Mozilla Firefox recently announced its own Virtual Private Network (VPN), Firefox Private Network. In conjunction with the announcement, the company also announced that its VPN was also in its public testing phase in the US.
The Firefox Private Network is one of the first projects of Mozilla’s recently resurrected Test Pilot program. Designed to focus on new “privacy-centric products” that should be one step from a general public release.
Of course, like most products, there are a few caveats to Firefox’s new VPN. Firstly, it’s a browser-based VPN, so if you’re thinking about using the feature outside of your Firefox browser, forget about it. Another issue is bandwidth throttling; according to The Verge, one its writers noticed that his download speeds took a hit of 17Mbps after he turned on Firefox Private Network. That said, the VPN did change his IP, albeit to a nearby suburb.
That brings us to the third drawback of the Firefox Private Network. As we mentioned earlier, the VPN is being tested in the US. Unfortunately, and as stated on the extension’s official page, it’s only available to US desktop users for the duration of the public testing. Mozilla also says that Firefox Private Network will be free for a limited time, which means that the company could lease out the extension as a pay-to-use service in the future.
(Source: The Verge, Firefox // Image: Firefox)
