Thank you for the missing context. Would you (or someone else in the know) please clarify what additional user data (if any) the default-enabled bootstrap add-

Thank you for the missing context. Would you (or someone else in the know) please clarify what additional user data (if any) the default-enabled bootstrap add-on caused to be collected when the extensions.pug.lookingglass preference was disabled? I did some searching, but it's unclear to me whether SHIELD studies automatically cause any additional data to be collected and to whom that might go. I think the support site[1] could do a lot better addressing that topic. For example, it mentions (but does not link to) the default data collection policy. Does the fact that this study didn't pop an opt-in UI definitively mean that whatever additional user data might be collected was all within Mozilla's privacy policy? The support site says that opt-in step, "will happen when a particular study needs to collect data that is not covered by default data collection policy." Does this apply when the study is just a bootstrap, and the actual extension is pref-enabled? Lastly, I appreciate that you've being candid in sharing your personal feelings about the inappropriateness of pushing this extension. I'd like Mozilla to go one step further and comment on whether an extension of this nature is even appropriate to consider for a SHIELD study. Based on my reading of the feature's design and history (starting at the wiki[2] and branching out from there), as well as the aforementioned user-facing documentation, I believe SHIELD is intended for user research into features/ideas intended to be shipped to all Firefox users. I didn't find definitive guidelines on what constitutes an appropriate study for this program (if aren't publicly available, that's something Mozilla might want to address in the wake of this controversy), but I would disqualify Looking Glass in at least four different ways: * Fleeting - whatever appeal it has to its target audience has a short shelf-life * Frivolous - it has no utility and doesn't substantially improve any aspect of the user experience * Hyper-targeted - it's only for Mr Robot fans * Advertising-related - this adds an extra level of privacy concern for users User research is a delicate matter requiring a lot of care to balance collection with privacy. To enroll (or stay enrolled) in these programs, users must be confident that they aren't trading too much privacy and are getting tangible benefits in return. Looking Glass fails the privacy confidence test for being advertising. It fails the tangible benefit test for being fleeting, frivolous, and hyper-targeted. SHIELD isn't some convenient way to push features. It's a user research tool. Studies ought to have the gravity that the term implies. Mozilla hasn't just failed to respect user's concern over their privacy, it has also undercut its own user research efforts. [1] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/shield https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/shield [2] https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox/Shield https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox/Shield [3] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/lookingglass https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/lookingglass