this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2021
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Firefox Suggest (search bar suggestions) is offline by default (proof inside) (lemmy.ml)
submitted 3 years ago by TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml to c/firefox@lemmy.ml
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https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1727907

'Offline' is currently the default which is explained in the source code:

"This is the scenario for the "offline" rollout. Firefox Suggest suggestions are enabled by default. Search strings and matching keywords are not included in related telemetry. The onboarding dialog is not shown."

Switching to 'online' would trigger a dialog that comes up when you start the browser. Only clicking 'Allow suggestions' on the dialog would opt you into the search query collection.

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[–] nlfx@lemmy.ml 0 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (3 children)

From your comment on this other post and the downvotes it generated on said post, while this post and your comment get upvoted, I guess neither you nor anybody even checked to see what "offline" means...

If you scrolled down a little from the link you provided, you would have seen that "offline" really means:

  • Do NOT show the "opt-in" dialog to the user.
  • Silently opt-in user to "suggestions"

So basically "offline" = "opt-out" and not opt-in.

[–] TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml -2 points 3 years ago (2 children)

Quoting from source code comment:

Sets the appropriate Firefox Suggest scenario based on the current Nimbus

  • rollout (if any) and "hardcoded" rollouts (if any). The possible scenarios
  • are:
  • history
  • This is the scenario when the user is not in any rollouts. Firefox
  • Suggest suggestions are disabled.
  • offline
  • This is the scenario for the "offline" rollout. Firefox Suggest
  • suggestions are enabled by default. Search strings and matching keywords
  • are not included in related telemetry. The onboarding dialog is not
  • shown.
  • online
  • This is the scenario for the "online" rollout. The onboarding dialog will
  • be shown and the user must opt in to enable Firefox Suggest suggestions
  • and related telemetry, which will include search strings and matching
  • keywords.

Related source code:

async _updateFirefoxSuggestScenarioHelper() { let scenario = this._nimbus.quickSuggestScenario; if (!scenario) { await Region.init(); if ( Region.home == "US" && Services.locale.appLocaleAsBCP47.substring(0, 2) == "en" ) { // offline rollout for en locales in the US region scenario = "offline"; } else { // no rollout scenario = "history"; } }

I think this should be self explanatory.

[–] nlfx@lemmy.ml 0 points 3 years ago (1 children)

And how would that support your claim that this post is:

misinformation. No data is sent by default, you have to opt in.

The relevant parts from this code comment about the "offline" mode are:

Firefox Suggest suggestions are enabled by default.

The onboarding dialog is not shown.

Which correspond to the code I've already linked to.

      case "offline":
        enabled = true;
        defaults.setBoolPref("quicksuggest.shouldShowOnboardingDialog", false);
        defaults.setBoolPref("suggest.quicksuggest", true);
        defaults.setBoolPref("suggest.quicksuggest.sponsored", true);
        break;

The code you cited just says that users with locale "en-US" are enrolled in the "offline" mode.

Basically:

  • locale = "en-US" => "offline" => opt-out
  • locale != "en-US" => "opt-in" with all possible dark patterns to trick the user into accepting it: user has to click the small "Not now" text which does not look like a button on the top right corner to disable Suggest.

To summarize, the "offline" / "online" Suggest Scenario have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Firefox sends data to Mozilla or not, it only defines if the Suggest feature is opt-in or opt-out. Is this naming extremely confusing? Absolutely! But at this point it's clear that Mozilla has done everything possible to mislead users about what their "suggestions" really are.

So please, stop spreading misinformation while claiming that people trying to bring awareness about this awful "feature" are the ones providing false information. A code comment is not proof, your completely wrong interpretation of it even less so. If you don't agree, please link to the relevant source code which would contradict the one I've linked to.

[–] TheAnonymouseJoker@lemmy.ml -1 points 3 years ago

Can you read the below stuff?

This is the scenario for the “offline” rollout. Firefox Suggest suggestions are enabled by default. Search strings and matching keywords are not included in related telemetry. The onboarding dialog is not shown. online This is the scenario for the “online” rollout. The onboarding dialog will be shown and the user must opt in to enable Firefox Suggest suggestions and related telemetry, which will include search strings and matching keywords.

"offline" - Search strings and matching keywords are not included in related telemetry.

"online" - user must opt in to enable Firefox Suggest suggestions and related telemetry, which will include search strings and matching keywords