The Mozilla Blog

What was browsing the web like in 2004? People said things like surfing the internet," for starters. Excessive pop-up ads were annoying but they felt like the norm. The search bar and multiple tabs did not exist, and there seemed to be only one browser in sight. That is, until Firefox 1.0 arrived and gave [...]The post 20 years of Firefox: How a community project changed the web appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

On the official "road to the French Government's AI Action Summit," Mozilla and Columbia University's Institute of Global Politics are bringing together AI experts and practitioners to advance AI safety approaches that embody the values of open source. On Tuesday in San Francisco, Mozilla and Columbia University's Institute of Global Politics will hold the Columbia [...]The post Charging ahead on AI openness and safety appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Open source thrives because of its people. Firefox, like so many successful open-source projects, is powered by passionate contributors and dedicated supporters. Their collective efforts have transformed Firefox from just a web browser into the cornerstone of a global community, bringing together users and developers with a shared vision for the open web. Reddit, one [...]The post Exploring the Firefox community on r/firefox appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

AI is shaking things up in the creative world, and I get why a lot of artists feel anxious. Whenever new technology comes along - especially in industries like ours - it brings fear. Fear of losing control, fear of being replaced. That's real. But there's another side to this: AI can open doors we [...]The post How AI is reshaping creativity: Insights from art, tech and policy appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

For two decades, Firefox has been at the heart of an open, user-centered web. From the early days of tabbed browsing and pop-up blocking to today's privacy protections and customization options, Firefox has empowered users like you with control and freedom to explore the internet on your own terms. So, to mark our 20th anniversary, [...]The post We asked why you love Firefox. Here's what you said. appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Image generated by DALL-E in response to a request for a photorealistic image of a fox standing in a grassy landscape. Firefox 130 introduces automatic alt text for PDF images and an improved alt text flow. In addition to protecting users' privacy with a small language model that operates locally on their device, these improvements [...]The post Help us improve our alt text generation model appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Still in its anti-hero" era, Ticketmaster has users reeling from a data breach last May, when a hacker group claimed to have stolen data from more than 500 million people. The breach coincided with Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, one of the biggest tours ever that just so happened to have one of the most problematic [...]The post After Ticketmaster's data breach, it's time to secure your info appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

In August 2020, as the pandemic confined people to their homes, the U.K. canceled A-level exams and turned to an algorithm to calculate grades, key for university admissions. Based on historical data that reflected the resource advantages of private schools, the algorithm disproportionately downgraded state students. Those who attended private schools, meanwhile, received inflated grades. [...]The post The AI problem we can't ignore appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

With winter on the horizon, Chicago is ready to show that nothing - not wind, nor snow - can cool the fire of a united community. As we toast Firefox's 20th anniversary, we're hosting Free to Browse: Celebrating Chicago's Creatives," an IRL browsing experience to amplify the voices of 20 local creators and small businesses. [...]The post Celebrating Chicago's creators and small businesses at Firefox's Free to Browse' event appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is shaping how we live, work and connect with the world. From chatbots to image generators, AI is transforming our online experiences. But this change raises serious questions: Who controls the technology behind these AI systems? And how can we ensure that everyone - not just traditional big tech - has a [...]The post Mozilla's research: Unlocking AI for everyone, not just Big Tech appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Halloween is creeping up on us, and this year, Firefox is getting into the spirit with a spooky twist: Our iconic fox has transformed into a lineup of eerie disguises. The real magic, of course, is that Firefox helps keep your online identity safe all year long. But in the spirit of Halloween, we've created [...]The post It's Halloween - pick your spooky Firefox disguise appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Jesus J. Montero is an award-winning journalist and passionate storyteller. He's known for his investigative work covering social justice, music and culture. Jesus J. is also a producer, curating dynamic experiences that highlight culture through storytelling and dialogue. You can follow him on Instagram at @JesusJMontero. Photo: Olivia Gatti Danielle Moore is a woman on [...]The post Semicolon Books: A haven of independence and empowerment in Chicago appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Jesus J. Montero is an award-winning journalist and passionate storyteller. He's known for his investigative work covering social justice, music and culture. Jesus J. is also a producer, curating dynamic experiences that highlight culture through storytelling and dialogue. You can follow him on Instagram at @JesusJMontero. Photo: Olivia Gatti Community is power. That's the driving [...]The post DishRoulette Kitchen: Empowering Chicago's entrepreneurs for generational change appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

As a community builder at Mozilla, I'm all about staying connected - whether that's producing community events to invite more people into our brand, or working directly with people to make sure our products are actually helping those who need them most. Recently, I had the chance to sit down with three amazing small business [...]The post Local roots, digital connections: How Chicago's small businesses are building with Solo appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

BRAD SMALLWOOD, SVP AND ANONYM CO-FOUNDERGRAHAM MUDD, SVP OF PRODUCT AND ANONYM CO-FOUNDER It's been four months since Anonym joined Mozilla. Anonym was founded with the belief that new technologies can keep digital ads effective and measurable while respecting privacy. Mozilla has long been a leader in digital privacy, so Anonym is happy to report [...]The post Privacy-preserving digital ads infrastructure: An overview of Anonym's technology appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Here at Mozilla, we are the first to admit the internet isn't perfect, but we know the internet is pretty darn magical. The internet opens up doors and opportunities, allows for human connection, and lets everyone find where they belong - their corners of the internet. We all have an internet story worth sharing. In [...]The post A journalist-turned-product leader on reshaping the internet through community appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

LAURA CHAMBERS, CEO, MOZILLA CORPORATION As Mark shared in his blog, Mozilla is going to be more active in digital advertising. Our hypothesis is that we need to simultaneously work on public policy, standards, products and infrastructure. Today, I want to take a moment to dive into the details of the product" and infrastructure" elements. [...]The post Improving online advertising through product and infrastructure appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

MARK SURMAN, PRESIDENT, MOZILLA Keeping the internet, and the content that makes it a vital and vibrant part of our global society, free and accessible has been a core focus for Mozilla from our founding. How do we ensure creators get paid for their work? How do we prevent huge segments of the world from [...]The post A free and open internet shouldn't come at the expense of privacy appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

In today's fast-moving AI landscape, choosing the right large language model (LLM) for your project can feel like navigating a maze. With hundreds of models, each offering different capabilities, the process can be overwhelming. That's why Mozilla.ai is developing Lumigator, a product designed to help developers confidently select the best LLM for their specific project. [...]The post Introducing Lumigator appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

How do Twitch streamers connect with so many people on the internet while keeping their personal lives private? For those unfamiliar, Twitch streamers are content creators who broadcast live to audiences in real-time, covering everything from gaming to productivity. Viewer interaction is a huge part of the experience, but it also opens up streamers to [...]The post How to protect your privacy online like a Twitch streamer appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Mozilla is releasing a vision for Public AI, a robust ecosystem of initiatives that promote public goods, public orientation and public use throughout every step of AI development and deployment. Read the paper here. Look around. There are buses driving alongside cars on the road. Some of your packages are delivered by private couriers, others [...]The post Creating a public counterpoint for AI appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Most browsers know way too much about you - your latest obsession, your shopping cart, even your weekend plans. Firefox? It's built to power your browsing, nothing more. Here's a breakdown of the Firefox features that keep you private and secure online. Total Cookie Protection Instead of letting cookies follow you across different websites and [...]The post Take control of your browsing with Firefox's privacy and security features appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

We launched the Mozilla Builders Accelerator with the theme of local AI back in June. Our goal was to spark innovation in the AI ecosystem. Now, 14 exciting projects are leading the charge. Calling on AI and machine learning engineers passionate about open source and local AI, nearly 200 applicants from 44 countries stepped up [...]The post 14 AI projects to watch: Mozilla's first Builders Accelerator cohort kicks off appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

In the world of entrepreneurship, one business owner's journey proves the power of simple technology. And group chats. When Richelle Samy founded Culture of Stamina, a coaching service, she set out to create an online presence that was elegant and professional. She found what she was looking for when a group chat led her to [...]The post How Mozilla's AI website creator, Solo, is shaking up a $2.1B industry appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Take back your privacy Firefox is rolling out Total Cookie Protection by default to more Firefox users worldwide, making Firefox the most private and secure major browser available across Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. Total Cookie Protection is Firefox's strongest privacy protection to date, confining cookies to the site where they were created, thus preventing [...]The post Firefox rolls out Total Cookie Protection by default to more users worldwide appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Back-to-school season is here, and TikTok is teeming with viral product recommendations. Gone are the days of battling crowded aisles and long checkout lines at big box stores. Now, with just a few clicks, you can have almost anything you want delivered to your door before classes start, thanks to the convenience of two-day shipping [...]The post Fakespot's guide to trending back-to-school products appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

TL;DR: Mozilla is excited about today's new definition of open source AI, and we endorse it as an important step forward. This past year has been marked by more and more people recognizing the societal benefits of open source AI. In October, a large coalition of people signed onto our statement emphasizing how openness and [...]The post Celebrating an important step forward for open source AI appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

The second annual Rise25 Awards in Dublin wasn't just about celebrating 25 AI leaders. It was about mapping out the future. The Gardiner Brothers, known for bringing Irish dance into the social media spotlight, kicked off the night with a performance that mixed tradition and innovation. Siobhan McSweeney of Derry Girls" fame hosted the ceremony, [...]The post At the Rise25 Awards, the future of AI is ethical, inclusive and accountable appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Firefox users, we've got tips for you. The Mozilla team has gathered some of our favorite tricks to help you get the most out of your browser - from customizing the look of Firefox and managing tabs, to watching videos on the sly and staying cozy while gaming. Let's dive in. For the cozy gamer [...]The post Firefox hacks for everyone: From cozy gamers to minimalists and beyond appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

As a student pursuing a master's degree, I've spent too much time searching for PDF editors to fill out forms, take notes and complete projects. I discovered Firefox's built-in PDF editor while interning at Mozilla as a corporate communications intern. No more giving out my email address or downloading dubious software, which often risks data. [...]The post Streamline your schoolwork with Firefox's PDF editor appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Dr. Erica Brozovsky is a sociolinguist, a public scholar and a lover of words. She is the host of Otherwords, a PBS series on language and linguistics, and a professor of writing and rhetoric at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. You can find her at @ericabrozovsky on most platforms. Photo: Kelly Zhu The internet is ubiquitous: on [...]The post Browsers, cookies and surfing the web: The quirky history of internet lingo appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Some days there's something extra interesting to watch online - a sports event, election coverage, a certain show is leaving Netflix so you gotta binge - but you've got work to do. The Picture-in-Picture feature in Firefox makes multitasking with video content smooth and easy, no window shuffling necessary. Picture-in-Picture allows a video to be [...]The post Picture-in-Picture lets you watch videos while working' appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Following the news of our 25 honorees for The 2nd Annual Rise25 Awards, Mozilla is thrilled to announce that actress and presenter Siobhan McSweeney will be hosting this year's ceremony which will celebrate these individuals for leading the next wave of AI. The Irish actress, best known for her BAFTA award-winning performance as Sister Michael [...]The post BAFTA Award-Winner Siobhan McSweeney to host Mozilla's 2nd Annual Rise25 Awards in Dublin, Ireland on Aug. 13 appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

I am a tab maximalist. On any given day, you can find me with 50+ tabs open across multiple windows on Firefox. Having this many tabs open can seem chaotic, but rest assured there is a method to the madness. As a global product marketing manager at Mozilla, a large part of my job is [...]The post Top 5 Firefox features for tab maximalists appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

We recently shared a number of updates with our community of users, and now we want to share them here: At Mozilla, we work hard to make Firefox the best browser for you. That's why we're always focused on building a browser that empowers you to choose your own path, that gives you the freedom [...]The post Here's what we're working on in Firefox appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Today, Fakespot, a free browser extension and website that protects consumers from unreliable reviews and sellers, announced the Amazon product categories with the most reliable and unreliable reviews, just in time for the big summer sales and back-to-school shopping season. We're all about helping you shop smarter, especially during this month's summer sales and the [...]The post Fakespot reveals the product categories with the most and least reliable product reviews appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, convened a full committee hearing titled The Need to Protect Americans' Privacy and the AI Accelerant." The hearing explored how AI has intensified the need for a federal comprehensive privacy law that protects individual privacy and sets clear guidelines [...]The post Mozilla heads to Capitol Hill, calls for a federal privacy law to ensure the responsible development of AI appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

I've always loved journalism. When I was in high school a chemistry teacher once gently reprimanded me for reading a copy of The New York Times during class. When I told them I was more interested in the midterm elections than balancing equations, they said, You'll never get a job reading newspapers." Fast forward to [...]The post Firefox tips and tricks for journalists appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Mozilla and EleutherAI brought together experts to discuss a critical question: How do we create openly licensed and open-access LLM training datasets and how do we tackle the challenges faced by their builders? On June 11, on the eve of MozFest House in Amsterdam, Mozilla and EleutherAI convened an exclusive group of 30 leading scholars [...]The post The Dataset Convening: A community workshop on open AI datasets appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

At Mozilla, we knowwe can't create a better future alone, that is why each year we will be highlighting the work of 25 digital leaders using technology to amplify voices, effect change, and build new technologies globally through ourRise 25 Awards.These storytellers, innovators, activists, advocates. builders and artists are helping make the internet more diverse, [...]The post Kay Lopez on empowering Latinas through the use of social media, navigating online mental exhaustion and more appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

I just moved to Washington, D.C., and there's been a lot on my plate. I've been trying to figure out if there are ways AI can help me navigate it all. One of the first tasks my family tormented me about was, When can we come over for dinner?" The thought of planning and executing [...]The post Welcome to my AI-hosted dinner party appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Ever feel like the internet is always... yelling? From pop-up windows and ads that autoplay to the sheer size of the internet, a lot of things scream for our attention. This makes it difficult to get things done. Firefox has privacy at its core, making it a great choice for those who want to minimize [...]The post Transform Firefox into the ultimate minimalist browser appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

Here at Mozilla, we are the first to admit the internet isn't perfect, but we know the internet is pretty darn magical. The internet opens up doors and opportunities, allows for human connection, and lets everyone find where they belong - their corners of the internet. We all have an internet story worth sharing. In [...]The post Matt Klein, Reddit's head of global foresight, on the cozy corners of the internet appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

25 Honorees and AI Innovators to be celebrated at event in Dublin, Ireland Mozilla is proud to announce the 25 honorees for The 2nd Annual Rise25 Awards, which will celebrate these individuals for leading the next wave of AI - using philanthropy, collective power, and the principles of open source to make sure the future [...]The post Mozilla announces finalists for the 2nd annual Rise25 Awards appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

As Mozilla envisions Firefox's future, we are focused on building a browser that empowers you to choose your own path and gives you the freedom to explore without worry or compromises. We do this through a few foundational ideas - simplifying the online experience, protecting your privacy and offering meaningful choice. Our commitment to these [...]The post Choose how you want to navigate the web with Firefox appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

At Mozilla, we knowwe can't create a better future alone, that is why each year we will be highlighting the work of 25 digital leaders using technology to amplify voices, effect change, and build new technologies globally through ourRise 25 Awards.These storytellers, innovators, activists, advocates, builders and artists are helping make the internet more diverse, [...]The post Natalia Domagala on fighting for transparent AI, the power of algorithms, climate change and more appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

My relationship with online shopping is ever evolving. It's either a little too convenient, extremely gratifying or entirely too much fun. I'm an eBay hawk, a casual Amazon browser and a Sephora VIB member. I recently joined the team at Fakespot though, which changed the game for my online shopping habits. Suddenly, browsing these retailers [...]The post Firefox tips and tricks for online shopping appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.