📝 Correction | about:config section *desperately* needs warnings. Especially on resistFingerprinting. #2298

New Issue

2021-05-20T15:58:50Z

lolrepeatlol commented

2021-05-20 15:58:50 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

Description

The about:config section has practically no warnings on reduced Firefox functionality. This is huge as many people rely on PTIO, and don't actually know the effects of what they're modifying in about:config when they scroll down and follow the instructions. This could potentially be both harmful to Firefox and to the overall privacy community. I would not be surprised if many went "ugh, my websites aren't working, guess I'll just go back to Chrome and give up" after following the instructions on PTIO with no warnings.

Why I am making the suggestion

I regularly browse r/Firefox and I have for months. Support for Firefox is available from the community there, and there are common posts about certain websites not working/laggy performance/etc. A lot of the time these issues are due to privacy.resistFingerprinting.

Again, this is a very common issue for people, so here are just a few examples with just privacy.resistFingerprinting.
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Example 5
Example 6
Example 7
Example 8
Example 9
Example 10
Example 11
Example 12
Example 13
Example 14
Example 15
Example 16
Example 17
Example 18
Example 19
Example 20
Example 21
Example 22
Example 23
Example 24
Example 25

Hopefully I don't need more examples to show that this is very common.

While these examples are purely about privacy.resistfingerprinting, other settings that are suggested to be toggled off also have an either barely noticeable warning (only applicable to WebRTC) or none at all (basically every other tweak).

For example, webgl.disabled breaks plenty of websites that use WebGL, with no warning. Toggling media.gmp-widevinecdm.enabled breaks Netflix, Spotify, and other websites, with no real warning. Toggling media.eme.enabledalso breaks Netflix, Spotify, and other websites, with no real warning.

And no, having a tiny description about what the setting does isn't enough. Those warnings really expect the user to either take the time to click "Details" or know what DRM/WebGL/etc. is. Instead, there should be a clear and easy to understand advisory about these settings.

My connection with the software

I guess my connection with Firefox is that I'm generally pretty involved in its community (frankly, as a fanboy) and hate to see that so many people are running into issues with Firefox for following settings on PTIO (again, that's not their fault as there aren't really any warnings for toggling these tweaks). Issues arising from following these settings reflect badly on the suggested software (Firefox) and makes people frustrated and less likely to care about privacy. I like PTIO generally but I think this is a huge issue that should be fixed sooner rather than later.

I will keep the issue up-to-date if something I have said changes or I remember a connection with the software.

## Description The `about:config` section has practically no warnings on reduced Firefox functionality. This is huge as many people rely on PTIO, and don't actually know the effects of what they're modifying in about:config when they scroll down and follow the instructions. This could potentially be both harmful to Firefox and to the overall privacy community. I would not be surprised if many went "ugh, my websites aren't working, guess I'll just go back to Chrome and give up" after following the instructions on PTIO with *no warnings*. ## Why I am making the suggestion I regularly browse r/Firefox and I have for months. Support for Firefox is available from the community there, and there are common posts about certain websites not working/laggy performance/etc. A lot of the time these issues are due to `privacy.resistFingerprinting.` Again, this is a *very* common issue for people, so here are just a few examples with just `privacy.resistFingerprinting`. [Example 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/hno3ej/phub_issues/fxkz0pe?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 2](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/f0qyeb/i_keep_randomly_getting_this_page_through_various/) [Example 3](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/mmqg5e/firefox_not_showing_map_in_zillow/gtthc9x?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 4](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/mtj7pu/preferscolorscheme_no_longer_working_at_all/gv042hv?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 5](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/kr6imn/discord_states_unsupported_browser_firefox_8401/gi7yud2?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 6](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/ge6e8f/vk_is_saying_ff_v76_is_outdated/fpljq2o?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 7](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/ar63ii/web_whatsapp_shows_blankwhite_image/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 8](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/gb17d2/firefox_displays_the_wrong_time_in_whatsapp_web/fp314vp?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 9](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/jtcpld/google_earth_loading_forever/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 10](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/m1gnwa/gamesanimations_slow_and_buggy/gqge3ap?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 11](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/6xywm9/weird_time_sync_issue/) [Example 12](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/lqmo68/why_is_firefox_lagging_the_animation_is_an_svg/gol42zf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 13](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/negs66/extremely_slow_performance_when_running_any/) [Example 14](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/fybzqe/choppy_animations_on_firefox_vs_chrome/fmz9pvc?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 15](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/a9sehr/youtube_60_fps_dropped_frames/ecmcge1?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 16](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/fq4ndf/firefox_vs_edge_on_streaming_platform_twitch_no/flow0cx?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 17](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/8u07c3/hangoutsmeet_not_working/e1bx75j?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 18](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/k5uuoi/slack_performance_on_firefox/gehec1m?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 19](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/neru1j/broken_images_across_firefox/gyi3w9w?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 20](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/jj1cyj/broken_google_captcha/ga9s4n4?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 21](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/hj38m1/switched_from_chrome_cant_activate_google/fwjvhkf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 22](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/hr5jc6/images_showing_up_as_colored_vertical_lines_only/fy20q5w?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 23](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/memp1f/native_dark_mode_for_websites_not_working/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 24](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/7pes2c/whatapp_web_qr_code_not_loading_in_ff58_beta/dshecpb?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) [Example 25](https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/kemhqe/anyone_else_have_issues_with_firefox_opening_up/gg3u69i?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) Hopefully I don't need more examples to show that this is very common. While these examples are purely about `privacy.resistfingerprinting`, other settings that are suggested to be toggled off also have an either barely noticeable warning (only applicable to WebRTC) or none at all (basically every other tweak). For example, `webgl.disabled` breaks plenty of websites that use WebGL, with no warning. Toggling `media.gmp-widevinecdm.enabled` breaks Netflix, Spotify, and other websites, with no real warning. Toggling `media.eme.enabled`also breaks Netflix, Spotify, and other websites, with no real warning. And no, having a tiny description about what the setting does isn't enough. Those warnings really expect the user to either take the time to click "Details" or know what DRM/WebGL/etc. is. Instead, there should be a clear and easy to understand advisory about these settings.  ## My connection with the software  I guess my connection with Firefox is that I'm generally pretty involved in its community (frankly, as a fanboy) and hate to see that so many people are running into issues with Firefox for following settings on PTIO (again, that's not their fault as there aren't really any warnings for toggling these tweaks). Issues arising from following these settings reflect badly on the suggested software (Firefox) and makes people frustrated and less likely to care about privacy. I like PTIO generally but I think this is a huge issue that should be fixed sooner rather than later. - [x] I will keep the issue up-to-date if something I have said changes or I remember a connection with the software.

👍 3

gary-host-laptop commented

2021-05-20 16:25:05 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

I know that section is and has been under a needed update which will probably take a lot of time until it is finished, but maybe adding this will not be much of an issue before that happens?

freddy-m commented

2021-06-03 21:18:39 +00:00

(Migrated from github.com)

This can be dealt with in #1257 @dngray

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Reference: privacyguides/privacytools.io#2298