1666892 - Have a way to limit certain regions from seeing newtab stories

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Firefox :: New Tab Page, enhancement)

Description

[Scott [:thecount] Downe]

Right now we have a list of regions that see stories in newtab.

We're looking at going global with English stories in English browsers.

However, certain regions might have restrictions, so we want another list of regions to restrict. Probably a pref.

Logic is probably something like this:

if (region in block list) {
  // do not show stories
  return;
} else if (browser is English) {
  // show stories
  return;
} else if (region in allow list) {
  // show stories
  return;
} else {
  // do not show stories
  return;
}

Comment 1

[Scott [:thecount] Downe]

Attachment: Bug 1666892 - Be able to turn off newtab stories based on region.

Comment 2

[Scott [:thecount] Downe]

To test:

1. Create a new profile.
2. Have it be an English locale.
3. Set browser.search.region to "FR"
4. Set browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.discoverystream.locale-list-config to "en-US,en-CA,en-GB"
5. Restart
6. Open a newtab

Expected: You should see stories.

7. Set browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.discoverystream.region-stories-block to "FR"
8. Restart
9. Open a newtab

Expected: should no longer see stories.

Comment 3

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/be649dcbee56
Be able to turn off newtab stories based on region. r=gvn

Comment 4

[Sebastian Hengst [:aryx] (needinfo me if it's about an intermittent or backout)]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/be649dcbee56

Comment 5

[Scott [:thecount] Downe]

[Tracking Requested - why for this release]: Finishing up an experiment where we show Pocket stories for English browsers globally. If this looks good, we'll want to turn it on, and for that, we need this bug fixed in 82.

Comment 6

[Scott [:thecount] Downe]

Comment on attachment 9178005 [details]
Bug 1666892 - Be able to turn off newtab stories based on region.

Beta/Release Uplift Approval Request

• User impact if declined: Impact to our global reach.
• Is this code covered by automated tests?: Yes
• Has the fix been verified in Nightly?: No
• Needs manual test from QE?: Yes
• If yes, steps to reproduce: To test:

1. Create a new profile.
2. Have it be an English locale.
3. Set browser.search.region to "FR"
4. Set browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.discoverystream.locale-list-config to "en-US,en-CA,en-GB"
5. Restart
6. Open a newtab

Expected: You should see stories.

7. Set browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.discoverystream.region-stories-block to "FR"
8. Restart
9. Open a newtab

Expected: should no longer see stories.

• List of other uplifts needed: None
• Risk to taking this patch: Medium
• Why is the change risky/not risky? (and alternatives if risky): The code's not a lot, and it has tests.
• String changes made/needed: none

Comment 7

[Alin Ilea, Desktop QA]

Verified - Fixed in latest Nightly 83.0a1 (2020-09-30) (build id: 20200930092918) using Windows 10 and Ubuntu 18.04. Following the steps 1-6 the stories are displayed in the new tab. After steps 7-9 the stories are no longer displayed.

Comment 8

[Julien Cristau [:jcristau] (back April 22)]

Comment on attachment 9178005 [details]
Bug 1666892 - Be able to turn off newtab stories based on region.

approved for 82.0b6

Comment 9

[Julien Cristau [:jcristau] (back April 22)]

https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-beta/rev/f794507b7371

Comment 10

[Alin Ilea, Desktop QA]

Verified - Fixed in latest Beta 82.0b6 (build id: 20201001171107) with the mention that after first 6 steps, browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.discoverystream.region-stories-block is already set to "FR" and the stories are not displayed.