this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2026
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[–] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 53 points 4 days ago (4 children)

Fuckkkkk.

Can Mozilla just fucking stop licking Google’s asshole for like 1 god damned week?

[–] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

firefox lives and dies by google giving them money.

[–] Squizzy@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Why though, it could run as a stable project with little support outside volunteer and donations...which they ask for already.

[–] girsaysdoom@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago

It's probably because non-profit execs are brainwashed by the promises of AI too. Also, Google has donated over $1 billion to Mozilla according to this website.

[–] iturnedintoanewt@lemmy.world 12 points 4 days ago

It's their biggest source of revenue, AFAIK.

[–] lama@lemmy.world 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Looks like right now it just blocks their AI features. Don't threaten me with a good time Mozilla. Though I do worry about it spreading in the future

The token is used to access Firefox’s server-side AI tools, like Smart Window, for rate-limiting purposes, ensuring only unmodified, > Play-installed copies of Firefox on Google-certified devices use Mozilla’s1 compute infra.

[–] AHemlocksLie@lemmy.zip 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Last I knew, Google provided like 3/4 of their total revenue, so... Google unfortunately gets to call some shots. Only way to really fix that is to give them a substantial alternative income stream.

[–] logging_strict@programming.dev 1 points 3 days ago (2 children)

or let them slip into obsolescence.

[–] AHemlocksLie@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 days ago

And then your entire range of browser options becomes Chrome and a half dozen reskins of Chrome. I'm pretty sure a huge reason Google provides the funding is to avoid having Chrome branded a monopoly.

[–] PokerChips@programming.dev 1 points 2 days ago

That would be worse.

[–] placebo@lemmy.zip 12 points 3 days ago

it might mean that users on non-certified or rooted devices can’t access all AI features in Firefox for Android

oh_no_anyway.gif

Although some users might want to use these AI features. I'm not sure why they shouldn't be able to do so.

[–] Scoopta@programming.dev 18 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Guess it's nice I run graphene and can just block that, man that sucks though. I'm tired of Mozilla being only slightly better than the competition

[–] Turret3857@infosec.pub 7 points 3 days ago (1 children)

on one hand, fuck Mozilla's enshitifiation.

on the other hand, this is a pro for custom ROM users. you get the AI automatically stripped out.

[–] logging_strict@programming.dev 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

it's almost like firefox wants everyone to migrate over to waterfox, librewolf, or mullvad-browser

[–] Wataba@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Mullvad isn't on Android. I checked when I started using the VPN. Literally irrelevant to this discussion.

[–] pomegranatefern@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Last I checked, LibreWolf also wasn't on Android. I use IronFox on e/OS

(I bought a Fairphone 4 through Murena a few years back as my first foray into custom ROMs. Still debating what I will do for my next phone when the time finally comes. I do not need to be told about the concerns about Murena, that is already factored into my indecisiveness about my next phone.)

[–] logging_strict@programming.dev 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This is first time hearing about IronFox. Is it a distinct browser or just a repackaging of Firefox?

[–] pomegranatefern@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

It's another Firefox fork (well, based on a Mull fork, which is from Firefox), similar to LibreWolf. No AI, similar built-in security and privacy features. You can find the repository and install instructions here: https://gitlab.com/ironfox-oss/IronFox

[–] logging_strict@programming.dev 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What was the issue with mullvad-browser that it required a fork? Did they lose it at some point?

[–] pomegranatefern@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Mull browser, not Mullvad; the Mull browser project was discontinued, hence why IronFox picked it up. I actually don't know if the Mullvad browser is also a Mull fork; the name would suggest a connection, but I can't see it mentioned anywhere in a quick search of their site.

What i'm learning about these firefox derivatives is they are just applying some patches, putting lipstick on that pig, and calling it something else. So might be time to just list the patches and compare which patches we like. Like trading baseball cards or cheering our favorite team (patch).

[–] Shin@piefed.social 8 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I’ve the feels that Firefox only exists to avoid monopoly on chrome.

[–] webjukebox@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago

Google funds its own antitrust competition