However, here's the info, straight from the source: https://blog.mozilla.org/press-uk/2017/10/06/testing-cliqz-i...
Looks like < 1% of installs in Germany will get this preinstalled. Here's how to remove if you're one of the unlucky ones: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/cliqz-recommendations-f...
Finally, Cliqz has a Firefox Test Pilot program (German-only): https://testpilot.firefox.com/experiments/cliqz
Users who receive a version of Firefox with Cliqz will have their browsing activity sent to Cliqz servers, including the URLs of pages they visit. Cliqz uses several techniques to attempt to remove sensitive information from this browsing data before it is sent from Firefox. Cliqz does not build browsing profiles for individual users and discards the user’s IP address once the data is collected. Cliqz’s code is available for public review and a description of these techniques can be found here.
And it's opt-out; it's not clear if the users receive an opt-out notification:
Users will receive a version of Firefox with Cliqz recommendations enabled out of the box.
https://blog.mozilla.org/press-uk/2017/10/06/testing-cliqz-i...
I read HN, I'm a web dev, I try and keep up to date with this kind of thing and I've never heard of it. How is any non techie supposed to?
A statement in a blog that only a tiny percentage of users will read is not at all transparent.
Do users who receive browsers with Cliqz get a clear, effective opt-out warning? Really, it should be opt-in but that doesn't appear to be the case:
The users will receive a version of Firefox with Cliqz recommendations enabled out of the box.
https://blog.mozilla.org/press-uk/2017/10/06/testing-cliqz-i...
Either way would render the experiment useless (self-selection bias). Obviously if something like this should make it into Firefox proper, that would make something like an opt-out warning a hard requirement.
But that is Mozilla's problem, not their users'.
As probably would be the legal position in many places, if news of this got out more widely and regulators started getting involved. It's hard to see how this wouldn't fall foul of even general EU data protection laws today, never mind anything stronger that is specific to Germany.
Sure, I'm just telling you how we arrived at the current situation and why your proposed alternative is a nonstarter for an experiment that tries to figure out if this feature adds user value in the first place.
I still find this a very bad sign about the directions they're willing to explore, but it's important to get the accurate scale of the thing.