Firefox Klar’s Quiet Change: Adjust Removed Amidst Privacy Concerns
Mozilla has removed the integration with Adjust from its Firefox and Firefox Klar (Firefox Focus) browsers for Android and iOS. The Adjust SDK was used to measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, helping Mozilla determine whether the browser was installed after an advertisement. Data for the analysis was collected through Adjust’s servers in Germany.
The removal was prompted by the discovery that data on the effectiveness of Firefox’s marketing campaigns was being collected without adequately informing users. As a result, the “Marketing Data” option in the data collection settings disappeared from Firefox for Android. This option, enabled by default since July 2023, allowed the collection of user response data to advertisements, which was then aggregated and passed on to advertisers. Although users could disable the feature, its activation without explicit consent sparked a negative response.
Mozilla regrets the inclusion of such telemetry but defends the rationale behind its default activation. According to the company, it is exceedingly difficult to circumvent advertisers’ desire for information on the effectiveness of their campaigns.
Mozilla disabled Adjust in versions 129.0.2 of Firefox for Android, 129.2 for iOS, and Firefox Klar 129.2 for iOS, without mentioning it in the release notes. In Firefox Klar for Android, Adjust will be disabled with the release of version 130.0.
It is worth recalling that in version 128, Firefox developers introduced a new “Privacy-preserving attribution” (PPA) feature, which by default collects data on users’ interactions with ads. This option allows advertisers to assess the effectiveness of marketing campaigns without the use of third-party cookies. However, many were outraged that Mozilla activated the feature by default without directly notifying users.
