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Mozilla Backs off on Data Collection: Firefox Labs to Not Require Telemetry or Studies in Future Updates (www.quippd.com)

submitted 2 days ago by LWD@lemm.ee to c/firefox@lemmy.ml

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cross-posted from: https://fedia.io/m/firefox@lemmy.world/t/2320051

Starting in Firefox 138, Mozilla started gating Firefox Labs features behind data collection.

Mozilla had announced that some new Firefox features would be released via Firefox Labs.

It is now a few hours since I posted, and there is reason to celebrate – Mozilla is updating Firefox Labs to let people access features without needing to enable data collection.

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[–] LWD@lemm.ee 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

🤔 I thought you wanted Labs features to be gated

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Must have been a misunderstanding. I merely said that it makes sense that you would want to collect usage data on potential new future features that are in development, to gather an understanding of what works and what doesn't. I didn't say that features should be arbitrarily gated. That would make no sense. 👍

[–] LWD@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It might be me, but when you wrote

But it's Firefox Labs, this is to test features before they're ready. If you want to participate in that, you're doing it to help Mozilla with Firefox, and it should thus be imperative that you also help with usage data as well. It just makes sense. Nothing to do with preference.

It sure sounded like you supported Firefox Labs features being gated

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Well, that's an incorrect interpretation of what it says.

I make no mention of the word "gated" or any other synonym of that. Those are your words, and it's an incorrect extrapolation of what I'm saying. I make heavy use of words like "help", and I talk about it coming from our direction.

The help should be voluntary, I will concede, but I think it would be fine if it were opt-out. Maybe a lot of people won't notice an opt-in variant, so Mozilla would get a lot less usage data.

There's a big difference between supporting something "being gated" in and of itself, and supporting helping out an organization that has a very noble mission statement (as far as I understand it anyway). That's the way I see it. 👍