Firefox tracks users with Google Analytics in the add-on settings

Post by dotancohen » Wed, Jul 12, 2017, 8:50 PM UTC

Silhouette wrote: post #96

anonymousab wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>when they are so weak compared to the xul ones To many, I suspect that is the prime intent.

So far, the only difference I have noticed is that some useful add-ons that made Firefox significantly more attractive than some other browsers no longer work. The single biggest loss for me personally has been the ones that would save unsubmitted form content in case of crashes, accidental window/tab closure, etc. When I checked recently, there no longer appeared to be any add-on available that provided this valuabl…

Post by kuschku » Wed, Jul 12, 2017, 9:14 PM UTC

stinkytaco wrote: post #123

TekMol wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "Get Add-ons" view in Firefox is an iframe Please don't hide behind technical details. If click something in the browser and it causes Google to be notified, then you have send data about me to Google. Without my consent. privacy policy is linked from the Get Add-ons view Nobody reads those and you know it. The reason people use Firefox is to not get tracked by Google. Honestly, you hugely fucked up with this one…

> Nobody reads those and you know it. The reason people use Firefox is to not get tracked by Google. If you care about privacy, blind trust is never something you should have. This has all the trappings of a mistake to me. A group of developers responsible for developing one area (the add-ons page), was not considering the impact it might have on another (the browser developers). Perhaps they should find a different…

Post by hu3 » Wed, Jul 12, 2017, 9:46 PM UTC

coldpie wrote: post #93

throwaway2048 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact they thought this was a good idea to begin with speaks volumes about their actual position.

I disagree. I think people who believe in protecting their privacy can also be OK with Google Analytics processing, anonymizing, and aggregating the data. I also understand why someone would not feel that way. I think it's something about which reasonable people can disagree. This is why Mozilla provides the option[1]. [1] Which is, incorrectly, not being respected. This is a bug which they will fix.

Post by jhasse » Wed, Jul 12, 2017, 10:16 PM UTC

gcp wrote: post #85

ssivark wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can understand @tofumatt's desire to restrict that Github thread to the specific problem and its fix. However, given Mozilla's recent advertizing attempts slinging mud at Google/Chrome, it seems like they're asking for their credibility to be shredded publicly, in the media. This is an important enough matter that it deserves immediate escalation, to get a clear and coherent response at the organizational level tha…

All the features and technical improvements they might hope to ship in the next several months are irrelevant compared to this single issue. Which "single issue" is that then? That AMO is using GA (and has been for years)? Or that TP doesn't work correctly for the in-browser UI? I'm going to have to disagree with you there.

Post by jhasse » Wed, Jul 12, 2017, 10:20 PM UTC

kuschku wrote: post #86

dpcx wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, there's a link to the Mozilla Privacy Policy at the bottom of every add-on page, that explicitly states that they may use analytics (and even names Google Analytics).

Currently there is no such link at the bottom the discovery page, this is still an open PR, and was created as response to this thread. Additionally, this still violates the Cookie Law. > The addressees of the obligation are Member States, who must ensure that the use of electronic communications networks to store information in a visitor's browser is only allowed if the user is provided with “clear and comprehensive…