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Mozilla Shuts Down Firefox Send and Notes

No more encrypted large file transfers or synchronized notes in the sidebar of Mozilla's web browser.

 & Matthew Humphries Former Senior Editor

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Firefox users are losing two useful services included with the browser after Mozilla announced that it's permanently shutting down Firefox Send and ending support for Firefox Notes.

Both services appeared from the Firefox Test Pilot program, which allowed users to provide feedback on projects that were far from polished. Firefox Send launched in March last year and allowed Firefox users to share files of up to 2.5GB in size "safely and simply" direct from the browser. Firefox Notes on the other hand, offered a way to take notes in the sidebar of the browser and securely synchronize them between the desktop and Android versions of the browser.

The decision to end-of-life both services is part of Mozilla's restructuring announced back in August, where the organization reduced its workforce by approximately 250 and decisions were made about which products to focus on going forward. Firefox Send was actually taken offline over the summer due to it being abused to "ship malware and conduct spear phishing attacks," but now it won't be coming back.

Firefox Notes was developed as an experiment to try out new methods of encrypted data syncing. It was kept around as a utility, but it's not going to be supported anymore. The browser extension will remain available for existing desktop users and there's an option to export your notes. As it's not being maintained, it's probably best to export any important notes and find an alternative.

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Matthew Humphries

Matthew Humphries

Former Senior Editor

My Experience

I started working at PCMag in November 2016, covering all areas of technology and video game news. Before that I spent nearly 15 years working at Geek.com as a writer and editor. I also spent the first six years after leaving university as a professional game designer working with Disney, Games Workshop, 20th Century Fox, and Vivendi.

I hold two degrees: a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and a Master's degree in Games Development. My first book, Make Your Own Pixel Art, is available from all good book shops.

My Areas of Expertise

  • PC components and system building
  • Raspberry Pi
  • Software development
  • Storage technology
  • Video games and gaming hardware

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