this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2025
2063 points (99.1% liked)
Microblog Memes
9944 readers
3685 users here now
A place to share screenshots of Microblog posts, whether from Mastodon, tumblr, ~~Twitter~~ X, KBin, Threads or elsewhere.
Created as an evolution of White People Twitter and other tweet-capture subreddits.
Rules:
- Please put at least one word relevant to the post in the post title.
- Be nice.
- No advertising, brand promotion or guerilla marketing.
- Posters are encouraged to link to the toot or tweet etc in the description of posts.
Related communities:
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
how so?
In that all that happened is that Firefox is considering adding optional opt-in features that use AI, and people are acting like they've just declared they're cancelling the entire app and replacing it with some imagined AI slop
Their new CEO is wanting far far more than some opt-in options, did you buy see the announcement that it's becoming an AI browser.
That doesn't mean optional. That means they want it to be the whole point
Frankly, people are assuming a lot from just the words "AI browser", which could mean a browser that is all AI, sure, but could equally be a browser that, say, just uses AI to generate missing alt-text.
I think there's a lot of people who just object to the concept of AI generally - a valid stance - who then assume that anything that uses it must be trying to take away their options to not use it. Which is a valid complaint if that actually happens, but I see no real evidence that is happening here.
In fact, those who actually read the blog post they're panicking over would see that right before saying that in the blog post, he explicitly says:
Sounds pretty optional to me
Again, for now, seems like the CEO is gung-ho to go all-in on this shit
What makes it "seem" that is the case?
Their words and actions
I understood the post to be in response to the new CEO's message about "becoming a modern AI browser".
These features are unwanted by many, keep increasing, and the methods used to turn each individual piece off keep changing, growing, and moving, and that's JUST on the user level.
It's at least an order of magnitude worse to have to pull the unwanted stuff back out if you're forking Firefox.
Mozilla could make this straightforward and easy.
They are specifically NOT doing that ON PURPOSE.
Why do you suppose that is?
only matter of time, before its not opt-in, its always a testing the waters.
~~So don’t opt-in. They’re opt-in and not being forced on you.~~
~~If you don’t like it then use another browser. I’m happy with Firefox and will not opt-in to the ai stuff.~~
~~Mountains and mole hills man.~~
Apparently I was wrong. Can’t be assed replying to the people telling me as frankly I’m fighting not to want to throw myself off a bridge today and can’t even begin to have a discussion.
They are not opt-in, they are on by default and opt-out AI features. They said so themselves in their public communications. Also, they aren't future possible considerations, they are concrete plans that are underway and have funds allocated and feature goals set.
Removed the wrong info from my comment.
They're using funds and resources to build ai bullshit that very few are asking for. It's the fact that there is already limited resources for open source and libre softwares, and out of all the things they are choosing those that are already so clearly disdained by their dwindling user base
their announcement or whatever literally said opt out, not opt in
Fair correction
It would only be like the 20th time "optional" features became intrusive, difficult to opt out of, then actually required, just as soon as they think they've boiled the frog enough.
AI features are already in Firefox, and you can't disable them in the regular settings, only in about:config which requires websearch. Also, AI translation is already mandatory in the Firefox online documentation, which the localization teams were very unhappy about.
Maybe because we've lived through countless 'its optional' changes that stop being optional pretty damned quick.