1807549 - Custom settings for history like Firefox desktop

Status: NEW

(Firefox for Android :: History, enhancement)

Description

[Chris Peterson [:cpeterson]]

From github: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/6884.

Why

I hate browsing history. I mostly prefer browsing in private mode, especially on mobile. Always. By default.
When I used Fenix first time, private mode stayed activated even after closing the browser. I was looking for a browser with such property on Android so I started to use it as my main browser. But now that thing is gone.

What I want

I think adding history settings identical to Desktop Firefox would be the best solution with highest acceptance among users. After all, those settings are a reason why I use Firefox instead of a Chromium-based browser on desktop. Another (but probably worse) option I would accept is making private mode disabling/enabling process like on Safari on iOS.
<img width="701" alt="image" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/46045997/69944959-f8b54000-1501-11ea-9b05-68b6bc9a2fbc.png">

Problems in current solutions

I will explain part-by-part what are problems with current private mode options.

1. Open in private tab. It doesn't work. Even if I explicitly select Fenix private mode in "open with" menu, custom tabs are not private, they get recorded in history.
2. Clear data when quit. It is actually "clear data when user presses quit". It is just a shortcut to clear history, not what I wanted.
3. Shortcut to open private mode. 1) It is too geeky; 2) it doesn't work if your launcher doesn't support widgets, or you don't want to add complexity to home screen; 3) it actually opens private mode's address bar, not private mode itself. Single touch on "back" button (for example, to access bookmarks) opens non-private browsing.

┆Issue is synchronized with this Jira Task

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