Thunderbird should by default have all telemetry as an opt in option or have zero telemetry

[citb]

Thunderbird should have the ability to disable ALL telemetry and other unknown connections, in fact this should be the default.  The only place Thunderbird should be connecting to is the email provider's POP and SMTP servers, and/or IMAP servers.    If it wants to connect to anything else there should be a way to get a full explanation of where it is going, why it is going there, and we should have the ability to block that connection if it is doing things we don't want it to do.  Some of us do NOT want it trying to sync anything to any online cloud service!

A connection that ONLY checks for updates to Thunderbird and does nothing else that would be fine too, but as it is Thunderbird just wants to connect to various thunderbird.net, mozilla.com, and firefox.com addresses with no explanation of why or what it's doing.

Thunderbird needs to be much more transparent about what it's connecting to, and give users the opportunity to opt out without having to use external connection blockers such as OpenSnitch (Linux) or Little Snitch (MacOS).  The "just trust us" mentality that many developers have just doesn't cut it in these times, particularly for anyone who values privacy.

[fung0]

Where is my privacy invaded? Ah, if only I knew that, it would be a whole different world. It's not paranoia if there really are people (and/or gigantic corporations) out to get you.

I do try to provide helpful data to developers of products I rely on. But I like to be asked nicely. We're living in a time when any invasion of personal space practically needs written permission. Surely it's not too much to expect a bit of courtesy before I surrender data from my very personal computer?

[privacist24]

I get this is an old thread, but adding my 2 cents to keep it relevant.

This should be opt-in with a prompt when first installing if the user wishes to participate or not. If the user chooses not to, then all telemetry must be disabled until the user opts in.

Reading through the comments, everyone here makes sense, however I vehemently disagree with s_hentzschel's notions of code quality from telemetry. There are more than enough extra avenues for Mozilla to collect information (willingly provided) by users that don't infringe on privacy. Suggesting otherwise is a gross misunderstanding on how to protect privacy while handling bug triage, development velocity and code quality.

[rogue-agent]

It should also ask when you want to send telemetry, or once in a year ask if you want to send telemetry.

[shazmcgraw]

Oh wow. I knew about the troubles with telemetry in Firefox, but did not think it would happen in Thunderbird so soon. I'm happy to help and give feedback, but telemetry feels a little more cloak and daggers rather than an actual study to take part in.