1807531 - Allow third-party apps to open a private tab

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Fenix :: Privacy, enhancement)

Description

[Chris Peterson [:cpeterson]]

From github: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/26158.

What is the user problem or growth opportunity you want to see solved?

There should be a way for third-party apps to signal that they want to open a link (ACTION_VIEW intent) in a private tab. e.g. when doing the equivalent of private browsing in another app, that app should have the ability to open browser links in a firefox private tab as well.

fennec had this feature as described here: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1347583 however apparently it was not implemented in fenix.

How do you know that this problem exists today? Why is this important?

I've looked at the latest fenix source code. Private mode seems to be communicated using the 'private_browsing_mode' extra, however it is overwritten by the IntentReceiverActivity.

Who will benefit from it?

Probably not very many people, since it still requires explicit support by third-party apps. However the possibility of adding support would be a nice addition.

---

As the change seems fairly easy, I can work on a PR for this issue. However I'm not sure if this project requires CLA approval by the employer. If it does, I probably won't be able to get that approval easily enough to make it worth it. If no CLA is required, I can contribute.

┆Issue is synchronized with this Jira Task

Change performed by the Move to Bugzilla add-on.

Comment 1

[BMO Automation]

Attachment: [mozilla-mobile/fenix] Closes 1807531: Honor private_browsing_mode value from external intents (#28451)

Comment 2

[BMO Automation]

Attachment: [mozilla-mobile/firefox-android] Closes 1807531: Honor private_browsing_mode value from external intents (#890)

Comment 3

[Petru-Mugurel Lingurar [:petru]]

Change landed.

Comment 4

[Kevin Brosnan [Ex-Mozilla]]

Release Note Request (optional, but appreciated)
[Why is this notable]: Community contribution
[Affects Firefox for Android]: only
[Suggested wording]: Thank yawkat for their contribution.
[Links (documentation, blog post, etc)]: