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Firefox 148 Ships AI Off Switch and Fixes More Than 50 Security Flaws

Mozilla introduces a persistent AI Controls panel that gives users a clear way to turn off present or future features.

Overview

  • An AI Controls section in Settings adds a global “Block AI enhancements” toggle that disables current and future features, suppresses prompts, and preserves the choice across updates.
  • Users can selectively enable five optional tools: on‑device translations, PDF alt‑text generation, AI tab grouping, link previews, and a chatbot sidebar with providers such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini, and Le Chat Mistral.
  • Mozilla’s 2026-13 security advisory lists 50+ fixes, including multiple sandbox‑escape paths and eight JavaScript use‑after‑free bugs, with some high‑risk issues also addressed in ESR and Thunderbird releases.
  • Thunderbird 148 arrives alongside Firefox without LLM features, adds authentication changes for certain email providers, improves accessibility, and incorporates related security patches.
  • Mozilla’s release schedule indicates Firefox 149 is planned for March 24.