We may not have a killswitch for AI as a whole, but Mozilla gives users the option to disable AI in its Firefox browser (even though it could have simply not included these features in the first place). In a blog postthe company announced that it would include a toggle in the next version of Firefox that would disable the AI feature. The feature will be available in Firefox 148, which is scheduled for release on February 24.
The feature will be accessible in desktop browser settings and will give users the ability to turn off all the AI lights rather than granularly control which AI tools they agree with. A toggle will be available that, when enabled, will “block AI enhancements” introduced by Mozilla, including things like AI translations, tab grouping recommendations, and AI chatbots in the browser (Firefox currently supports Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and Anthropic’s Le Chat Mistral).
Users can currently manually control which features they want to use, but the toggle will give them the option to turn everything off and default to any future AI additions. “This lets you use Firefox without AI while we continue to build AI features for those who want them,” the company said. said.
The move comes just a month after Mozilla was seriously criticized for adopting AI. Last December, the company announced that former Firefox general manager Anthony Enzor-DeMeo was taking over as CEO. As part of his announcement of his inauguration, Enzor-DeMeo said that his plan was for Firefox to “evolve into a modern AI browser.”
While he recognized that “AI should always be a choice”, the fact that the company chose to inject AI into its flagship browser did not sit well with many of its diehard users. While browsers like Chrome and Brave have increasingly brought AI to the forefront of the browsing experience, and companies like OpenAI have attempted to muscle their way into the browser wars with their own AI browser projects, Firefox has mostly stuck to its guns as a sleek, privacy-focused browser that works well and supports a fair amount of customization.
Enzor-DeMeo’s announcement that AI would become central to Firefox’s future suggested the company was moving away from its core calling cards. This new toggle appears to be an attempt to alleviate these concerns. Unfortunately, while users can opt out of these features, there doesn’t seem to be a way to stop all companies from going all-in on AI.
