1815441 - CBH not working as expected in private browsing mode

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(Core :: Privacy: Anti-Tracking, defect, P3)

Description

[Jared Hirsch [:jhirsch] (he/him) (Needinfo please)]

This bug may need to be split into sub-bugs, but currently we are seeing

• setting an exception in PBM in the protections panel is not working
• setting an exception in a regular window (that is, turning off CBH in a regular window), then visiting the site in PBM, the private window says CBH is enabled

Comment 1

[Jared Hirsch [:jhirsch] (he/him) (Needinfo please)]

OK, so it turns out that the feature is working as intended.

Cookie banner handling maintains a separate exceptions list for regular and private browsing. So an exception added in regular browsing windows will not be reflected in a private window.

We can't clear site data in private browsing, so while users can create an exception for a site, we can't delete the cookie which CBH created (by injection or clicking the banner), so it may not look to the user like adding an exception did anything. But it will help in the rare case that the clicking code is creating a weird loop of repeated clicks.

Note also that private mode can't permanently store data, so any exceptions the user adds in PBM will only persist for the lifetime of that specific window.

But again, all this is expected behavior, so this bug is invalid.