Firefox utilizes its Messaging system, known as Asrouter, to inform users about Firefox features and products. However, occasionally, when things go wrong, the organization receives criticism. Such an incident occurred in the past and now with the Mozilla VPN pop-up ad in Firefox version 113. This ad unexpectedly appeared on unrelated pages, triggering users without any context. In response to users’ outrage, Mozilla promptly removed the ad experience.
Mozilla Shows VPN ad in Firefox
Here’s what happened.
Some Firefox users suddenly encountered an intrusive Mozilla VPN advertisement that covered the active page, disabling the rest of the Firefox user interface.
To dismiss the ad, users had the option to click the close button or select “Not Now”.
Mozilla had planned to promote its Virtual Private Network using a feature called “Spotlight Modal” through the messaging system in Firefox. The ad included a promo code, “Spotlight 20,” which offered a 20% discount on the VPN service.
Ideally, this promotion was meant to appear when the user was idle for 20 minutes or when no sound was playing. However, due to misconfiguration on Mozilla’s part, the ad was triggered at inappropriate times.
Once users noticed the intrusive VPN pop-up, they immediately brought it to the attention of the Firefox team. Mozilla swiftly responded by remotely terminating the experiment. However, despite the quick resolution, the damage had already been done, and many users were left frustrated by the incident.
If you’re still seen this by now or don’t want to in the future, follow the below steps
Disable Mozilla VPN Pop-up ad in Firefox
- Launch Firefox
- Visit about: config in address bar and press enter
- Find the pref-named browser.vpn_promo.enabled and set its value to false to disable VPN pop-up ad.
This may help, but if you want to opt out of promotions and advertisements, and studies run by Mozilla in Firefox in future
- Visit Settings> Privacy and Security> Firefox Data Collection and Use
- Turn off the following settings:
“Allow Firefox to install and run studies”
“Allow Firefox to make personalized extension recommendations“.
What’s your take on this? Let us know in the comments below.
Final words: Mozilla faced criticism for displaying its VPN advertisement to users in Firefox in an intrusive manner. Consequently, the company swiftly ended the promotion following user outrage.
Thanks for the tip. I’m using a Firefox fork called Floorp and was suprised to see the setting in about:config. Although the ad hasn’t appeared. I disabled it anyway.