This feature actually sounds like something that is aligned to Mozilla's mission of an open internet (paraphrasing).

Now, from where this cost is going to be recouped, how seamless the integration will be (in-browser translation is useful but the UX is not good enough), or if their VPN exit points aren't flagged to death as bad IPs; will remain to be seen.

The other thing about this feature, is that it will prove interesting in France and the UK; where it could be seen as a circumvention technique of the currently in place age restriction laws. And at the very least, it will bring those topics back into discussion.

> "If you're not paying for it, you're the product being sold"

This is such a un-nuanced take.

In this case Firefox's route-to-market is the product. It's a distribution channel where some people who receive the free version will upgrade.

Free tiers for products where some will pay to upgrade seems like a reasonable compromise, but it does depend on how the deal is structured.

If Mullvad pays Firefox for the free users then Firefox's incentives are aligned with its users.

If Mullvad pays per conversion then it's a different story.

I'd love to have a free VPN directly integrated into the browser, it's not a distraction. It's a developer tool for website developers.

Mozilla only makes the integration between the browser and the VPN, not the VPN network itself - Mozilla VPN is white label Mullvad.

  Also, "free": "If you're not paying for it, you're the product being sold"

Do you live in 2010? Whether you pay for a service or not is irrelevant to selling your data nowadays.

Could be useful to quick check simple things such i18n or default behavior of a website. But for actual use, I will wait for the technical "trade-offs" as mentioned in the article.

> "If you're not paying for it, you're the product being sold"

This must apply to Firefox itself, right?

Browser integration means one does not need to enable the VPN system-wide as do most VPN applications. Useful if you want to switch region quickly without the OS and many apps now thinking you're in a different country and starting behaving as such.

I think a VPN is a great add-on for Firefox and way for Mozilla to monetize itself, but I'm surprised it's free. Perhaps it's a free trial like Proton?

Why is this always upvoted to the top? You realize that if they focus on only making a browser they'll run out of money?

Can we go back to making all this garbage, I don’t know, a browser extension or something?

All of this crap that everyone keeps pulling into their browsers needs to be ripped back out and made a plugin or an extension. Stop shoving it in the core damn browser. I didn’t need the waste of space and I’m never going to touch it.

Are you the product for Firefox too?

VPNs are no longer optional for the current internet. This is as controversial as Firefox speaking ftp.