1557401 - Unexpected creation of a new profile after Firefox binary moved on macOS

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Toolkit :: Startup and Profile System, defect, P2)

Description

[Asif Youssuff]

I know that this will likely get closed at WONTFIX, but I wanted to log it anyway as I do not believe that this is expected behavior for any macOS app.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Download Firefox (macOS)
2. Launch binary from mounted disk image (this is absolutely a normal use case for someone auditioning a new app)
3. Use Firefox, set it up as you prefer
4. Quit
5. Move Firefox to /Applications
6. Launch Firefox

What happens:

At this point, Firefox will create a new profile for you, "losing" the profile you set up in step 3 above.

Expected result:

Firefox uses the same profile as created in step 3.

macOS apps can be freely moved around the filesystem and there is no "correct" place to put them. While Firefox's disk image includes an alias to /Applications, Firefox doesn't move itself there on launch (some other applications do this), and doesn't disallow users from launching the binary directly from the disk image.

Launching from a disk image is absolutely a normal mode of operation for users auditioning an app -- so this will bite switchers from other browsers particularly hard.

A user may think "well, let me try out Firefox", downloads the app, runs it (doesn't "install"), enjoys the experience, and before they unmount the disk image, they move the application to /Applications or similar (like ~/Applications).

What happens after that is that the user "loses" data, and is immediately turned off to Firefox, thinking that it can't retain its own preferences, and promptly switches back to their previous browser.

They may also have an extremely bad taste in their mouth and tell their friends and colleagues that Firefox loses data and is unreliable, and ought not to be used.

The reputational damage here could be immense, especially for a use case that is 100% normal for Mac users.

Comment 1

[Molly Howell (she/her) (no longer active)]

We don't really support running out of the DMG, so one solution here might be to fix bug 1314074.

Comment 2

[Erik Rose [:erik][:erikrose]]

I'll add my +1 here. It's a normal Mac thing to rename or even move apps. Sometimes I run them from the Desktop for a week when I'm auditioning them. Or often from the installer disk image. Sometimes I'll rename a copy of Firefox "Firefox Beta" at some point. Having that cause apparent data loss is Very Bad in my opinion. I've never seen another application react like that, and it makes Firefox seem fragile and untrustworthy.

Comment 3

[Romain Testard [:RT]]

Are there reasons for not moving Firefox to /Application and disallowing users from launching the binary directly from the disk image per comment 0?

Comment 4

[Asif Youssuff]

Not all users have write access to /Applications - if Firefox demands that it be run from /Applications, it becomes unlike other Mac apps. For example, I have created a ~/Applications/ folder, but that doesn't exist by default.

/Applications does, but that restricts Firefox usage in places where the user doesn't have admin access to the machine.

bug 1314074 isn't even that big a deal compared to this one -- oh, I can't update. If I am running it from a disk image or from my Downloads folder, you could easily say "Firefox is having trouble downloading the update, download manually" - I have definitely seen a similar message, and that is the correct fix to that bug -- not demanding a move.

Comment 5

[Erik Rose [:erik][:erikrose]]

I'll add that ~/Applications is not a wild, crazy idea that Asif just invented. It is a recognized canonical location for applications, recognized by the OS. Programs parked there are polled for Services and other integration points that those parked, say, on the Desktop, are not. But in general, applications can go anywhere on macOS, and users expect to be able to move them around without dire consequences. It's similar to the Documents folder: yes, the UI encourages you to put documents there, but nothing forces you to (and I don't).

Comment 6

[Asif Youssuff]

Here's another report of this: https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/dm1djo/firefox_on_mac_not_updating_or_saving_settings/

Why despite having check the box to reopen my closed taps it always starts me a new session when opening firefox?

After rebooting my Mac, Firefox looked as it was newly installedand I had to resign with my firefox account and recreate my multicontainers (also point 2. still holds ). My reddit enhancement also is reset and forgot all shortcuts

Additionally, I looked at Apple's instructions for installing apps, and the place no emphasis at all on placing applications in a particular place, or ensuring that they remain in a static place: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/install-and-uninstall-other-apps-mh35835/mac

Apple simply says:

For apps downloaded from the internet: In the Downloads folder, double-click the disk image or package file (looks like an open box). If the provided installer doesn’t open automatically, open it, then follow the onscreen instructions.

Comment 7

[:Gijs (he/him)]

The steps in comment 0 were fixed in bug 516362.