Mozilla is reportedly preparing to offer a VPN service to users of the Firefox browser to help protect users when surfing the web.
The foundation has reportedly partnered with the ProtonVPN service, with a new notification piping-up when the browser detects an unsecured connection, or in a scenario when VPN might be preferable to users.
However, it appears Firefox users will have to pay for the privilege. Austrian site Soeren-hentzschel reports the premium VPN service will be $10 a month, which is what ProtonVPN charges its users.
Users will receive a “Firefox Recommends” pop-up when browsing an unsecured wireless network. The pop-up says the VPN service will provide a ‘private and secure’ internet connection. According to the reports, a subset of Firefox 62 users in the United States will begin receiving the pop-up from today.
Related: Best VPN
Here’s a screenshot showing the pop-up below:
Mozilla will reportedly get a cut of any subscription fee handed over by users to access the VPN service. Could this be classified more of an advertisement from the non-profit Mozilla Foundation? As MSPowerUser points out in its report, Firefox’s recommended extensions have always been free up until now. This will be the first advertised service that Firefox users has been asked to fork out for.
Mozilla is yet to comment publicly about the tests and it remains to be seen whether the company will roll out the offer to all users. If you’d rather make your own choice of VPN, rather than use the one Firefox recommends, we have an excellent guide to the Best VPN services on offer.
In other news, Firefox is currently offering users in the United States an Election Bundle in order to help them avoid ad tracking on social media ahead of the all-important mid-term elections next months.
How do you feel about Firefox reportedly planning to make users aware of a paid VPN service? Is the company correct to do this to raise awareness about user privacy? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
