Mozilla has announced that it will be launching an experimental feature in the new version of Firefox that will offer ProtonVPN subscriptions. The feature, however, will be accessible by users only after they subscribe for a monthly package. It is basically, a subscription-based VPN (virtual private network) that will cost $10 per month.
The new feature will be rolled out from 24th October, 2018 but in the initial phase, only a fraction of users in the US will be able to use it. It is compatible with Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Linux OS. Mozilla announced about the new feature in its official blog post. The feature has been developed by Mozilla in collaboration with ProtonVPN. With the new version of Firefox, users will be able to see an ad offering them to sign up for the new service.
The reason behind choosing ProtonVPN for this new service is that Mozilla believes the company is a reliable one with its strict data retention policies and transparent processes. This feature will only be available to users who have installed the desktop version of Firefox 62, the latest version of the search engine by Mozilla.
“We are launching a partnership with Mozilla, the makers of the Firefox web browser. ProtonVPN and Mozilla are working together to help improve online security and privacy by introducing more Internet users to VPN, while simultaneously providing financial support for Mozilla’s open source software,” said Irina Marcopol of The ProtonVPN.
The service can be availed by Firefox users for $10 a month but the same package costs $12 to those who sign up directly via ProtonVPN. There are various packages on ProtonVPN though including a free package for a single device, while Firefox will only offer the standard $10 package.
It is worth noting that most of the revenue of subscriptions earned through ProtonVPN, nevertheless, will go directly to Mozilla. Both the firms believe that people would gladly sign up to make the internet “a safer place” for them, which is the companies’ “shared goal,” claims Mozilla.
In a nutshell, the ad is about a subscription service that will, ultimately, be built into the browser. Yet, the partnership does make sense despite that it isn’t Mozilla’s first venture with paid content in its browser. If this new venture turns out to be a successful one, it might be expanded to all of the users of Mozilla Firefox, which totals around a whopping 300 million users.
Apparently, Mozilla is trying to explore new sources of revenue without compromising on user experience and its own privacy values. That’s why the company evaluated a long list of VPN service providers before finalizing ProtonVPN after judging its credibility from all angles.