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I use Firefox on both iOS and desktop. A few days ago, I was surprised to find two new shortcuts on my new tab page in Firefox on my phone (to Expedia and adida

I use Firefox on both iOS and desktop. A few days ago, I was surprised to find two new shortcuts on my new tab page in Firefox on my phone (to Expedia and adidas). My first thought was that I must have accidentally visited a website or downloaded something that exploited the browser to insert advertising shortcuts. However, I discovered that this is actually a built-in Firefox feature called 'Sponsored Shortcuts.' Mozilla could have been an exemplary company, but they continue to squander the trust people place in them. It's shameful. PS: You can turn off sponsored shortcuts here https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/sponsor-privacy https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/sponsor-privacy

m463 2y ago
I remember years ago when I first tried clearing browser cookies - they would quickly reappear. I tracked it down to all the pre-populated favorites that would visit a website when the browser launched.
- rightbyte 2y ago
  That is really bad. That is spyware. I got a feeling Mozilla will push more and more of stuff like this as Google's money dry out. I need to check what defaults the Debian FF package comes with.
- hulitu 2y ago
  I disabled safe browsing in about: config but it still connects to google's servers.
  - m463 2y ago
    search for google in about:config It might be other stuff like ocsp or domain stuff.
daghamm 2y ago
They do stupid things like this once in a while. They dont even need the money, which is a rounding error compared to what Google pays them every year. This is just a greedy clueless MBAs trying to show themselves they are not useless. Can't wait for Ladybird to hit stable.
- nar001 2y ago
  Considering judges just decided Google paying for preferential treatment is anticompetitive, they need any revenue they can get
  - daghamm 2y ago
    So what you are saying ia that the honeymoon is over and Mozilla will try more and more crazy ideas to make a buck out of me? Now I want ladybird to succeed even more.
    - bad_user 2y ago
      How do you think Ladybird will get its funding?
Krssst 2y ago
While sponsored shortcuts are not exactly good it's still insanely better than the alternatives that will stop supporting good ad-blocking, or the other one that will ignore the user choice of not making it the default and keep starting anyway when you use some other software/OS from the same company. The defaults of Firefox may not be optimal but they're easy to change and don't pester you to change them back. (with that being said I sure would like it if Firefox remembered my choice to disable sponsored shortcuts in my synchronization account)
mossTechnician 2y ago
You can also disable the Shopping sidebar and Ad Measurement in about:config by setting these to False: browser.shopping.experience2023.enabled dom.private-attribution.submission.enabled

m463 2y ago

I remember years ago when I first tried clearing browser cookies - they would quickly reappear. I tracked it down to all the pre-populated favorites that would visit a website when the browser launched.

rightbyte 2y ago
That is really bad. That is spyware. I got a feeling Mozilla will push more and more of stuff like this as Google's money dry out. I need to check what defaults the Debian FF package comes with.
hulitu 2y ago
I disabled safe browsing in about: config but it still connects to google's servers.
- m463 2y ago
  search for google in about:config It might be other stuff like ocsp or domain stuff.

daghamm 2y ago

They do stupid things like this once in a while. They dont even need the money, which is a rounding error compared to what Google pays them every year. This is just a greedy clueless MBAs trying to show themselves they are not useless. Can't wait for Ladybird to hit stable.

nar001 2y ago
Considering judges just decided Google paying for preferential treatment is anticompetitive, they need any revenue they can get
- daghamm 2y ago
  So what you are saying ia that the honeymoon is over and Mozilla will try more and more crazy ideas to make a buck out of me? Now I want ladybird to succeed even more.
  - bad_user 2y ago
    How do you think Ladybird will get its funding?

Krssst 2y ago

While sponsored shortcuts are not exactly good it's still insanely better than the alternatives that will stop supporting good ad-blocking, or the other one that will ignore the user choice of not making it the default and keep starting anyway when you use some other software/OS from the same company. The defaults of Firefox may not be optimal but they're easy to change and don't pester you to change them back. (with that being said I sure would like it if Firefox remembered my choice to disable sponsored shortcuts in my synchronization account)

mossTechnician 2y ago

You can also disable the Shopping sidebar and Ad Measurement in about:config by setting these to False: browser.shopping.experience2023.enabled dom.private-attribution.submission.enabled