Limited test to start today for select Firefox users

Oct 22, 2018 06:08 GMT  ·  By

Mozilla is looking to follow in the footsteps of Opera and offer a built-in VPN service in its browser, only that as compared to the now-Chinese-owned company, the Firefox developer wants to rely on a third-party service.

A limited test for select Firefox users will allow them to try out ProtonVPN right within the browser, and by the looks of things, the final purpose is to make this service available to all in a future update.

While no specifics are provided for now, a report from Sören Hentzschel indicates that ProtonVPN won’t come as a free service to Firefox users. Instead, they would be asked to pay $10 per month for VPN support, out of which Mozilla would get a share too.

Firefox could display the VPN offering whenever users load websites flagged as being insecure, and Mozilla thus hopes that more of its browser customers would try out ProtonVPN.

“Firefox recommends ProtonVPN, it appears you are browsing on an unsecured wireless network. Firefox has teamed up with ProtonVPN to provide you with a private and secure internet connection. no matter where you are,” the recommendation could read according to a post on TechDows.

Private test with limited seats

The pilot program kicks off today in the United States, and Mozilla will pick the users to see ProtonVPN in the browser, though for the time being it’s not known exactly how this could work. However, you can’t register for the ProtonVPN test yourselves.

Opera browser also comes with a built-in VPN service that’s available free of charge for all users. However, given that Opera is now owned by a Chinese company, users are concerned that the VPN service may not be as anonymous as promised, whereas ProtonVPN has already become famous for offering increased privacy to customers.

It remains to be seen when and if ProtonVPN becomes available for all Firefox users, but for the time being, it’ll be interesting to try out this new feature even as a limited beta test.