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Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149
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Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149
#32I often use Opera browser's free proxy they offer for basic browsing or blocked sites. They advertise it as a free VPN but it's merely a proxy. As far as I know, it's unlimited traffic and you can choose the region it connects to. Edge also has some Microsoft VPN with a very small amount of bandwidth for the free tier. I'm fine with this kind of stuff as long as people are aware it doesn't offer the same connectivity…
> They advertise it as a free VPN but it's merely a proxy. What's the difference when you're accessing it through a browser? > I'm fine with this kind of stuff as long as people are aware it doesn't offer the same connectivity as a full paid VPN. Are you talking about it not reaching out and affecting other programs, or is there a restriction within the browser?
In Opera, with their "VPN" it only affects traffic within the browser and it sounds like that's the same thing Firefox will offer.
A proxy isn't as secure as a full VPN. I had previously read a really good article on it but I hunted and hunted but couldn't find it.
This explains it well enough though:
https://www.quora.com/Is-Opera-browser-with-built-in-VPN-a-g...
However, reading the write up from Opera it's actually pretty decent tech that they've had audited by a third party and the whole nine:
Why browsing with Opera’s VPN is safer https://blogs.opera.com/security/2025/07/opera-vpn-is-safe/
Hopefully no one will start with the whole "they're Chinese owned" argument. If anybody is still on that whole trip, see this (and go watch SomeOrdinaryGamer's video on the subject) but in short it's really nothing to worry about.
Debunking misinformation about Opera’s browsers https://blogs.opera.com/security/2023/07/debunking-spyware-m...
Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
What makes a proxy a "VPN" again? Most popular "VPN" companies only offer a proxy that merely runs over a VPN protocol.
> Most popular "VPN" companies only offer a proxy that merely runs over a VPN protocol. Well that doesn't seem true? Mullvad, Proton, Private Internet Access, NordVPN, ExpressVPN etc are all VPNs. You can use them for whatever protocol you want.
> You can use them for whatever protocol you want.
the two most commons protocols used for proxying traffic support arbitrary tcp traffic. socks is quite self explanatory but http is not limited to https either!
Of course most providers might block non https traffic by doing DPI or (more realistically) refusing to proxy ports other than 80/443 but nothing is inherent to the protocol.
edit: this is also mentioned on MDN: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/Reference/...
> Aside from enabling secure access to websites behind proxies, a HTTP tunnel provides a way to allow traffic that would otherwise be restricted (SSH or FTP) over the HTTP(S) protocol.
> If you are running a proxy that supports CONNECT, restrict its use to a set of known ports or a configurable list of safe request targets
> A loosely-configured proxy may be abused to forward traffic such as SMTP to relay spam email, for example.
Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149
#34As a Firefox user: if I want a VPN I'll use an actual VPN. Focus on making a great browser, and not all this distraction. Also, "free": "If you're not paying for it, you're the product being sold"
Mozilla only makes the integration between the browser and the VPN, not the VPN network itself - Mozilla VPN is white label Mullvad.
According to https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2026/03/firefox-adding-a-free-vp... Mullvad might not be used for the free service. Whether that's correct or incorrect extrapolation we will see...
Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
> They advertise it as a free VPN but it's merely a proxy. What's the difference when you're accessing it through a browser? > I'm fine with this kind of stuff as long as people are aware it doesn't offer the same connectivity as a full paid VPN. Are you talking about it not reaching out and affecting other programs, or is there a restriction within the browser?
In Opera, with their "VPN" it only affects traffic within the browser and it sounds like that's the same thing Firefox will offer. A proxy isn't as secure as a full VPN. I had previously read a really good article on it but I hunted and hunted but couldn't find it. This explains it well enough though: https://www.quora.com/Is-Opera-browser-with-built-in-VPN-a-g... However, reading the write up from Opera it's actuall…
> it only affects traffic within the browser
Yes because it's VPN for the browser. I can do the same kind of targeting with most VPN software. Applying it to specific programs doesn't make it stop being a VPN.
> This explains it well enough though:
Which answer? The dumb bot that contradicts itself? The first human answer says it is a VPN. Though that "cyber security expert" is also not someone I would trust since they seem to think AES 128 versus 256 is actually an important difference.
The first human "no" says it's not encrypted and I don't believe that for a second.
To say more about the bot answer, it basically repeats three times that only Opera traffic goes through the VPN as its main reason. And then it says it "doesn't offer split tunneling". Come on... The rest of the answer isn't much more grounded in reality.
Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149
#36Why are they trying to sell a VPN in the countries where users barely need it?
https://www.pornhub.com/blog/age-verification-in-the-news
Over the past year, Pornhub had to make the difficult decision to block access to users in the following American states due to Age Verification laws:
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
WyomingRe: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149
#37> Mozilla said the free tier will initially provide 50GB of monthly data to users in the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Sadly no countries are mentioned where such VPN is really needed (due to strict internet censorship).
With Ofcom I'd say the UK falls into that group nicely.
At least now I'll be able to view all those broken Imgur links here in the UK.
Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Most popular "VPN" companies only offer a proxy that merely runs over a VPN protocol. Well that doesn't seem true? Mullvad, Proton, Private Internet Access, NordVPN, ExpressVPN etc are all VPNs. You can use them for whatever protocol you want.
All of them offer only proxied access to the internet. They do not expose access to any "private network".
Depends on the VPN, I remember Nord had a private p2p network that allowed users of their VPN service to communicate directly with each other without exposing their p2p services to the greater internet.
Granted, its been a lomg time since I used Nord, not sure if they still offer that service.
Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149
#39Now, from the people who brought you Pocket. Could they please stop integrating services into Firefox? Thank you.
VPN is like SSL some time ago (and there were times when a browser would come without SSL, and you'd have to explicitly download it yourself) - it quickly becomes a basic necessity even in civilized societies, let alone say Russia, Iran and the likes.
Tunneling all my traffic through someone else's machine is not the same as encrypting the communication between me and the destination website.
Re: Mozilla to launch free built-in VPN in upcoming Firefox 149
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
> "If you're not paying for it, you're the product being sold" This must apply to Firefox itself, right?
of course it does. Why do you think google buys the rights to firefox's search bar (as a default setting)?
That's not remotely the same? A default setting that can easily be changed for a feature the vendor didn't have a solution for?
To give you an example. Try to use Google Search without sending your data to Google. You cannot use the product without it, you cannot opt out. Firefox, you can use just fine with Google not being your search engine.