Apps

Firefox’s new VPN

Published

3 years ago

February 20, 2020

Karl Sorensen

Mozilla recently launched a beta for its VPN, Firefox Private Network, adding yet another VPN service for both desktop and mobile. There is currently a waitlist for beta access to the ‘Full device VPN’, which costs $4.99/month. The full device VPN allows you to choose from 30+ countries & you can connect up to 5 devices.

The beta for the Firefox Browser add-on based VPN is free and protects what you do in the browser for up to 12 hours a month. You can signup for both the Firefox Browser VPN add-on and the full device VPN here.

According to Mozilla, the premium option won’t monitor or log any user data. The company’s free version, which is provided by Cloudflare, however, “temporarily logs unidentified browsing history and deletes this data within 24 hours as a mechanism to detect and handle abuse on the network.”

Mozilla does add that, “Neither Firefox nor Cloudflare is able to associate usage with users, as each party holds partial aspects of this data which are never joined.”

Your privacy

Firefox is committed to protecting your privacy. The browser-level protection, provided by Cloudflare, temporarily logs unidentified browsing history and deletes this data within 24 hours as a mechanism to detect and handle abuse on the network. Neither Firefox nor Cloudflare is able to associate usage with users as each party holds partial aspects of this data which are never joined.

Firefox doesn’t collect information about your browsing. We do receive your Firefox account registration information and collect generic information about how you use the extension, such as data about how you interact with it, when you turn it off, and technical information about how it functions. Our privacy policy describes how we handle this data. You may opt out of sharing this data with us at any time.

Using Private Network

Look for the Private Network icon in your Firefox toolbar.

Select the icon and you’ll be asked to sign in with a Firefox account. If you don’t already have a Firefox account, you can also create one by clicking Continue.

Once you’re signed in, you’ll receive 12 passes a month of Firefox Private Network, each valid for one hour. To claim a pass, simply turn Private Network on. Use Firefox as usual, and your browsing will be encrypted and sent through a proxy service provided by our trusted partner Cloudflare. Passes expire after one hour, even if you turn Private Network off. You’ll receive 12 new passes at the beginning of each month.

When Private Network is off, your Firefox activity will route directly to your Internet connection. It will not be sent through Private Network’s service.

Giving feedback and getting updates

Because this is a beta test, Private Network will occasionally open a tab in the Firefox browser to give you updates or to ask for your feedback about your experience.

We would also love to hear from you at anytime so we can improve the service.