[clairity]

> "Anonymous tracking is fine with [Mozilla]..."

that seems to be a reasonable and consistent stance, but it's also reasonable for users to be skeptical of their anonymity claims as well as the implicit claim of being undeanonymizeable (what a mouthful) or having strict safeguards on potentially fingerprintable info.

i think branding around privacy (and secondarily security) is a good strategy for them (apple is effective with it), but mozilla really has to nail the messaging, not only for the public but for more-discerning technologists as well. so far, the compromising stance they've taken doesn't seem to be hitting the right chords all around.

my take is that they're messaging is too broad and diluted right now. for example, diversity and inclusion are great, but not for the mozila/firefox brand at its current (smaller) size. it just distracts from a core brand that should be laser-focused on privacy and security to set it in stark contrast with google & chrome (and to a lesser extent, apple & safari). that creates real market segmentation and shifts user choice-making to dimensions that favor mozilla/firefox. other (potential) brand values just don't do that for them.

and, they don't have the resources and reach (and reserve brand equity) of companies like google & apple to effectively deploy broad brand ideals. instead, they really need to focus narrowly on just privacy and security if they want to survive their mindshare/marketshare drought.