion page.

[–] yoasif@fedia.io 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Could you link to a real issue so we aren't guessing about what we are looking at?

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] yoasif@fedia.io 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm seeing closed bugs from 2021 here, are we supposed to take these seriously?

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Its been a known issue for a while, yes.

[–] XLE@piefed.social 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Ive chosen the route of using Tor Browser or Mullvad Browser instead. They are fantastic browsers that probably have the best web browser fingerprint protection available, next to Vanadium Browser.

[–] XLE@piefed.social 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

How about we remove it from the browser, and if you want it you can install it as an addon.

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Submit that pull request, my dude

[–] XLE@piefed.social 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Do you have the authority to authorize its approval, or are you just trying to shut people up with a thought-terminating cliché

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

You don't need authority if its your own code, technically. Just commit and build.

If you're wanting it as the default for everyone who uses that browser, Lemmy is not the place to request it. Hit up Mozilla, ask them to change it, or change it yourself and ask them to review your pull request. They authorize and approve from outside contributors quite often, so don't sell yourself short.

But also, yes, i love the cliche because people just moan on lemmy about things instead of actively addressing the issue with the appropriate people on the appropriate mediums.

Airing your grievances out here is fun though. I get it. but asking the people upset about it to do some work is also fun.

[–] XLE@piefed.social 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Do you really believe Mozilla would accept a pull request to remove AI from their codebase?

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] XLE@piefed.social 3 points 3 weeks ago
[–] yoasif@fedia.io 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Why do you want people to stop discussing this? Are you running community management for Mozilla? If not, why is discussing it not "addressing the issue"? People are engaging in discourse.

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Not once did I say I want people to stop discussing this.

[–] yoasif@fedia.io 1 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

What is the purpose of this message?

But also, yes, i love the cliche because people just moan on lemmy about things instead of actively addressing the issue with the appropriate people on the appropriate mediums.

Airing your grievances out here is fun though. I get it. but asking the people upset about it to do some work is also fun.

Awfully ironic to say this, now that "code is free". What work are we talking about?

[–] 9tr6gyp3@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Talking to Mozilla is work, but you can also keep talking to me as well.