User Experience Patches

These patches improve the overall browsing experience by blocking annoyances like autoplaying media, creating a smoother and less disruptive user journey.

Patches

• Gecko - IronFox Fingerprinting Protection (FPP) overrides
• Fenix - IronFox onboarding
• Android Components - Allow uBlock Origin in private browsing windows by default
• Fenix - Hide the ‘Remove’ and ‘Run in private browsing’ toggles for built-in add-ons
• Fenix - Control Gecko Autofill
• Fenix - Control Gecko Password Manager

Gecko - IronFox Fingerprinting Protection (FPP) overrides

Adds support for an internal list that disables specific fingerprinting protections as needed on a per-site basis.

Reason

To reduce website breakage for end-users. Setting the overrides this way specifically also avoids us needing to use the ‘privacy.fingerprintingProtection.granularOverrides’ preference like we have in the past, allowing users to easily set their own overrides (via that preference) if needed.

Effect

Provides users with a seamless browsing experience and allows them to benefit from our strong fingerprinting protection, minus the breakage and headaches.

Reason To reduce website breakage for end-users. Setting the overrides this way specifically also avoids us needing to use the ‘privacy.fingerprintingProtection.granularOverrides’ preference like we have in the past, allowing users to easily set their own overrides (via that preference) if needed.

Effect Provides users with a seamless browsing experience and allows them to benefit from our strong fingerprinting protection, minus the breakage and headaches.

Fenix - IronFox onboarding

Adds IronFox-specific onboarding screens.

Reason

To allow users to configure IronFox to their liking on first install.

Effect

Users can toggle features as per their liking before they take effect in the browser.

Reason To allow users to configure IronFox to their liking on first install.

Effect Users can toggle features as per their liking before they take effect in the browser.

Android Components - Allow uBlock Origin in private browsing windows by default

Allows uBlock Origin to run in private browsing windows by default.

Reason

To ensure that users are protected with strong content blocking in private browsing windows.

Effect

Users are always protected against ads/tracking/malware/etc.

Reason To ensure that users are protected with strong content blocking in private browsing windows.

Effect Users are always protected against ads/tracking/malware/etc.

Fenix - Hide the ‘Remove’ and ‘Run in private browsing’ toggles for built-in add-ons

Hide the no-op ‘Remove’ and ‘Run in private browsing’ toggles for built-in add-ons.

Reason

To improve UX and prevent users from seeing/attempting to use toggles that do not work (The ‘Run in private browsing’ toggle simply immediately resets, and built-in add-ons are simply re-installed on the next launch if uninstalled with the ‘Remove’ toggle).

Effect

Users are provided with a cleaner UI and won’t try to use toggles that do not work as expected.

Reason To improve UX and prevent users from seeing/attempting to use toggles that do not work (The ‘Run in private browsing’ toggle simply immediately resets, and built-in add-ons are simply re-installed on the next launch if uninstalled with the ‘Remove’ toggle).

Effect Users are provided with a cleaner UI and won’t try to use toggles that do not work as expected.

Fenix - Control Gecko Autofill

If autofill is enabled/disabled from the browser’s UI settings, this ensures that the functionality is also fully enabled/disabled within Gecko.

Reason

Helps ensure that Gecko preferences/behavior is in sync with Fenix settings/behavior, improves UX, performance, and provides additional attack surface reduction, by ensuring that autofill functionality is fully disabled within Gecko when it’s disabled by the corresponding Fenix UI settings.

Effect

Users can fully disable address/credit card autofill functionality from the UI.

Reason Helps ensure that Gecko preferences/behavior is in sync with Fenix settings/behavior, improves UX, performance, and provides additional attack surface reduction, by ensuring that autofill functionality is fully disabled within Gecko when it’s disabled by the corresponding Fenix UI settings.

Effect Users can fully disable address/credit card autofill functionality from the UI.

Fenix - Control Gecko Password Manager

If the password manager is enabled/disabled from the browser’s UI settings, this ensures that the functionality is also fully enabled/disabled within Gecko.

Reason

Helps ensure that Gecko preferences/behavior is in sync with Fenix settings/behavior, improves UX, performance, and provides additional attack surface reduction, by ensuring that password manager functionality is fully disabled within Gecko when it’s disabled by the corresponding Fenix UI setting.

Effect

Users can fully disable password manager functionality from the UI.

Reason Helps ensure that Gecko preferences/behavior is in sync with Fenix settings/behavior, improves UX, performance, and provides additional attack surface reduction, by ensuring that password manager functionality is fully disabled within Gecko when it’s disabled by the corresponding Fenix UI setting.

Effect Users can fully disable password manager functionality from the UI.