Help Monitor Browser Choice in the EU!
We are calling on all EU-based Mozillians to help us monitor Apple’s new browser choice screens. Let’s hold Big Tech to account!
Following scrutiny of the first round of iOS choice screens, Apple will be relaunching their iOS and iPadOS browser choice screens. We need your help in monitoring Apple’s compliance. Your reports of what is happening in the wild will help us --and the regulators-- ensure that people are truly getting the browser choice they were promised.
You can get involved by capturing screenshots of the choice screen experience when updating your iPhone/iPad to iOS 18.2. The update should begin rolling out in early December 2024.
Anyone in the EU with an Apple device can join in this effort.
How to participate
Step 1: Set Safari as your default browser
Only devices with Safari set as default will see a choice screen. See instructions on how to change your default browser here.
Optional Bonus Step: Temporarily place Safari in the dock and move Firefox out of the dock / off your first page of apps.
Doing this will help us ensure that Firefox will replace Safari in the dock after you select it from the choice screen. This is a new change from Apple and we would like to make sure it works as intended.
Step 2: Update your Apple device to iOS 18.2
To participate, please update to iOS or iPadOS 18.2 when your Apple iPhone or iPad is ready.
Step 3: Screenshot your experience and share it with us
You’ll find instructions for how to take the screenshots below. You can share your screenshots with us through this form.
Get ready to take screenshots of your experience
We are interested in screenshots of the full choice screen experience including: the choice screen, the selection process, confirming that the chosen browser has been downloaded and set as default, and especially any potential bugs, lags, or other issues you might observe.
See instructions on how to take a screenshot here. Then do the following:
- Open Safari: This should trigger the choice screen. 📸
- Click on the Firefox chevron in the choice screen to see the Firefox App Store page.
- Select the Firefox browser. 📸
- Finish the choice screen.
- Navigate to the dock to see if it was updated. For those who followed the optional bonus step, it’s important to capture if the right browser is now featured in the dock. 📸
- Upload your screenshots through this form. Important: Be sure not to share any screenshots that can identify you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I test this using a VPN if I’m not based in the EU?
A: We appreciate your interest, but currently, our testing is exclusively focused on participants within the European Union.
Q: What’s the dock look like?
A:
Q: Is it ok if I crop my screenshots to protect my privacy?
A: Yes, of course!
Q: What will Mozilla do with the screenshots?
A: We will review the screenshots and any associated comments. Most screenshots will be deleted, but we plan to create a small archive of representative screenshots (free of any personally identifiable information) that we can use to identify and evidence any issues we observe with the choice screens. Please refer to our privacy policy for more information about our practices.
Q: Where can I learn more about this?
A: You can find more information about Apple’s new browser choice screen in the EU from this page.