On: When it comes to privacy, default settings matter

[scarface74]

Auto updates yes for security. But why would telemetry be important to the end user - especially for a “privacy focused browser”?

[Kalium → scarface74]

https://docs.telemetry.mozilla.org/concepts/choosing_a_datas...

The nice thing is that you don't have to ask. You can look for yourself. Mozilla's pretty transparent about what they have and what is in it.

Turns out telemetry is good for things like finding / addressing crashes and seeing if updates have gone out properly.

Also, I seem to recall being explicitly asked if I wanted to participate. But my memory could be failing me.

[roca → scarface74]

No browser is really "privacy-focused". Performance, security, stability and Web compatibility are all table stakes for Web browsers. If you aren't competitive at those, it doesn't matter what else you do, your product isn't viable. And telemetry data is really valuable for achieving all those; without it, you'll waste a lot of resources fixing the wrong things. Mozilla certainly can't afford to do that.

Once your browser is competitive at those table stakes, only then can you give it a "privacy focus" to differentiate from Chrome.