Firefox's Free Built-In VPN: Availability, Setup, and Limits

Firefox now includes a free, browser-level VPN for eligible users. It masks the public IP address used by Firefox and routes browser traffic through Mozilla's proxy network, with a standard allowance of 50 GB per calendar month. It does not protect other browsers, email clients, games, cloud-sync apps, or the rest of the device.

The feature began rolling out with Firefox 149 and has expanded to more desktop and Android users. It is still a staged rollout, so two people in the same supported country can have different availability.

Firefox built-in VPN at a glance

Feature	Firefox built-in VPN	Mozilla VPN subscription
Price	Free for eligible users	Paid subscription
Traffic protected	Traffic originating in Firefox	Device-level traffic across apps and services
Data allowance	50 GB per calendar month under the standard offer	No bandwidth limit advertised by Mozilla
Installation	Built into supported Firefox versions	Separate application
Account	Mozilla account required	Mozilla account and subscription required
Best fit	Routine browser privacy and occasional public Wi-Fi use	Continuous coverage for the whole device

Mozilla documents the current behavior in its Firefox built-in VPN guide. If you need to compare full-device products, TipsMake's VPN comparison and testing guide explains the practical differences in protocols, platform coverage, privacy controls, and speed.

Where the free Firefox VPN is available

Mozilla is progressively rolling out the feature in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The list can expand, and availability is not guaranteed immediately within a supported region. The desktop rollout started with Firefox 149; Firefox for Android joined the rollout later. Mozilla says the built-in VPN is not offered in enterprise environments or to users governed by enterprise policies.

How to turn on the built-in VPN

1. Update Firefox to the current stable version.
2. Look for the VPN icon or setup prompt at the upper-right of the toolbar.
3. Select Get started.
4. Sign in to a Mozilla account or create one.
5. Open the VPN panel and select Turn on VPN.
6. Leave the location on Recommended for a nearby automatic choice, or select one of the locations available in your panel.

When active, the panel shows the VPN status and remaining monthly data. Mozilla's current support page lists the United States, Colombia, Germany, Japan, South Africa, and Australia among the selectable routing locations; the exact menu may change as the rollout expands.

If the VPN icon is missing

• Check the version: open the Firefox menu, select Help > About Firefox, and let the browser check for an update.
• Check rollout eligibility: the feature may not yet be enabled for your account even in a supported country.
• Customize the toolbar: right-click an empty toolbar area, choose Customize Toolbar, and look for the VPN button or toolbar overflow.
• Allow remote improvements: Mozilla states that remote feature improvements must be enabled for this staged rollout.
• Check organization policy: on a managed computer, open about:policies. Enterprise policy can prevent the feature from appearing.

Do not install a similarly named third-party extension merely because the built-in button is absent. Verify the publisher and permissions of any add-on. For broader browser comparisons, see TipsMake's guides to Brave versus Firefox and the best current web browsers.

What the 50 GB limit means

The allowance measures traffic routed through the built-in VPN, not files stored on the computer. Text-heavy browsing and email web apps generally consume less data than high-resolution streaming, video calls, large downloads, or cloud applications running in browser tabs.

Firefox warns as the limit approaches. When the allowance is exhausted, VPN protection pauses until data resets at the beginning of the next calendar month. Mozilla ran a temporary unlimited-data promotion during summer 2026, but the normal 50 GB limit resumed on September 1; do not rely on an old promotional screen.

To reduce unnecessary usage, turn the VPN off for trusted, data-heavy sites when IP masking is not needed. Firefox also lets you manage a website exception list under Settings > Privacy & Security > VPN > Manage website settings.

What the browser VPN protects

• It replaces the public IP address websites see with the proxy address.
• It can make approximate IP-based location and cross-site IP correlation harder.
• It routes Firefox browsing through the secure proxy, adding protection on an untrusted network.
• It can use a selected routing location where that option is available.

This complements HTTPS and Firefox's tracking protections; it does not replace them. A website you sign in to still knows the account identity you provide, and cookies, browser fingerprinting, payment records, and information typed into a page can still identify you. A VPN does not make illegal or unsafe activity anonymous.

Important limits and privacy details

• Browser-only coverage: traffic from other apps and browsers uses the normal network connection.
• No universal malware protection: a VPN does not inspect every download or stop phishing, malicious extensions, or unsafe passwords.
• Website exceptions: sites added to the exception list bypass the VPN.
• Essential Mozilla services: Mozilla excludes some services needed for sign-in, reconnection, and public Wi-Fi login screens.
• Service data: Mozilla says it collects technical and interaction data needed to operate and improve the feature, such as connection success and daily data volume, but does not log the sites visited or communication content.
• Regional rules remain: changing a routing location does not remove the laws or content restrictions that apply to the user or service.

Mozilla describes its design and data model in the official built-in VPN announcement. Review the current privacy notice and support page because service behavior can change during a progressive rollout.

When the free option is enough

The built-in VPN is a practical choice when nearly all sensitive activity happens inside Firefox, you use public Wi-Fi occasionally, and 50 GB is sufficient. It requires no separate VPN application and can be disabled per website.

Choose a full-device VPN when you also need to protect another browser, desktop email, messaging, games, cloud-sync clients, or other applications. A standalone service may also be more suitable for continuous use, router coverage, advanced routing, or a larger data allowance. Compare providers by current privacy documentation, platform support, independent audits, speed on your connection, and renewal terms—not only by a “free” or “fastest” label.