I'm an absolite outsider to this, I use edge and would use chrome if need be.
It seems to me like mozilla appeals to paranoid users who don't pay for software and also don't want to see ads, and in exchange insane demands and revolt is placed upon them.
One thing you learn when providing services is that the demands don't ever stop. The more you provide for free, the more demands you get.
Would not want to be in this space, let's normalize paying for software, then you wouldn't need to worry about alternative monetization schemes.
Tracking is not synonymous with ads. Advertising was big business back when you had to just put a jingle on the airwaves or paint a billboard and trust that the right demographic would happen on it. It is plenty possible display ads and make money from them without invasive tracking, for example duck-duck-go does so. On the other hand if you do not fight tracking, paying for the service is no defense, they will just double-rip every time, triple dip if they think they can slot ads in.
It seems to me like mozilla appeals to paranoid users who don't pay for software and also don't want to see ads, and in exchange insane demands and revolt is placed upon them.
One thing you learn when providing services is that the demands don't ever stop. The more you provide for free, the more demands you get.
Would not want to be in this space, let's normalize paying for software, then you wouldn't need to worry about alternative monetization schemes.