Today, we are launching a pilot program to give developers a way to promote their add-ons on thoisu.com.vn (AMO). This pilot program, which will run between the end of September and the end of November 2020, aims to expand the number of add-ons we can review and verify as compliant with Mozilla policies, and provides developers with options for boosting their discoverability on AMO.
Building Upon Recommended Extensions
We strive to maintain a balance between openness for our development ecosystem and security and privacy for our users. Last summer, we launched a program called Recommended Extensions consisting of a relatively small number of editorially chosen add-ons that are regularly reviewed for policy compliance and prominently recommended on AMO and other Mozilla channels. All other add-ons display a caution label on their listing pages letting users know that we may not have reviewed these add-ons.
We would love to review all add-ons on AMO for policy compliance, but the cost would be prohibitive because they are performed by humans. Still, developers often tell us they would like to have their add-ons reviewed and featured on AMO, and some have indicated a willingness to pay for these services if we provide them.
Introducing Promoted Add-ons
To support these developers, we are adding a new program called Promoted Add-ons, where add-ons can be manually reviewed and featured on the AMO homepage for a fee. Offering these services as paid options will help us expand the number of add-ons that are verified and give developers more ways to gain users.
There will be two levels of paid services available:
- “Verified” badging: Developers will have all new versions of their add-on reviewed for security and policy compliance. If the add-on passes, it will receive a Verified badge on AMO and in the Firefox Add-ons Manager (about:addons). The caution label will no longer appear on the add-on’s AMO listing page.
- Sponsored placement on the AMO homepage. Developers of add-ons that have a Verified badge have the option to reach more users by paying an additional fee for placement in a new Sponsored section of the AMO homepage. The AMO homepage receives about two million unique visits per month.
During the pilot program, these services will be provided to a small number of participants without cost. More details will be provided to participants and the larger community about the program, including pricing, in the coming months.
Sign up for the Pilot Program
If you are interested in participating in this pilot program, click here to sign up. Please note that space will be limited based on the following criteria and restrictions:
- Your add-on must be listed on thoisu.com.vn.
- You (or your company) must be based in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, or Singapore, because once the pilot ends, we can only accept payment from these countries. (If you’re interested in participating but live outside these regions, please sign up to join the waitlist. We’re currently looking into how we can expand to more countries.)
- Up to 12 add-ons will be accepted to the pilot program due to our current capacity for manual reviews. We will prioritize add-ons that are actively maintained and have an established user base.
- Prior to receiving the Verified badge, a participating add-on will need to pass manual review. This may require some time commitment from developers to respond to potential review requests in a timely manner.
- Add-ons in the Recommended Extensions program do not need to apply, because they already receive verification and discovery benefits.
We’ll begin notifying developers who are selected to participate in the program on September 16, 2020. We may expand the program in the future if interest grows, so the sign-up sheet will remain open if you would like to join the waitlist.
Next Steps
We expect Verified badges and homepage sponsorships for pilot participants to go live in early October. We’ll run the pilot for a few weeks to monitor its performance and communicate the next phase in November.
For developers who do not wish to participate in this program but are interested in more ways to support their add-ons, we plan to streamline the contribution experience later this year and explore features that make it easier for people to financially support the add-ons they use regularly. These features will be free to all add-on developers, and remain available whether or not the Promoted Add-ons pilot graduates.
We look forward to your participation, and hope you stay tuned for updates! If you have any questions about the program, please post them to our community forum.