Mozilla finally landed today the long-anticipated AI Kill Switch controls for Firefox, which let users strip the open-source web browser of any AI-powered features, and you can test it right now in Firefox Nightly.
In December 2025, when Mozilla appointed its new CEO, the company developing the popular Firefox web browser revealed that it was working on an AI kill switch that would let users completely disable all the AI features that had been included in the past few releases, estranging more and more loyal users.
Now, the AI kill switch is finally a reality as it landed today with the latest Firefox Nightly update. The implementation is called “AI Controls” and can be found in Firefox’s settings as a standalone section. From there, users can toggle a setting called “Block AI Enhancements” to remove any AI features.
As a Firefox user, this is not long-awaited. It’s a tepid excuse for a dead project. The forks of Firefox are the only real alternatives if you value privacy over convenience. If you don’t, then there are faster browers than FF anyway.
finalarbiter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
They should never have rolled out any of these AI features without this already implemented. I think it really speaks to their priorities that they rolled it out in this order.
XLE@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Mozilla’s CEO also recently said they would be building new products based on pre-established trust. I think they got their chronology wrong on that too…
finalarbiter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Right, what trust? The trust they lost by putting dumbass MBAs in charge who don’t know shit and chase short term profits over sustaining a healthy community?
whereIsTamara@lemmy.org 2 weeks ago
I’m not going to argue for AI features in Firefox, but I’m curious which features you feel are a priority?
finalarbiter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
I think you misunderstood what I said, or perhaps I wasn’t clear. I’m saying the killswitch should have been in place from day one when they started implementing ai features.
That said, Mozilla seems to fundamentally misunderstand their market. The type of people who use firefox are generally pretty tech-savvy, and care about things like privacy and control over their experience. Rather than hone in on features that their users want, they have hitched their wagon to the ai hype train in an attempt to favor curry with the masses.
vikingtons@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The graphene community in the past has pointed out Firefox’s incomplete content sandboxing implementation and suggested that other aspects of security are not up to chromiums standard. They pointed out other technical shortcomings as well, though I can’t recall them, I’m not sure how urgent they’d be.
This was several years ago, and I’m not sure if any of this has been addressed, but I don’t think I wouldn’t like to rely on manifest v3 compliant ad blocking.
I get the impression that Firefox may continue to lag in this regard. I don’t feel that people like us are made vulnerable by this, though I do worry a little bit about people like my parents.
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
I don’t think the majority of FF users are very interested in AI stuff.
I use it. But more as a tool in a whole collection rather than as the single point of truth (as many others do)