Ghacks writes: Observant Firefox users on Windows who have updated the web browser to Firefox 75 may have noticed that the upgrade brought along with it a new scheduled tasks. The scheduled task is also added if Firefox 75 is installed on a Windows device. The task’s name is Firefox Default Browser Agent and it is set to run once per day…
Mozilla says:

  • “We’re collecting information related to the system’s current and previous default browser setting, as well as the operating system locale and version. This data cannot be associated with regular profile based telemetry data…”
  • “We’ll respect user configured telemetry opt-out settings by looking at the most recently used Firefox profile.”
  • “We’ll respect custom Enterprise telemetry related policy settings if they exist. We’ll also respect policy to specifically disable this task.”

“Collecting telemetry is one way we’re able to ensure we can understand default browser trends in a way that helps us improve Firefox. It’s our hope that by better understanding more about our users and their choices around browser preferences, we can continue to build a better Firefox.”

Long-time Slashdot reader AmiMoJo writes, “Opting out can be done via the Privacy & Security section of the preferences screen. You can view collected telemetry and view your current settings at about:telemetry.

Bleeping Computer also notes that by default, “For some time, Firefox has been collecting telemetry data about how you use the browser, such as the number of web pages you visit, safebrowsing information, the number of open tabs and windows, what add-ons are installed, and more. This telemetry data is kept for 13 months and IP addresses listed in server logs are deleted every 30 days.

“On my computer, Firefox has collected over 400KB of information.”

Tags: