According to reports, intense backlash has prompted popular internet browser Mozilla Firefox to offer users the ability to disable all AI features. “Something that hasn’t been made clear: Firefox will have an option to completely disable all AI features. We’ve been calling it the AI kill switch internally. I’m sure it’ll ship with a less murderous name, but that’s how seriously and absolutely we’re taking this,” the company wrote in an update on Mastodon. “All AI features will also be opt-in. I think there are some grey areas in what ‘opt-in’ means to different people (e.g. is a new toolbar button opt-in?), but the kill switch will absolutely remove all that stuff, and never show it in future. That’s unambiguous,” it added. Something that hasn't been made clear: Firefox will have an option to completely disable all AI features. We've been calling it the AI kill switch internally. I'm sure it'll ship with a less murderous name, but that's how seriously and absolutely we're taking this. … — Firefox for Web Developers (@FirefoxWebDevs) December 18, 2025 Futurism shared more details: For instance, a vast number of Windows users refused to upgrade after Microsoft announced it would turn the operating system into a so-called “agentic OS.” Even household names in the open-source industry aren’t safe. After being appointed as the new CEO of open-source software company Mozilla, whose Firefox browser has long been lauded as a compelling alternative to Google’s Chrome and Apple’s Safari, Anthony Enzor-DeMeo announced that it would be tripling down on AI. In a December 16 blog post, Enzor-DeMeo announced that Firefox would become a “modern AI browser and support a portfolio of new and trusted software additions.” But a ringing backlash quickly forced the company into damage control mode. “I’ve never seen a company so astoundingly out of touch with the people who want to use its software,” one disillusioned user tweeted in response to the news. “I switched back to Firefox late last year BECAUSE it was the last AI-free browser,” another lamented. “I shoulda known.” “Please don’t turn Firefox into an AI browser,” yet another begged. “That’s a great way to push us to alternatives.” The outcry was formidable enough for Mozilla to clarify the company’s new CEO’s comments. Firefox will add an AI "kill switch" after community pushback. The new CEO said Firefox would evolve into a modern AI browser. Firefox developer Jake Archibald recently said that an upcoming version of the browser will include a "kill switch" to completely disable all AI… pic.twitter.com/kNBqBsWiJ8 — Pirat_Nation (@Pirat_Nation) December 20, 2025 “Firefox doesn’t need to become Google or Microsoft to succeed by both business and user standards,” an open letter posted to the Firefox subreddit read, according to Futurism. “It’s beloved precisely because it’s not. I hope that distinction isn’t lost as Mozilla enters its ‘next chapter’ as part of a ‘broader ecosystem of trusted software,'” it continued. VICE noted: Those who use Firefox are typically more knowledgeable. These are people who don’t just use the browser that comes installed on their devices: Safari, Chrome, Edge. They seek out Firefox. So it’d seem natural that in their rebellion against the status quo browsers, they’d be on alert and constant guard for any deviation from what makes Firefox different, an attractive alternative to Chrome and Comet. “Rest assured, Firefox will always remain a browser built around user control,” wrote Enzor-DeMeo in a December 17, 2025, response on Reddit. “That includes AI. You will have a clear way to turn AI features off. A real kill switch is coming in Q1 of 2026. Choice matters, and demonstrating our commitment to choice is how we build and maintain trust.” Enzor-DeMeo was reiterating something he’d said a day earlier in the contentious blog post, in which he said “AI should always be a choice—something people can easily turn off.” Perhaps people just had to hear it emphasized.