Firefox will soon allow users to request for the deletion of Telemetry data

On January 1, 2020, California’s version of GDPR went into effect. Called the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), the act would ensure that the privacy of users is taken seriously by the companies.

With the Act in effect, Mozilla has a planned update to include a new setting that will allow users to request for the deletion of the Telemetry data. The new setting will be added to the browser in the next update (v72) which is scheduled to release on 7th January 2020.

In line with the work we’ve done this year to make privacy easier and more accessible to our users, the deletion control will be built into Firefox and will begin rolling out in the next version of the browser on January 7. This setting will provide users a way to request deletion for desktop telemetry directly from Firefox – and a way for us, at Mozilla, to perform that deletion.

– Mozilla

Mozilla also confirmed that the option to delete Telemetry data will be available to everyone.

When Europe passed its GDPR privacy law we made sure that all users, whether located in the EU or not, were afforded the same rights under the law. As a company that believes privacy is fundamental to the online experience, we felt that everyone should benefit from the rights laid out in GDPR. That is why our new settings and privacy notice applied to all of our users.

With the passage and implementation of CCPA, we will do the same. Changes we are making in the browser will apply to every Firefox user, not just those in California.

– Mozilla

Once you get the v72 update, here’s how you can delete the telemetry data if you wish to do so:

• In Firefox 72, click on hamburger menu>Options>Privacy and Security>Firefox Data Collection and Use
• Uncheck ” Allow Firefox to send technical and interaction data to Mozilla”

Once you uncheck this, Mozilla will get a notification to delete all the telemetry data associated with your Client _ID. Once successful Firefox will show a message– “You’re no longer allowing Mozilla to capture technical and interaction data. All Past data will be deleted within 30 days.”

Via Techdows