[OTHER] Free VPN available since FF v. 149 - possible to enable but does not function #284

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opened 2026-04-29 19:59:07 +02:00 by GW72 · 4 comments

GW72 commented

2026-04-29 19:59:07 +02:00

Please explain your inquiry.

Looking with interest in #276, and specifically visiting https://itsfoss.com/news/firefox-ships-brave-adblock-engine/, a second possibly exciting feature starting with FF v. 149 was also mentioned; a free VPN!

More information is available from Mozilla here: vpn info

It is apparently being rolled out in specific regions already, but I found in my case, I had to enable it by setting browser.ipProtection.enabled to true. Then in Settings --> Privacy & Security a VPN panel appears with a Get started button, but nothing happens when it is clicked. Manually enabling it to date may not be sufficient to use it if done in a non-activated region. Or is phoenix at play here?

While I've no idea the privacy (or security) implications that may arise (if any) by using a free VPN offered by Mozilla, I simply make a suggestion to, if appropriate, allow users to access it alongside phoenix (and also to bring some attention to it since v. 150 is already out and there has been no noise about this).

### Please explain your inquiry. Looking with interest in #276, and specifically visiting https://itsfoss.com/news/firefox-ships-brave-adblock-engine/, a second possibly exciting feature starting with FF v. 149 was also mentioned; a free VPN! More information is available from Mozilla here: [vpn info](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/built-in-vpn) It is apparently being rolled out in specific regions already, but I found in my case, I had to enable it by setting `browser.ipProtection.enabled` to `true`. Then in `Settings --> Privacy & Security` a VPN panel appears with a `Get started` button, but nothing happens when it is clicked. Manually enabling it to date may not be sufficient to use it if done in a non-activated region. Or is `phoenix` at play here? While I've no idea the privacy (or security) implications that may arise (if any) by using a free VPN offered by Mozilla, I simply make a suggestion to, if appropriate, allow users to access it alongside `phoenix` (and also to bring some attention to it since v. 150 is already out and there has been no noise about this).

GW72 added the

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2026-04-29 19:59:07 +02:00

degausser commented

2026-04-29 20:14:28 +02:00

 /// Disable IP Protection (Mozilla VPN) [NO-ANDROID] [NO-MAIL]
 // This is a paid Mozilla service, so it doesn't make sense for us to leave this enabled by default [NO-ANDROID] [NO-MAIL]
 // If people really do want to use it, they can though - they'll just need to enable it themselves manually [NO-ANDROID] [NO-MAIL]
 // https://vpn.mozilla.org/ [NO-ANDROID] [NO-MAIL]
 // https://searchfox.org/firefox-main/source/browser/components/ipprotection/docs/Preferences.rst [NO-ANDROID] [NO-MAIL]
 pref("browser.ipProtection.added", true); // [NO-ANDROID] [NO-MAIL] Prevent pinning the IP Protection widget in the navigation bar https://searchfox.org/firefox-main/rev/82e2435f/browser/components/ipprotection/IPProtection.sys.mjs#145
 pref("browser.ipProtection.autoStartEnabled", false); // [NO-ANDROID] [NO-MAIL] [DEFAULT]
 pref("browser.ipProtection.autoStartPrivateEnabled", false); // [NO-ANDROID] [NO-MAIL] [DEFAULT]
 pref("browser.ipProtection.enabled", false); // [NO-ANDROID] [NO-MAIL] [DEFAULT]
 pref("browser.ipProtection.features.autoStart", false); // [NO-ANDROID] [NO-MAIL] [DEFAULT]
 pref("browser.ipProtection.features.siteExceptions", true); // [NO-ANDROID] [NO-MAIL] [DEFAULT] If IP Protection is enabled, enable support for site exceptions https://searchfox.org/firefox-main/rev/aee7c0f2/browser/app/profile/firefox.js#3547
 pref("browser.ipProtection.optedOut", true); // [NO-ANDROID] [NO-MAIL]
 pref("browser.ipProtection.userEnabled", false); // [NO-ANDROID] [NO-MAIL] [DEFAULT]

as per comment, some more of these would have to be flipped to firefox default. imho the reasoning (= keep it off) stays the same, difference is just paid->free(trial?).

also if it's actually region-specific - phoenix overrides the browser region to a dummy one ("XX") for telemetry reasons.

https://codeberg.org/celenity/Phoenix/src/commit/dd4defbffd24ec8bc01e6051a9d3afe42f6a02d4/build-resources/phoenix-unified.js#L502-L515 as per comment, some more of these would have to be flipped to firefox default. imho the reasoning (= keep it off) stays the same, difference is just `paid`->`free`(trial?). also if it's actually region-specific - phoenix overrides the browser region to a dummy one ("XX") for telemetry reasons.

celenity self-assigned this

2026-04-29 20:20:35 +02:00

GW72 commented

2026-04-30 05:53:39 +02:00

Author

as per comment, some more of these would have to be flipped to firefox default. imho the reasoning (= keep it off) stays the same, difference is just paid->free(trial?).

From the Mozilla link: Unlike Mozilla VPN, which protects your entire device, the built-in VPN only masks traffic that originates in Firefox. It's free to use and doesn’t require a subscription. (with a monthly data limit of 50 GB).

> as per comment, some more of these would have to be flipped to firefox default. imho the reasoning (= keep it off) stays the same, difference is just paid->free(trial?). From the Mozilla link: **Unlike Mozilla VPN, which protects your entire device, the built-in VPN only masks traffic that originates in Firefox. It's free to use and doesn’t require a subscription.** (with a monthly data limit of 50 GB).

celenity referenced this issue from a commit

2026-05-20 05:42:12 +02:00

feat: Enable support for Mozilla IP Protection - due to it being free to use (unlike ex. Mozilla VPN) and improving privacy for users - fixes https://codeberg.org/celenity/Phoenix/issues/284

celenity closed this issue

2026-05-20 05:42:12 +02:00

celenity commented

2026-05-20 05:44:01 +02:00

Owner

Apologies for the late response @GW72 - I finally got around to taking a look at this. I decided to go ahead and enable support for it for next release, since AFAICT there aren't any privacy or security concerns, and, like you said, it's a free service independent of Mozilla VPN. I also figured out why it wasn't working (Was a strange bug due to us not pinning it to the toolbar by default, but I took care of that as well - by default it'll be in the overflow menu).

So thanks for filing this!

Apologies for the late response @GW72 - I finally got around to taking a look at this. I decided to go ahead and enable support for it for next release, since AFAICT there aren't any privacy or security concerns, and, like you said, it's a free service independent of Mozilla VPN. I also figured out why it wasn't working *(Was a strange bug due to us not pinning it to the toolbar by default, but I took care of that as well - by default it'll be in the overflow menu)*. So thanks for filing this!

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GW72 commented

2026-05-20 17:25:40 +02:00

Author

@celenity thanks for taking the time to look! Much appreciated.

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