Mozilla has announced that it will terminate its partnership with Beijing Mofang Huohu Information Technology Co., Ltd. (“Beijing Firefox”), the company responsible for localized Firefox services in mainland China.
While Firefox browser functionality will remain unaffected, key features such as Firefox Accounts, data synchronization, and Chinese community services will cease operation by September 29, 2025.
The decision marks a major shift in Mozilla's strategy for China. According to the official notice published yesterday, the partnership dissolution was mutually agreed upon earlier this year, on May 8. With this, Beijing Firefox will fully exit from all business related to Mozilla and Firefox in China, including the use of Mozilla-authorized trademarks, domain names, and other digital assets.
Mozilla Corporation, a U.S.-based non-profit best known for the Firefox browser, has for years relied on Beijing Firefox to manage local operations, including maintaining Chinese-language sites, community forums, and account infrastructure. The services to be shuttered include:
- Firefox Account service at accounts.firefox.com.cn: Registration is already disabled, and all account-related data will be deleted after September 29. Encrypted user sync data will no longer be updated and will be purged after that date.
- Firefox's Chinese official site (firefox.com.cn): Download functionality has already been removed; users are redirected to Mozilla's global domain for software access.
- Mozilla community portal (mozilla.com.cn): Forums and registration are now closed. Users have until September 29 to save posts or contributions.
- Firefox China homepage (home.firefoxchina.cn): Content updates will stop entirely after September 29.
Despite these changes, Mozilla confirmed that the Firefox browser itself will continue to operate in China with full functionality and regular updates. Users can continue downloading and using the browser through firefox.com. Mozilla also emphasized that it will maintain compliance with China's data protection laws, including the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) and the Data Security Law, and will ensure all personal data is deleted in accordance with legal requirements.
Beijing Firefox, which has operated in the region under Mozilla's authorization, will fully wind down by the end of September. Mozilla plans to handle China-based operations directly or through new partners, although no successor organization has been named publicly.
Users relying on Firefox Account sync features are urged to log into their accounts and ensure that synced data is stored locally. Mozilla has published documentation to assist users in manual backup. For continued use of sync and account services, users should consider migrating to Firefox's global infrastructure via accounts.firefox.com, which remains unaffected by these regional changes. Forum users can download any posts or content from Mozilla China's community portal before the September deadline.
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