Reset Firefox: Settings are unexpectedly restored via sync
Categories
(Firefox :: Migration, defect, P3)
Tracking
()
People
(Reporter: mcomella, Unassigned)
Details
STR
- Enable Firefox Accounts, sync, and sync Settings
- Reset Firefox (through about:support)
- Open new Firefox instance and wait
Expected
As the Reset Firefox process tells you, previous settings are not restored.
Actual
Previous settings are synced and restored.
I've noticed there are a few web compat bugs I can reproduce in my profiles that I can't reproduce in a fresh profile. I wanted to use "Reset Firefox" to clear my profile (without migrating my history/bookmarks manually) so I'll be more likely to run into bugs that only an average user would (i.e. I can be a better tester). However, I was surprised to find my Settings were restored (from sync) and I'm concerned (without evidence) that some of those Settings were the root cause of the issues I identified. If so, Reset Firefox might not fix issues for users and they might change browsers.
Similarly, average users might perceive something as a bug when it is just a setting they changed (e.g. strict tracking protection breaks websites) and restoring the settings won't help them address that problem.
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Comment 1•3 years ago
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These would be prefs that are synced based on your Firefox account. The easiest fix would be to alter the notice here, but to actually prevent syncing of prefs when someone chooses to reset Firefox would probably require a lot of work to signal up to the FxA server etc.
Description
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