disable_gecko_browser_telemetry.sh

vimanuelt

While we cannot compel others to avoid a particular browser, we can take steps to reduce its data collection. To that end, I created a script that disables telemetry features in Mozilla’s Gecko-based browsers and removes the associated telemetry.sqlite database file to eliminate stored telemetry data.
#!/bin/sh
# disable_gecko_browser_telemetry.sh — Disable telemetry for Gecko-based browsers
set -eu

log()    { echo "[*] $1"; }
warn()   { echo "[!] $1" >&2; }
error()  { echo "[✘] $1" >&2; exit 1; }

show_help() {
  cat <<EOF
disable_gecko_browser_telemetry.sh – Disable telemetry in Firefox, Waterfox, LibreWolf, Mullvad, and Tor Browser

Usage:
  ./disable_gecko_browser_telemetry.sh
  ./disable_gecko_browser_telemetry.sh --help

Features:
  - Locates supported Gecko-based browser profiles
  - Backs up existing user.js files
  - Writes hardened telemetry-disabling settings
  - Removes telemetry-related artifacts (sqlite, crash reports, etc.)
EOF
  exit 0
}

backup_user_js() {
  PROFILE="$1"
  USER_JS="$PROFILE/user.js"
  if [ -f "$USER_JS" ]; then
    BACKUP="$USER_JS.bak.$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)"
    cp "$USER_JS" "$BACKUP" || error "Failed to back up $USER_JS"
    log "Backed up existing user.js to $BACKUP"
  fi
}

write_user_js() {
  PROFILE="$1"
  USER_JS="$PROFILE/user.js"

  if [ ! -d "$PROFILE" ]; then
    warn "Profile directory not found: $PROFILE"
    return
  fi

  backup_user_js "$PROFILE"

  cat > "$USER_JS" <<EOF
// Hardened privacy: disable telemetry in Gecko-based browsers
user_pref("toolkit.telemetry.enabled", false);
user_pref("toolkit.telemetry.unified", false);
user_pref("toolkit.telemetry.archive.enabled", false);
user_pref("toolkit.telemetry.newProfilePing.enabled", false);
user_pref("toolkit.telemetry.shutdownPingSender.enabled", false);
user_pref("toolkit.telemetry.updatePing.enabled", false);
user_pref("toolkit.telemetry.bhrPing.enabled", false);
user_pref("toolkit.telemetry.firstShutdownPing.enabled", false);
user_pref("datareporting.healthreport.uploadEnabled", false);
user_pref("datareporting.policy.dataSubmissionEnabled", false);
user_pref("app.shield.optoutstudies.enabled", false);
user_pref("browser.discovery.enabled", false);
user_pref("browser.ping-centre.telemetry", false);
user_pref("browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.feeds.telemetry", false);
user_pref("browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.telemetry", false);
EOF

  log "Telemetry disabled for: $PROFILE"
}

clean_telemetry_artifacts() {
  PROFILE="$1"
  for ITEM in crashes datareporting healthreport.sqlite telemetry.sqlite telemetry-shutdown-ping.txt; do
    TARGET="$PROFILE/$ITEM"
    [ -e "$TARGET" ] && rm -rf "$TARGET" && log "Removed: $TARGET"
  done
}

process_profiles() {
  BROWSER_NAME="$1"
  PROFILE_PATH_GLOB="$2"

  FOUND=0
  for PROFILE in $PROFILE_PATH_GLOB; do
    if [ -d "$PROFILE" ]; then
      FOUND=1
      log "Processing $BROWSER_NAME profile: $PROFILE"
      write_user_js "$PROFILE"
      clean_telemetry_artifacts "$PROFILE"
    fi
  done

  if [ "$FOUND" -eq 0 ]; then
    warn "No $BROWSER_NAME profiles found at: $PROFILE_PATH_GLOB"
  fi
}

main() {
  [ "${1:-}" = "--help" ] && show_help

  log "Starting telemetry disabling for supported Gecko-based browsers..."

  process_profiles "Firefox"        "$HOME/.mozilla/firefox/*.default*"
  process_profiles "Waterfox"       "$HOME/.waterfox/profiles/*.default*"
  process_profiles "LibreWolf"      "$HOME/.librewolf/*.default*"
  process_profiles "Mullvad Browser" "$HOME/.mullvad-browser/Browser/MullvadBrowser/Profiles/*.default*"
  process_profiles "Tor Browser"    "$HOME/.tor-browser/Browser/TorBrowser/Data/Browser/profile.default"

  log "Completed. Please restart browsers for changes to apply."
}

main "$@"