Firefox 149 Ships a Free Built-In VPN With 50 GB Monthly Cap as Mozilla Bundles Split View and Enhanced Malware Defenses
Mozilla releases Firefox 149 with a complimentary browser-only VPN, side-by-side tab browsing, and automatic permission revocation for malicious sites.
Overview
Mozilla released Firefox 149 on March 24, 2026, introducing a free built-in VPN, a split-view tab feature, and strengthened protections against malicious websites. The update marks the browser’s most significant privacy-oriented release since Firefox 148 added a master AI kill switch in February.
What We Know
Free Browser-Only VPN
The headline feature is a complimentary VPN integrated directly into the browser, offering 50 GB of encrypted traffic per month, according to The Register. The service routes browser traffic through a secure proxy, concealing the user’s IP address and location, but it covers only web content viewed within Firefox — it does not provide system-wide protection and is not suitable for gaming or other internet-connected applications outside the browser.
The VPN infrastructure uses a U.S.-based server, and activation requires a Mozilla account, as BleepingComputer reports. Users can toggle the VPN on globally or configure it for up to five specific websites to conserve their monthly data allowance. In-browser notifications alert users as they approach the 50 GB cap.
The free tier is distinct from Mozilla’s paid VPN product, which offers unlimited data and system-wide device coverage. The built-in version is rolling out progressively to users in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and France, with no announced timeline for broader international availability, according to TechRadar.
Split View Browsing
Firefox 149 introduces a native split-view mode that displays two web pages side by side within a single window, as The Register reports. Users can activate the feature by right-clicking on a tab. The active pane is indicated by a thin blue outline, while the inactive pane shows a small domain and favicon overlay. A hamburger menu provides options to separate the tabs, reverse their positions, or close both.
Malicious Site Defenses
Firefox now automatically blocks notifications from and permanently revokes permissions for any website flagged as malicious by Google’s SafeBrowsing service, as reported by BleepingComputer. This prevents compromised or deceptive sites from sending background notifications to users even after the initial visit.
Additional Changes
Other notable updates in Firefox 149 include hardware-accelerated PDF rendering for faster loading of large documents, a redesigned Trust Panel that consolidates privacy and security information behind the address bar, and a Tab Notes experimental feature in Firefox Labs that lets users attach short annotations to individual tabs, according to The Register. On Linux, Firefox now defaults to XDG portal file dialogs for better native desktop integration, a feature that had been available as an opt-in since Firefox 64. The release also includes 46 security vulnerability fixes detailed in Mozilla Security Advisory MFSA2026-20.
What We Don’t Know
Mozilla has not disclosed which VPN infrastructure provider powers the free tier, beyond confirming U.S.-based server routing. The company has not announced a timeline for expanding the VPN’s geographic availability beyond the initial four countries. It also remains unclear how Mozilla plans to sustain a free 50 GB VPN tier financially — whether through upselling to the paid Mozilla VPN product, through advertising, or through other means. Mozilla states it collects technical performance data and usage metrics but does not log browsing activity, though the company has not published a detailed technical audit of the service’s privacy guarantees.
The feature also excludes certain unspecified websites and essential services to prevent account sign-in issues, but Mozilla has not published a transparency list of these exclusions.
Analysis
The decision to bundle a free VPN directly into the browser reflects an intensifying competition among browser vendors to differentiate on privacy features. Opera has long offered a built-in VPN, and Brave ships with a paid VPN option. Mozilla’s entry into free browser-level VPN territory is notable given the company’s longstanding emphasis on user privacy as a core value.
The 50 GB monthly cap positions the free tier as adequate for moderate browsing and occasional streaming but insufficient for heavy daily use, likely by design. The four-country restriction and phased rollout suggest Mozilla is cautiously scaling infrastructure before committing to broader availability. For users who already pay for Mozilla VPN, the relationship between the free browser-only tier and the premium system-wide product may require clarification to avoid confusion.