If you’re one of those internet users who hates seeing ads, you might be interested in some of the moves the Mozilla Foundation has been making recently. Mozilla is the not-for-profit organization behind the popular Firefox browser that focuses on user privacy above all else.
Mozilla recently introduced a new web browser called Firefox Preview, which makes it very easy for users to protect their data. The foundation has also been making other noises recently, about offering up an alternative to the current ad-based model that powers and pays for the modern internet. The Mozilla model would see us paying a subscription that would fund the sites we visit so that they’re not forced to show us ads when we do.
Mozilla Firefox
download now ►A funding model that replaces ads as a revenue driver will ultimately protect user privacy
An ad-free internet fits in with Mozilla’s wider privacy protection mandate as the biggest threat to our online privacy is the value our data holds for big tech companies. The more they can learn about us, the more targeted the ads they can show us, which in turn are worth more money towards their bottom line.
Mozilla confirmed the move towards a paid model a few weeks ago when Dave Camp, the senior VP of Firefox at Mozilla said in a statement, “A high-performing, free and private-by-default Firefox browser will continue to be central to our core service offerings. We also recognize that there are consumers who want access to premium offerings, and we can serve those users too.” Camp was responding to an earlier article in t3n.de where the CEO of Firefox said that the subscription model might arrive sometime by October. We’re now getting a look at what that new premium model might look like.
Firefox has recently been testing a funding model in partnership with a news subscription startup called Scroll. The test gave users a chance to sign up to an ad-free news subscription for $5 a month. Scroll offers users a subscription to 12 media partners that include some big names like USA Today, Vox, and Buzzfeed.
The Mozilla test is no longer active, but it gave subscribers access to ad-free audio versions of their news stories as well as working with partnered content across different devices and from a variety of sources and platforms including native apps and social media.
Mozilla is no doubt poring over the data it has collected via its recent test as we move closer towards the October launch date the Firefox CEO talked of back in June.
It is worth noting that Apple offers a similar service for $10 a month, which hasn’t been too successful. If you’re looking for an-free internet though, Apple might not be a company you completely trust.
The Mozilla Foundation, on the other hand, has a solid reputation among web users and their version of an ad-free internet could be the one we see more of in the future.
Make sure you stick with us for more developments on this story, and others, as they happen.
