1124522 - Update Firefox's "Location-Aware Browsing" FAQ to mention GLS, MLS, and other location providers

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(Core :: DOM: Geolocation, defect)

Description

[Chris Peterson [:cpeterson]]

Mika, I thought we planned to change this FAQ to say "Google Location Services or Mozilla Location Services" after we talked to Red Hat about using MLS on Fedora.

What FAQ changes do we need to make to cover all our bases? What if Firefox desktop wants to use, say, MLS on Linux, Apple's Location API on OS X and iOS (bug 928217), or Microsoft's Location API on Windows (bug 512407)?

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/geolocation/

Comment 1

[Mika]

I copied and pasted the existing FAQ into a google doc.  My edits should appear in a different color so you can tell the difference.  See: https://docs.google.com/a/mozilla.com/document/d/1tfvjf5fqBTUi82yAqYn64L88SwxOaeYws1aeoJ3NThg/edit?usp=sharing 

Can you please read over and LMK your thoughts.

Also, some questions:
- is this applicable to both desktop and Fennec? 
- do you know why we call it "Location-Aware Browsing"? To the average user, this is kind of confusing.  Why isn't it called "Firefox and Location" (or something more user friendly?)
- We now have 3 different areas for location information: (1) Location-Aware Browsing FAQ (2) MLS website and (3) the Firefox Privacy Notice paragraph on location.  Can you confirm that the Location-Aware Browsing FAQ is supposed to focus on Firefox and location? Then I'll make sure it syncs correctly with the other documents.

Comment 2

[Chris Peterson [:cpeterson]]

(In reply to Mika from comment #1)
> I copied and pasted the existing FAQ into a google doc.  My edits should
> appear in a different color so you can tell the difference.  See:
> https://docs.google.com/a/mozilla.com/document/d/
> 1tfvjf5fqBTUi82yAqYn64L88SwxOaeYws1aeoJ3NThg/edit?usp=sharing 
> 
> Can you please read over and LMK your thoughts.

I added some comments and questions to the doc.


> Also, some questions:
> - is this applicable to both desktop and Fennec? 

Everything in this FAQ is applicable to Firefox desktop, Firefox for Android (Fennec), Firefox for iOS, and Firefox OS *except* the instructions in the section "How do I undo a permission granted to a site?". The browser UI to edit site permissions differs for each platform.


> - do you know why we call it "Location-Aware Browsing"? To the average user,
> this is kind of confusing.  Why isn't it called "Firefox and Location" (or
> something more user friendly?)

I don't know who originally wrote this FAQ. The name "Location-Aware Browsing" is pretty awkward. I would welcome a new name. Maybe something like "Firefox and Your Location" or "Firefox and Location Privacy"?


> - We now have 3 different areas for location information: (1) Location-Aware
> Browsing FAQ (2) MLS website and (3) the Firefox Privacy Notice paragraph on
> location.  Can you confirm that the Location-Aware Browsing FAQ is supposed
> to focus on Firefox and location? Then I'll make sure it syncs correctly
> with the other documents.

Since the Location-Aware Browsing FAQ is hosted at a https://www.mozilla.org/firefox/ URL, I assume it is just about the Firefox product.

Comment 3

[Mika]

Thanks, cpeterson! Hanno, I'll wait for your comments also. I moved the tracked changes so it's easier to read.

Comment 4

[Hanno Schlichting]

I've left my comments in the doc.

But in general it gets really hard to tell which (combination of) location service/s is actually used for any one user. For Firefox Desktop it was halfway easy so far and only got complicated by Firefox being distributed by third parties (like Canonical/Redhat). Firefox for Android and Firefox OS are actually a bit more complicated and I'm not sure this page was applicable to these user before.

If we really want to capture any combination of possible services for all Firefox branded products we'll end up with a rather long list.

Comment 5

[Hanno Schlichting]

We currently don't have any plans to switch away from Google as the sole desktop location provider. Closing this, until this discussion comes up again.