View source for Program Management/Programs/Telemetry/Improve Opt-in/faq

{{note|This FAQ does not describe Telemetry as it is in use in Firefox today. It is part of the proposal to enable Telemetry by default on the Aurora and Nightly channels. See bug 699806 for details.}} 
==What is Telemetry?==
Telemetry is a data collection feature that enables Mozilla's engineers to measure how Firefox on desktop and mobile behaves in the real world. As you use Firefox, Telemetry measures and collects non-personal information about performance, hardware, usage, and customizations. It then sends this information to Mozilla on a daily basis. This information, used in aggregate, allows us to identify new issues and regressions, obtain more specific information about the problem areas in the browser, and, as a result, provide fixes for rising problems more quickly.

==What data does Telemetry measure and collect?==
Telemetry measures and collects non-personal information about performance, hardware, usage, and customizations. The following list contains some specific examples of data that is collected.
* Start-up time
* Hardware graphics acceleration enabled?
* Java enabled?
* Time between cycle collector runs
* Memory heap used
Telemetry does not collect any of your personal data, such as bookmarks, history, or passwords. Your rights are described in the [http://www.mozilla.org/about/policies/privacy-policy.html Mozilla privacy policy].

==How do I enable/disable Telemetry data collection?==
Instructions that detail how to enable and disable Telemetry data collection can be found in the support articles for [https://support.mozilla.org/kb/how-can-i-help-submitting-performance-data Firefox desktop] and [https://support.mozilla.org/kb/how-can-i-help-submitting-mobile-performance-data Firefox mobile].

==Why is Telemetry enabled by default on the Firefox Aurora and Firefox Nightly channels?==
Telemetry is included in all of the Firefox channels, however, on the Firefox Nightly and Aurora developer channels it is enabled by default. As the Firefox Nightly and Firefox Aurora channels are mostly made up of developers and highly technical users who are already actively contributing to the betterment of Firefox, enabling Telemetry by default allows us to better identify new issues and regressions earlier in the development cycle. However, choice is a foundational block of Mozilla and you can choose to opt in or out of Telemetry data collection at any time. See [[#How_do_I_enable.2Fdisable_Telemetry_data_collection.3F | How do I enable/disable Telemetry data collection?]].

==Will Telemetry be enabled by default on the Firefox Release and Firefox Beta channels?==
No. You will need to explicitly enable Telemetry on the Firefox Release and Firefox Beta channels.

==Can I opt-out of Telemetry data collection?==
Yes. Choice is a foundational block of Mozilla and you can choose to opt in or out of Telemetry data collection at any time. See [[#How_do_I_enable.2Fdisable_Telemetry_data_collection.3F | How do I enable/disable Telemetry data collection?]].

==Can I change my mind and enabled/disable Telemetry later?==
Yes. You can enable or disable Telemetry data collection at any time. See [[#How_do_I_enable.2Fdisable_Telemetry_data_collection.3F | How do I enable/disable Telemetry data collection?]].

==Can I view the data that is collected from my Firefox by Telemetry?==
Yes. The about:telemetry add-on for Firefox provides the facility to view all of the data measured and collected from your Firefox installation. The about:telemetry add-on can be installed from https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/abouttelemetry/.

==How does Mozilla use the data that is collected?==
This information measured and collected by Telemetry is used in aggregate by the Firefox engineering team. This information allows us to identify new issues and regressions, obtain more specific information about the problem areas in the browser, and, as a result, provide fixes for rising problems more quickly. Here is a list of some of the questions that the Firefox engineering team looks to answer with data collected by Telemetry.
* How long does it take Firefox to start?
* How long does it take Firefox to load a web page?
* How much memory is Firefox consuming?
* How frequently do the Firefox cycle collector and garbage collector (both used to release memory that is no longer needed) run?
* Was you session successfully restored when you last launched Firefox?

==What is Mozilla's privacy policy?==
Mozilla respects user privacy and details our commitment in our [http://www.mozilla.org/about/policies/privacy-policy.html privacy policy].