4 ms·

What I want to know is have Firefox fixed the show-stopper bug with their implementation of Private Windows yet ? In Firefox, if I login to something in one Pr

What I want to know is have Firefox fixed the show-stopper bug with their implementation of Private Windows yet ? In Firefox, if I login to something in one Private Window, and open a second Private Window, my session is maintained (e.g. login to Protonmail on one, I open a second private window and I'm already logged in). So I assume Firefox is sharing cookies and whatnot between Private Windows. Brave doesn't do this. If I login in one Private Window in Brave, the new Private Window presents me (correctly) with the login screen. I've been through my Firefox settings with a fine-tooth comb and cannot identify anything that might be causing this. Hence I assume it is a bug. (And yes, I mean new window, not a new tab)

ris58h 4y ago
> Hence I assume it is a bug. You probably should report it to Mozilla https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/ https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/
- traceroute66 4y ago
  > You probably should report it to Mozilla https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/ https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/ Probably. But I've never had much luck getting any traction on previous reports even when I've made sure to produce great supporting detail to enable reproduction. I suspect you need to know the right people to get traction on Mozilla bugs. Everyone else just seems to get lost in the swamp.
fotta 4y ago
I came here looking to see if this was fixed too. This isn’t really a “bug” per se as the text on the Private Window says it does this. But I agree with you it’s the biggest issue with Private Windows. I always check if I have one open now if I want to use one and have started using Safari Private Windows more now because each one is isolated.
jabiko 4y ago
Isn't this normal? I just tested it in Chrome appears like sessions are across private windows there as well. So I guess its just an extra feature of Brave.
hn92726819 4y ago
I think it's pretty clearly not a bug. Chrome behaves the same way. Private session is cleared when all windows are closed. I am curious though. What happens if you drag a private tab into its own window? Is state shared with the original private window? How is this communicated to the user? And what if I drag a different private window tab into the new private window? Does each tab retain it's original window? Edit: you might be interested in the Firefox add-on Temporary Containers. You can open a new tab in its own container that isn't shared with anything else
- traceroute66 4y ago
  > Edit: you might be interested in the Firefox add-on Temporary Containers. You can open a new tab in its own container that isn't shared with anything else Thank you for the suggestion but.... "Containers are disabled .... when Never Remember History is selected in your privacy settings." Which is a bit of a shit limitation. ;-(
LinuxBender 4y ago
I don't know the answer to your question but the work-around I found was to use an add-on [1] [1] - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/temporary-containers/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/temporary-con...
jrootabega 4y ago
It's a miscommunication/misalignment of expectations. Private windows have privacy (more than non-private windows, at least), but they do not have privacy or isolation from each other. Unless you use add-ons, the isolation boundary is the profile. You need multiple profiles to keep them from sharing with each other. The main problem then, IMO, is that it is not well-supported for a user to use template profiles or automation to manage or create multiple profiles with common settings. Copying profile directories to a separate user account (on platforms that allow that kind of thing) is the closest strong approach I can think of.
- traceroute66 4y ago
  > It's a miscommunication/misalignment of expectations. Private windows have privacy (more than non-private windows, at least), but they do not have privacy or isolation from each other Ok fine, but why can't it be a checkbox option in preferences ? Why can't I tick a box that says "isolate private windows" ?
  - jrootabega 4y ago
    I would like that option as well. The closest Mozilla will officially let you get is multi-account containers. But it's just not a bug, and I think it should be clear that it will never be a feature.
Ayesh 4y ago
If it's isolation you are really after, you can just use built-in Containers feature. It isolates session/cookie data, and there are extensions that you create temporary containers for highly configurable boundaries.
daveoc64 4y ago
Chrome and Edge behave the same way as Firefox. You should think of it as a private session, not a private window. I doubt Firefox would want to change from the behaviour shared by other browsers.
soundnote 4y ago
Just tested in Brave, and it behaves as you say Firefox behaves. One Proton login shared between two private windows.

ris58h 4y ago

> Hence I assume it is a bug. You probably should report it to Mozilla https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/ https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/

traceroute66 4y ago
> You probably should report it to Mozilla https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/ https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/ Probably. But I've never had much luck getting any traction on previous reports even when I've made sure to produce great supporting detail to enable reproduction. I suspect you need to know the right people to get traction on Mozilla bugs. Everyone else just seems to get lost in the swamp.

fotta 4y ago

I came here looking to see if this was fixed too. This isn’t really a “bug” per se as the text on the Private Window says it does this. But I agree with you it’s the biggest issue with Private Windows. I always check if I have one open now if I want to use one and have started using Safari Private Windows more now because each one is isolated.

jabiko 4y ago

Isn't this normal? I just tested it in Chrome appears like sessions are across private windows there as well. So I guess its just an extra feature of Brave.

hn92726819 4y ago

I think it's pretty clearly not a bug. Chrome behaves the same way. Private session is cleared when all windows are closed. I am curious though. What happens if you drag a private tab into its own window? Is state shared with the original private window? How is this communicated to the user? And what if I drag a different private window tab into the new private window? Does each tab retain it's original window? Edit: you might be interested in the Firefox add-on Temporary Containers. You can open a new tab in its own container that isn't shared with anything else

traceroute66 4y ago
> Edit: you might be interested in the Firefox add-on Temporary Containers. You can open a new tab in its own container that isn't shared with anything else Thank you for the suggestion but.... "Containers are disabled .... when Never Remember History is selected in your privacy settings." Which is a bit of a shit limitation. ;-(

LinuxBender 4y ago

I don't know the answer to your question but the work-around I found was to use an add-on [1] [1] - https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/temporary-containers/ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/temporary-con...

jrootabega 4y ago

It's a miscommunication/misalignment of expectations. Private windows have privacy (more than non-private windows, at least), but they do not have privacy or isolation from each other. Unless you use add-ons, the isolation boundary is the profile. You need multiple profiles to keep them from sharing with each other. The main problem then, IMO, is that it is not well-supported for a user to use template profiles or automation to manage or create multiple profiles with common settings. Copying profile directories to a separate user account (on platforms that allow that kind of thing) is the closest strong approach I can think of.

traceroute66 4y ago
> It's a miscommunication/misalignment of expectations. Private windows have privacy (more than non-private windows, at least), but they do not have privacy or isolation from each other Ok fine, but why can't it be a checkbox option in preferences ? Why can't I tick a box that says "isolate private windows" ?
- jrootabega 4y ago
  I would like that option as well. The closest Mozilla will officially let you get is multi-account containers. But it's just not a bug, and I think it should be clear that it will never be a feature.

Ayesh 4y ago

If it's isolation you are really after, you can just use built-in Containers feature. It isolates session/cookie data, and there are extensions that you create temporary containers for highly configurable boundaries.

daveoc64 4y ago

Chrome and Edge behave the same way as Firefox. You should think of it as a private session, not a private window. I doubt Firefox would want to change from the behaviour shared by other browsers.

soundnote 4y ago

Just tested in Brave, and it behaves as you say Firefox behaves. One Proton login shared between two private windows.