1852848 - Implement recent search history urlbar provider

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Firefox :: Address Bar, enhancement, P1)

Description

[Will]

Attachment: NTPsearchhistory.png

One long standing issue browser makers have been trying to understand and solve is: why do users go to, for example, google.com to do a web search instead of just doing that search directly from the URL bar or NTP search field? Going to google.com instead of just searching via the URL bar is a real issue because A) it's slower and less efficient in terms of UX B) users aren't searching through Firefox, which is bad for Firefox from a business perspective.

There are a few reasons why users do this and Firefox has implemented a few solutions to tackle this issue but there is one left that Firefox has yet to address: people want access to their search history because it's much faster and more efficient UX wise!

I propose that by default, show the users search history even when "Provide search suggestions" and "Show search suggestions in the address bar results" are unchecked. You can add an additional checkbox to disable this too if for some reason users don't like this (even though there would be no privacy concerns because no keystrokes are being sent to the default search engine). The most common reason users uncheck those boxes is because they don't want their keystrokes being sent to their default search engine. It's why I personally have those boxes unchecked. But the problem with Firefox is, when you uncheck those boxes, I no longer see my search history, even though I do all my web searches via Firefox's URL bar exclusively. I don't understand Firefox having this behaviour because showing me my search history is not a privacy issue at all. Showing me my search history doesn't require any keystrokes to be sent to the default search engine. Chrome continues to show users their search history even when you've disabled search results in the URL bar (keystroke being sent to your default search engine), Firefox should do the same! Like I said above, this would be a win in terms of UX (speed/efficiency) as well as a business win for Firefox because more searches would be via Firefox's URL bar/NTP search.

(I included some screenshots of Chrome showing how it continues to show users their search history, even when search engine suggestions are disabled)

Comment 1

[Will]

Attachment: URLbarsearchhistory.png

Comment 2

[Dale Harvey (:daleharvey)]

I actually just started working on this

Comment 3

[Will]

Yous are the best! Thank you! It really would be a nice win win situation. I want to see my search history, but I don't want my keystrokes sent to google (which is also a lot of distracting color/visual noise)

Comment 4

[Will]

Is there another bug I can follow along?

Comment 5

[Dale Harvey (:daleharvey)]

We can track the implementation in this bug, will edit the title as people understand the feature to be called recent searches

Comment 6

[Will]

Attachment: URLresultshistory.png

I just realized I did a poor job of explaining my request/suggestion clearly because I forgot to include this screenshot: I meant Firefox should show search history along with websites in URL results, not just the new tab page search field. This is what Chrome does (and of course this whole bug is about showing search history when "Provide search suggestions" and "Show search suggestions in address bar results" are unchecked)

I also just noticed Chrome also autofills the users search history (as you can see in this screenshot). That might be worth considering too when it makes sense to do so but in Chrome's case, it feels like they heavily prioritize search history above webpage results instead of giving the user the most relevant result in their URL bar.

Comment 7

[Will]

Some good news: Firefox for Android already has this! I have "Show search suggestions" unchecked but I continue to see my search history! Very cool. Next I will check Firefox for iOS/iPadOS.

Comment 8

[Will]

Attachment: FFAndroidSearchHistory.png

Ok so it appears Firefox for iPhone and Firefox for iPad don't show the users search history in URL suggestions at all, whether search suggestions are enabled or not. And just to make it extra clear what I'm talking about, here's a screenshot Firefox for Android (which seems to be the only version of Firefox that does this regardless of setting), I've searched "halloween candy" and "hacker news" via Firefox's URL bar in the past, and my search history shows up as expected.

Do I have to file that separately for Firefox on iOS/iPad OS or is this bug fine for all versions?

Comment 9

[Botond Ballo [:botond]]

(In reply to Will from comment #8)

Do I have to file that separately for Firefox on iOS/iPad OS or is this bug fine for all versions?

Please file that one separately at https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-ios/issues, I don't believe the relevant code is shared between iOS and desktop.

Comment 10

[Will]

Done https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-ios/issues/16454

Unfortunately I've seen some grouchiness lately with some devs who are over eager to WONTFIX/INVALID a bug so please advocate for that bug in case that happens.

Comment 11

[Dale Harvey (:daleharvey)]

Attachment: Bug 1852848 - Implement recent searches provider. r=mak

Comment 12

[Dale Harvey (:daleharvey)]

Comment on attachment 9354847 [details]
Bug 1852848 - Implement recent searches provider. r=mak

Request for data collection review form

All questions are mandatory. You must receive review from a data steward peer on your responses to these questions before shipping new data collection.

1. What questions will you answer with this data?

How users use the Urlbar

2. Why does Mozilla need to answer these questions? Are there benefits for users? Do we need this information to address product or business requirements? Some example responses:

To understand whether new urlbar features are useful

3. What alternative methods did you consider to answer these questions? Why were they not sufficient?

No alternative

4. Can current instrumentation answer these questions?

No

5. List all proposed measurements and indicate the category of data collection for each measurement, using the Firefox data collection categories found on the Mozilla wiki.

<table>
<tr>
<td>Measurement Description</td>
<td>Data Collection Category</td>
<td>Tracking Bug #</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>urlbar.picked.recent_search (scalars.yaml)</td>
<td>Category 2</td>
<td>1852848</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>urlbar.abandonment.extra_keys.description.recent_search (metrics.yaml)</td>
<td>Category 2</td>
<td>1852848</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>urlbar.engagement.extra_keys.description.recent_search (metrics.yaml)</td>
<td>Category 2</td>
<td>1852848</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>urlbar.impression.extra_keys.description.recent_search (metrics.yaml)</td>
<td>Category 2</td>
<td>1852848</td>
</tr>
</table>

6. Please provide a link to the documentation for this data collection which describes the ultimate data set in a public, complete, and accurate way.

The data is defined in Scalars.yaml and metrics.yaml

7. How long will this data be collected? Choose one of the following:

I want to permanently monitor this data. ([e-mail])

8. What populations will you measure?

Any release that has telemetry enabled

9. If this data collection is default on, what is the opt-out mechanism for users?

Top opt out of telemetry

10. Please provide a general description of how you will analyze this data.

We will launch an experiment and use the data collected to evaluate its effect

11. Where do you intend to share the results of your analysis?

To determine whether features should be enabled

12. Is there a third-party tool (i.e. not Glean or Telemetry) that you are proposing to use for this data collection? If so:

No

Comment 13

[Elise Richards]

(Apologies if I'm reading the code wrong, I'm not familiar with phabricator) It looks like recent_search is the only metric being added here, so I would expect that to be added to question 5 ("List all proposed measurements and indicate the category of data collection for each measurement") as well as listing the expiration date/version for question 7 ("How long will this data be collected?"). Would you mind updating those?

Comment 14

[Dale Harvey (:daleharvey)]

Hi, Yup thats a correct reading of the code, however I wasnt really sure if it technically counted as being "added" as it was a new category on an existing scalar that we already collect and have defined expiration etc for, I have updated section 5 and 7 though thanks

Comment 15

[Elise Richards]

Comment on attachment 9354847 [details]
Bug 1852848 - Implement recent searches provider. r=mak

Data Review Form

1. Is there or will there be documentation that describes the schema for the ultimate data set in a public, complete, and accurate way?

   • Yes, through the scalars.yaml and metrics.yaml files

2. Is there a control mechanism that allows the user to turn the data collection on and off? (Note, for data collection not needed for security purposes, Mozilla provides such a control mechanism) Provide details as to the control mechanism available.

   • Yes, through the normal telemetry opt-out flows.

3. If the request is for permanent data collection, is there someone who will monitor the data over time?

   • Yes, this a permanent annotation and will be monitored by [e-mail].

4. Using the category system of data types on the Mozilla wiki, what collection type of data do the requested measurements fall under?

   • Category 2 - interaction data

5. Is the data collection request for default-on or default-off?

   • Default-on.

6. Does the instrumentation include the addition of any new identifiers (whether anonymous or otherwise; e.g., username, random IDs, etc. See the appendix for more details)?

   • No

7. Is the data collection covered by the existing Firefox privacy notice?

   • Yes

8. Does the data collection use a third-party collection tool? If yes, escalate to legal.

   • No

Result

data-review+

Comment 16

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/88753a02fc62
Implement recent searches provider. r=mak,fluent-reviewers,flod,settings-reviewers

Comment 17

[Sandor Molnar[:smolnar]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/88753a02fc62

Comment 18

[Will]

Attachment: FirefoxSearchtermHistory.png

Not to be a pest but I think the user-facing label as "recent searches" is confusing for 2 reasons:

1. "Search history" or "Search term history" makes more sense than "Recent searches"

2. Firefox already shows search term history when "Show search suggestions in address bar results" is checked (I attached a screenshot of this). So having an additional option for something Firefox already has is kind of confusing and not clear to regular people. There has to be a simpler, easier to understand way of presenting all this to users