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Firefox search app silently logs Firefox address bar searches

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Re: Firefox search app silently logs Firefox address bar searches

#21
Looks like some confusion around the Firefox for Android search activity. I've filed a bug at https://bugzil.la/1143585 to track this.

Edit: For the time being, you can click the gear in the lower right of the search activity and choose "clear history" to remove those entries.

Re: Firefox search app silently logs Firefox address bar searches

#22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

AOSP is clean of any Google-ish surveillance programs. Best example is Cyanogen. Of course, Google Apps are not.

Is OP running Cyanogen? That would've indeed been something.

I will be within the next 24 hours, if Sunshine 3.0 gets released as promised. :-)

Re: Firefox search app silently logs Firefox address bar searches

#23
post #5

Does it work the other way around? If I type something in any browser on android, will the history be available to other browsers ? (i.e. some kind of history API)

No it does not, in fact it doesn't even work the way the author claimed. He or she mistook an activity bundled with the Firefox app for the Google Search app.

In reality that search history was never persisted outside the Firefox app.

Re: Firefox search app silently logs Firefox address bar searches

#24
post #23
post #5

Does it work the other way around? If I type something in any browser on android, will the history be available to other browsers ? (i.e. some kind of history API)

No it does not, in fact it doesn't even work the way the author claimed. He or she mistook an activity bundled with the Firefox app for the Google Search app. In reality that search history was never persisted outside the Firefox app.

It only allows Google, despite my using another default search engine.

The data is certainly persisting somewhere outside of Firefox proper, as the search app is siphoning data that can only be cleared from within.

Re: Firefox search app silently logs Firefox address bar searches

#25
post #20
post #15

This is not the Google Search app but rather a search app bundled with Firefox. You can tell: it uses Firefox design language and iconography and is called "Firefox Search"; the Google Search app looks nothing like this. Because of the open intent-based nature of Android, apps can hook into the swipe up gesture. If you also have the Google Search app installed, you should've gotten a dialog to select between the two,…

I now understand that this app is branded as Firefox Search. However, I find it very suspicious that, at least for me, it only allows Google, even though my default search engine is DuckDuckGo. It also ignores Firefox's data clearing, as you acknowledged. I think it was automatically enabled on my phone because I explicitly disabled the Google app (my only other search app) in my App Settings. I updated the page to r…

It uses whatever search engine you have configured in Firefox. When I tried it a minute ago on my Nexus, this defaulted to Yahoo.

This is unequivocally Mozilla code you're observing. Here's what adb logcat shows when that activity starts:

    I/ActivityManager(29188): START u0 {act=android.intent.action.ASSIST flg=0x13000000 cmp=org.mozilla.firefox/org.mozilla.search.SearchActivity (has extras)}

Re: Firefox search app silently logs Firefox address bar searches

#26
post #25
post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I now understand that this app is branded as Firefox Search. However, I find it very suspicious that, at least for me, it only allows Google, even though my default search engine is DuckDuckGo. It also ignores Firefox's data clearing, as you acknowledged. I think it was automatically enabled on my phone because I explicitly disabled the Google app (my only other search app) in my App Settings. I updated the page to r…

It uses whatever search engine you have configured in Firefox. When I tried it a minute ago on my Nexus, this defaulted to Yahoo. This is unequivocally Mozilla code you're observing. Here's what adb logcat shows when that activity starts: I/ActivityManager(29188): START u0 {act=android.intent.action.ASSIST flg=0x13000000 cmp=org.mozilla.firefox/org.mozilla.search.SearchActivity (has extras)}

Not for me. Mine only allows Google. Maybe because I'm using a custom default search engine? If so, it should just use my custom one, and should obviously give me a choice regardless.

Re: Firefox search app silently logs Firefox address bar searches

#28
post #26
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It uses whatever search engine you have configured in Firefox. When I tried it a minute ago on my Nexus, this defaulted to Yahoo. This is unequivocally Mozilla code you're observing. Here's what adb logcat shows when that activity starts: I/ActivityManager(29188): START u0 {act=android.intent.action.ASSIST flg=0x13000000 cmp=org.mozilla.firefox/org.mozilla.search.SearchActivity (has extras)}

Not for me. Mine only allows Google. Maybe because I'm using a custom default search engine? If so, it should just use my custom one, and should obviously give me a choice regardless.

This may also be a bug in the Firefox app: I've just observed that when I change my default search engine in Firefox, that setting isn't necessarily reflected in the search intent handler until after I force stop Firefox.

Either way, to reiterate, it's definitely Firefox you're seeing here. If you don't like the way it behaves, I recommend following the other suggestions on this thread to file a bug report with Mozilla.

Re: Firefox search app silently logs Firefox address bar searches

#29
post #26
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It uses whatever search engine you have configured in Firefox. When I tried it a minute ago on my Nexus, this defaulted to Yahoo. This is unequivocally Mozilla code you're observing. Here's what adb logcat shows when that activity starts: I/ActivityManager(29188): START u0 {act=android.intent.action.ASSIST flg=0x13000000 cmp=org.mozilla.firefox/org.mozilla.search.SearchActivity (has extras)}

Not for me. Mine only allows Google. Maybe because I'm using a custom default search engine? If so, it should just use my custom one, and should obviously give me a choice regardless.

[deleted]

Re: Firefox search app silently logs Firefox address bar searches

#30
post #24
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it does not, in fact it doesn't even work the way the author claimed. He or she mistook an activity bundled with the Firefox app for the Google Search app. In reality that search history was never persisted outside the Firefox app.

It only allows Google, despite my using another default search engine. The data is certainly persisting somewhere outside of Firefox proper, as the search app is siphoning data that can only be cleared from within.

> The data is certainly persisting somewhere outside of Firefox proper, as the search app is siphoning data that can only be cleared from within.

That does not follow. They are the same application.

For example, attempt to reproduce this after pressing the Clear Data and Clear Cache buttons on Firefox's Android app info screen.

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