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This feature can be easily disabled with policies: https://mozilla.github.io/policy-templates/#generativeai https://mozilla.github.io/policy-templates/#generat

This feature can be easily disabled with policies: https://mozilla.github.io/policy-templates/#generativeai https://mozilla.github.io/policy-templates/#generativeai https://mozilla.github.io/policy-templates/#preferences https://mozilla.github.io/policy-templates/#preferences https://searchfox.org/firefox-main/source/browser/app/profile/firefox.js#2209 https://searchfox.org/firefox-main/source/browser/app/profil... https://searchfox.org/firefox-main/source/modules/libpref/init/all.js#3684 https://searchfox.org/firefox-main/source/modules/libpref/in...

beached_whale 10mo ago
Easy for who? 99% of people are not going/able to setup firefox policies.
- someothherguyy 10mo ago
  More than 1% of humans can read and create a file on computer. Others know how to read and use a search engine, and way more can be instructed by a LLM on how to do so. I would say it is nearly as easy as installing waterfox or some other privacy focused fork of Firefox.
bigstrat2003 10mo ago
This is like when people defend Windows 11's nonsense by saying "you can disable or remove that stuff". Yes, you can. But you shouldn't have to, and I personally prefer to use tools which don't shove useless things into the tool because it's trendy.
- calvinmorrison 10mo ago
  not to mention firefox routinely blows up any policies you set during upgrades, incompatibilities, and an endless about:config that is more opaque than a hunk of room temperature lard.
- derekdahmer 10mo ago
  How is this different from linux? People happily spend hours customizing defaults in their OS. It’s usually a point of praise for open source software.
  - PunchyHamster 10mo ago
    Bad defaults are bad defaults, and "you can turn them off" is not a good excuse for bad defaults continuing to be bad defaults
    - someothherguyy 10mo ago
      It is the default in every major browser at this point. https://chromeenterprise.google/policies/#GenAiDefaultSettings https://chromeenterprise.google/policies/#GenAiDefaultSettin...
      - account42 10mo ago
        And Mozilla copying what every other browser (read: Chrome) does is exactly why thy no longer have any relevant market share.
      - immibis 10mo ago
        Bad defaults are bad defaults, and "our competitor does the same thing" is not a good excuse for bad defaults continuing to be bad defaults
- fsflover 10mo ago
  The difference is that on Windows all unwanted features eventually become mandatory, with no way of switching them off. With Firefox, it never happens.
  - Orygin 10mo ago
    If you listen to the doomers in this thread, it will. They "will" remove the option from settings, hide it in about:config, then later on remove it from there! Of course none of that is true...
    - nottorp 10mo ago
      It's plausible because the team working on the settings screen will be reassigned to the "AI".
      - Orygin 10mo ago
        That's just doom saying at this point.
        johnnyanmac 10mo ago
        Mozilla hasn't had the benefit of the doubt for quite a while here. This isn't just one small kerfuffle coming out of nowhere. They say trust takes a lifetime to build and seconds to break ". We're years into it at this point.
        fsflover 10mo ago
        > Mozilla hasn't had the benefit of the doubt for quite a while here In contrast to Google Chrome? This is just FUD. Ublock Origin is still working and will be working. Full customization is still there and isn't going away. All of that is unlike in Chrom(ium).
        nottorp 10mo ago
- someothherguyy 10mo ago
  Well, you aren't the only person using a tool, and it probably matters more to those who are making things "trendy". In general, how else would people "learn" about a feature unless it was enabled by default or the product nagged them?
koolala 10mo ago
Is it really in all 4 of those places? Just need to change it in the first two, right? I hate the new AI tab feature and wish they had a non-AI option.
- nitwit005 10mo ago
  They absolutely know people want that, and absolutely aren't going to add it.
  - minitech 10mo ago
    There are already user-facing preferences for all of the AI features currently in Firefox. Some of them you don’t even have to go into Settings for, just right-click > Remove AI chatbot. They’re annoying, but I appreciate that they still need to be explicitly approved by the user to be enabled (for now).
    - nitwit005 10mo ago
      I'm aware of the settings. I've toggled them. I'm suggesting a convenient global "AI off" toggle won't be provided.
- someothherguyy 10mo ago
  You can disable the one option. I included links to the source code to show the level of preferences you can customize, and how it is processed.
phyzome 10mo ago
Even if we ignore things like "they're chasing AI fads instead of better things" and "they're adding attack surface" and so forth, and just focus on the disabling feature toggles thing... ... Mozilla has re-enabled AI-related toggles that people have disabled. (I've heard this from others and observed it myself.) They also keep adding new ones that aren't controlled by a master switch. They're getting pretty user-hostile.
- deleted 10mo ago
  [deleted]

beached_whale 10mo ago

Easy for who? 99% of people are not going/able to setup firefox policies.

someothherguyy 10mo ago
More than 1% of humans can read and create a file on computer. Others know how to read and use a search engine, and way more can be instructed by a LLM on how to do so. I would say it is nearly as easy as installing waterfox or some other privacy focused fork of Firefox.

bigstrat2003 10mo ago

This is like when people defend Windows 11's nonsense by saying "you can disable or remove that stuff". Yes, you can. But you shouldn't have to, and I personally prefer to use tools which don't shove useless things into the tool because it's trendy.

calvinmorrison 10mo ago
not to mention firefox routinely blows up any policies you set during upgrades, incompatibilities, and an endless about:config that is more opaque than a hunk of room temperature lard.
derekdahmer 10mo ago
How is this different from linux? People happily spend hours customizing defaults in their OS. It’s usually a point of praise for open source software.
- PunchyHamster 10mo ago
  Bad defaults are bad defaults, and "you can turn them off" is not a good excuse for bad defaults continuing to be bad defaults
  - someothherguyy 10mo ago
    It is the default in every major browser at this point. https://chromeenterprise.google/policies/#GenAiDefaultSettings https://chromeenterprise.google/policies/#GenAiDefaultSettin...
    - account42 10mo ago
      And Mozilla copying what every other browser (read: Chrome) does is exactly why thy no longer have any relevant market share.
    - immibis 10mo ago
      Bad defaults are bad defaults, and "our competitor does the same thing" is not a good excuse for bad defaults continuing to be bad defaults
fsflover 10mo ago
The difference is that on Windows all unwanted features eventually become mandatory, with no way of switching them off. With Firefox, it never happens.
- Orygin 10mo ago
  If you listen to the doomers in this thread, it will. They "will" remove the option from settings, hide it in about:config, then later on remove it from there! Of course none of that is true...
  - nottorp 10mo ago
    It's plausible because the team working on the settings screen will be reassigned to the "AI".
    - Orygin 10mo ago
      That's just doom saying at this point.
      - johnnyanmac 10mo ago
        Mozilla hasn't had the benefit of the doubt for quite a while here. This isn't just one small kerfuffle coming out of nowhere. They say trust takes a lifetime to build and seconds to break ". We're years into it at this point.
        fsflover 10mo ago
        > Mozilla hasn't had the benefit of the doubt for quite a while here In contrast to Google Chrome? This is just FUD. Ublock Origin is still working and will be working. Full customization is still there and isn't going away. All of that is unlike in Chrom(ium).
        nottorp 10mo ago
someothherguyy 10mo ago
Well, you aren't the only person using a tool, and it probably matters more to those who are making things "trendy". In general, how else would people "learn" about a feature unless it was enabled by default or the product nagged them?

koolala 10mo ago

Is it really in all 4 of those places? Just need to change it in the first two, right? I hate the new AI tab feature and wish they had a non-AI option.

nitwit005 10mo ago
They absolutely know people want that, and absolutely aren't going to add it.
- minitech 10mo ago
  There are already user-facing preferences for all of the AI features currently in Firefox. Some of them you don’t even have to go into Settings for, just right-click > Remove AI chatbot. They’re annoying, but I appreciate that they still need to be explicitly approved by the user to be enabled (for now).
  - nitwit005 10mo ago
    I'm aware of the settings. I've toggled them. I'm suggesting a convenient global "AI off" toggle won't be provided.
someothherguyy 10mo ago
You can disable the one option. I included links to the source code to show the level of preferences you can customize, and how it is processed.

phyzome 10mo ago

Even if we ignore things like "they're chasing AI fads instead of better things" and "they're adding attack surface" and so forth, and just focus on the disabling feature toggles thing... ... Mozilla has re-enabled AI-related toggles that people have disabled. (I've heard this from others and observed it myself.) They also keep adding new ones that aren't controlled by a master switch. They're getting pretty user-hostile.

deleted 10mo ago
[deleted]