{"id":74713,"date":"2024-05-14T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/?p=74713"},"modified":"2024-05-14T19:34:11","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T02:34:11","slug":"firefox-search-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/firefox-search-update\/","title":{"rendered":"See what\u2019s changing in Firefox: Better insights, same privacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Innovation and privacy go hand in hand here at Mozilla. To continue developing features and products that resonate with our users, we\u2019re adopting a new approach to better understand how you engage with Firefox. Rest assured, the way we gather these insights will always put user privacy first<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s new in Firefox\u2019s approach to search data <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To improve Firefox based on your needs, understanding how users interact with essential functions like search is key. We\u2019re ramping up our efforts to enhance search experience by developing new features like Firefox Suggest<\/a>, which provides recommended online content that corresponds to queries. To make sure that features like this work well, we need better insights on overall search activity \u2013 all without trading off on our commitment to user privacy. Our goal is to understand what types of searches are happening so that we can prioritize the correct features by use case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the latest version of Firefox<\/a> for U.S. desktop users, we\u2019re introducing a new way to measure search activity broken down into high level categories. This measure is not linked with specific individuals and is further anonymized using a technology called OHTTP<\/a> to ensure it can\u2019t be connected with user IP addresses<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0

Let\u2019s say you\u2019re using Firefox to plan a trip<\/a> to Spain and search for \u201cBarcelona hotels.\u201d Firefox infers that the search results fall under the category of \u201ctravel,\u201d and it increments a counter to calculate the total number of searches happening at the country level.

Here\u2019s the current list of categories we\u2019re using: animals, arts, autos, business, career, education, fashion, finance, food, government, health, hobbies, home, inconclusive, news, real estate, society, sports, tech and travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having an understanding of what types of searches happen most frequently will give us a better understanding of what\u2019s important to our users, without giving us additional insight into individual browsing preferences. This helps us take a step forward in providing a browsing experience that is more tailored to your needs, without us stepping away from the principles that make us who we are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Firefox\u2019s search data collection means for you<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We understand that any new data collection might spark some questions. Simply put, this new method only categorizes the websites that show up in your searches \u2014 not the specifics of what you\u2019re personally looking up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sensitive topics, like searching for particular health care services, are categorized only under broad terms like health or society. Your search activities are handled with the same level of confidentiality as all other data regardless of any local laws surrounding certain health services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember, you can always opt out of sending any technical or usage data to Firefox. Here\u2019s a step-by-step guide<\/a> on how to adjust your settings. We also don\u2019t collect category data when you use Private Browsing mode<\/a> on Firefox.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as user experience goes, you won\u2019t see any visible changes in your browsing. Our new approach to data will just enable us to better refine our product features and offerings in ways that matter to you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re here to make the internet safer, faster and more in tune with what you need \u2013 just as we have since open-sourcing our browser code more than 25 years ago<\/a>. Thanks for being part of our journey!<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Innovation and privacy go hand in hand here at Mozilla. To continue developing features and products that resonate with our users, we\u2019re adopting a new approach to better understand how you engage with Firefox. Rest assured, the way we gather these insights will always put user privacy first. What\u2019s new in Firefox\u2019s approach to search […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":144,"featured_media":53149,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[4708],"coauthors":[306191],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSee what\u2019s changing in Firefox: Better insights, same privacy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We\u2019re ramping up our efforts to enhance search experience by developing new features like Firefox Suggestions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/firefox\/firefox-search-update\/\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" 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