Guide to Firefox Containers (2018)

Firefox Containers is a great feature that deserves more credits. This feature allows us to avoid tracking, while at the same time ensuring the convenience of use and does not require the user to change their habits. Do you want to limit facebook? Create the container, set the default facebook.com opening in it, and use the browser as before. This should be a standard feature in any browser.

Re: Guide to Firefox Containers (2018)

#5

Post by super_mario » Mon, Aug 30, 2021, 11:42 AM UTC

Are containers still necessary? Does the Firefox built in privacy (Strict privacy protection policy) provide same or similar functionality?

Re: Guide to Firefox Containers (2018)

#6

Post by msdrigg » Mon, Aug 30, 2021, 11:46 AM UTC

super_mario wrote: post #5

Are containers still necessary? Does the Firefox built in privacy (Strict privacy protection policy) provide same or similar functionality?

I use containers to only use some google services while signed in. For instance I use gmail signed in but I google search in a separate container to not log that data in my account.

I may be fooling myself and google can identify it anyway through my IP or something but it feels like I get a little extra anonymity.

Re: Guide to Firefox Containers (2018)

#7

Post by UI_at_80x24 » Mon, Aug 30, 2021, 11:48 AM UTC

One downside that I had hoped containers would fix was multiple accounts on AWS.

Because of the way AWS handles the URL's for logging in I get:

  company1.signin.aws.amazon.com
  company2.signin.aws.amazon.com
  company3.signin.aws.amazon.com

BUT FF only seems to remember the login/password for 1 of these at a time. I had hoped that putting them all in different containers would fix this but it appears that FF only matches based on the base domain name, and not the full sub-domain. If AWS had the domains structured as:

  AWS.com/company1
  AWS.com/company2
  AWS.com/company3

It might behave differently.

Re: Guide to Firefox Containers (2018)

#8

Post by detritus » Mon, Aug 30, 2021, 11:50 AM UTC

Containers are great! But since the recent v.91 update screwed the tabs up so much, there's no quick visual way to scan and see which container-type each tab is.

Great stuff, well done Mozilla! What's the point in being able to customise a container's appearance, including colour, if they're not described on the tab itself?

Re: Guide to Firefox Containers (2018)

#9

Post by syshum » Mon, Aug 30, 2021, 11:50 AM UTC

cmeacham98 wrote: post #3

Alternative low-effort solution that might break some websites (only issue I've run into so far is U2F based 2FA with Duo): privacy.firstparty.isolate -> true (in about:config) Effectively acts as a separate 'container' for every website.

The problem here comes in when you have things like SSO where many sites auth to Google, or AzureAD, etc.

With Continers I can login to the same site with mutiple accounts, for example one common use it where you have a Admin Account, and a Regular Account. You can use FireFox Containers to access the same site(s) using different accounts

I also do this with Amazon, so I can have my Work Amazon, and my personal Amazon separated with out having to use the "Change Account" feature which I find to be annoying

Re: Guide to Firefox Containers (2018)

#10

Post by syshum » Mon, Aug 30, 2021, 11:52 AM UTC

detritus wrote: post #8

Containers are great! But since the recent v.91 update screwed the tabs up so much, there's no quick visual way to scan and see which container-type each tab is. Great stuff, well done Mozilla! What's the point in being able to customise a container's appearance, including colour, if they're not described on the tab itself?

TreeStyleTabs...

next to Containers, it is the only reason I still use FF, if FF drops support for either TreeStyleTabs or Containers there will be zero reason for me to continue using it.