1475834 - Allow to add "contextualIdentities" to "optional_permissions"

Status: RESOLVED DUPLICATE of bug 1386673

(WebExtensions :: General, enhancement, P3)

Description

[Michal Stanke (Mozilla.cz) [:mstanke][:MikkCZ]]

"contextualIdentities" cannot be listed in "optional_permissions" in manifest.json, which block it from being requested on demand. Given the fact, that granting an extension the "contextualIdentities" permission also force enables the feature in Firefox, I think it should be possible for an extension to ask for it only when it's really needed.

Comment 1

[Mike Conca [:mconca]]

This makes a lot of sense from a product standpoint. Are there engineering reasons we cannot (or shouldn't) allow contextualIdentities to be optional?

Comment 2

[David Durst [:ddurst]]

This makes sense to me too, and looks like the discussion began in bug 1354602 and just never resolved.

Comment 3

[Tomislav Jovanovic :zombie]

From bug 1354602 comment 29
> A general principle is that if something can, it should be optional.

Two notes though:

1) Installing an extension with this permission automatically enables the corresponding feature in Firefox, so this might be a bit more involved than simply moving it as in bug 1399176.

2) I think I saw a bug/report a week ago (can't find it now) that moving a permission from static to optional prompts for the permission on the next update, so we should probably QA with the Facebook Container extension, since that's a high-profile Mozilla's own extension where any extra permission prompt should be avoided if possible.

Comment 4

[Tomislav Jovanovic :zombie]

(In reply to Mike Conca [:mconca] (Denver, CO, USA UTC-6) from comment #1)
> Are there engineering
> reasons we cannot (or shouldn't) allow contextualIdentities to be optional?


(In reply to Tomislav Jovanovic :zombie from comment #3)
> > A general principle is that if something can, it should be optional.


I should be more specific: besides the two notes above, I don't see a reason this can't be an optional permission.

And based on similar bugs, I'm guessing P3 (feel free to correct).

Comment 5

[juraj.masiar]

Could you please clarify two things to me?

1. regarding:

Installing an extension with this permission automatically enables the corresponding feature in Firefox

Does this mean that the "Firefox Multi-Account Containers" add-on will be auto-installed when I use this permission? And is it a bad thing? :)

2. In the MDN, the "contextualIdentities" permission is listed under "The following permissions don't get alerted to users".
   So if understand it correctly, even without optional_permission, if I add it to the existing add-on, my users won't be warned about new permission, right?

I want to add this permission to my GroupSpeedDial used by >50k users so I really want to be sure about possible consequences.

Comment 6

[Michal Stanke (Mozilla.cz) [:mstanke][:MikkCZ]]

(In reply to juraj.masiar from comment #5)

Could you please clarify two things to me?

1. regarding:

Installing an extension with this permission automatically enables the corresponding feature in Firefox

Does this mean that the "Firefox Multi-Account Containers" add-on will be auto-installed when I use this permission? And is it a bad thing? :)

The containers add-on itself won't be installed. Firefox alone supports containers (provides API for add-ons + limited feature is possible to enable in browser preferences). To me it seems useless to have the feature enabled if not actually used. Especially when the fact that "My add-on" requires container tabs is shown in the preferences, which may scare some users to the extent they uninstall "My add-on".

2. In the MDN, the "contextualIdentities" permission is listed under "The following permissions don't get alerted to users".
   So if understand it correctly, even without optional_permission, if I add it to the existing add-on, my users won't be warned about new permission, right?

They are not warned, but it is shown in browser preferences after the add-on requiring the containers support is installed.