Mozilla is trying out different ways to improve its sponsorship feature, after initial plans sputtered and came to a halt.
According to a post on the company's blog, consumers struggled to understand how the program worked.
Mozilla staff toyed with the browser's new tab page in February, until previous arrangements forced the company to rethink how to improve the software.
Mozilla's vice president said users were also worried Firefox would target their searches.
"A few months ago, Darren posted about some experiments we wanted to do with the new tab page," Johnathan Nightingale said in reference to the company's vice president of content service's ideas. "It didn't go over well. A lot of our community found the language hard to decipher and worried that we were going to turn Firefox into a mess of logos sold to the highest bidder; without user control, without benefit. That's not going to happen. That's not who we are at Mozilla."
Nightingale told the Register the company will now try out different ways to improve the internet browser's sponsorship attribute.
"We'll experiment on Firefox across platforms, and we'll talk about what we learn before anything ships to our release users. And we'll keep listening for feedback and suggestions to make this work better for you," Nightingale said.
Mozilla officials initially wanted the Internet browser to have directory tiles, or functions that improve a consumer's software experience.
"Directory Tiles will instead suggest pre-packaged content for first-time users. Some of these tile placements will be from the Mozilla ecosystem, some will be popular websites in a given geographic location, and some will be sponsored content from hand-picked partners to help support Mozilla's pursuit of our mission," content services VP Darren Herman said. "The sponsored tiles will be clearly labeled as such, while still leading to content we think users will enjoy."
Herman also said Mozilla has started to negotiate with other entities to improve the software's tiles and teach new users the tab option.
"We are beginning to talk to content partners about the opportunity, and plan to start showing Directory Tiles to new Firefox users as soon as we have the user experience right," Darren Herman said.
