1894933 - Checking "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed" leads to history being cleared on shutdown

Status: VERIFIED FIXED

(Toolkit :: Data Sanitization, defect, P1)

Description

[Paul Zühlcke [:pbz]]

STR:

1. Open Nightly with a fresh profile
2. Go to about:preferences#privacy
3. Check "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed"

Expected:
In the "History" section on the same about:preferences page the dropdown is switched to "Use custom settings for history". The "Clear history when Nightly closes" checkbox is checked.
The settings modal to the right of the checkbox shows "Cookies and site data", Temporary cached files and pages" selected. The items "history" and "site settings" are not checked.
History is not cleared on shutdown.

Actual:
The settings modal to the right of the checkbox shows "Cookies and site data", Temporary cached files and pages" selected. The item "history" is also checked.
History is cleared on shutdown.

[Tracking Requested - why for this release]:
Data loss bug, users that only want to clear site data will have their entire history cleared on shutdown too.

Comment 1

[Paul Zühlcke [:pbz]]

Harshit, at this point I suggest we postpone shipping the new dialog and flip the pref privacy.sanitize.useOldClearHistoryDialog back to true. This pref flip will need to be uplifted.
Additionally I'd recommend to backout the patches from Bug 1892947 and uplift this backout to beta.

Could you test this configuration (the pref flipped back and the patches reverted, e.g. via git revert) to make sure this resolves the issue fully?

Less criticial, but worth asking: Are there any concerns with our pref migrations for Beta profiles that have already gone through the migration?

Comment 2

[Donal Meehan [:dmeehan]]

Tracking as blocking for Fx126.
Since next week is RC week for Fx126, appreciate aligning on the next steps today.
If I can get an uplift request on a patch to disable the pref, just mention Bug 1892947 needs a blackout in the uplift request.

Comment 3

[Harshit Sohaney]

The one concern I see with the migrations are that users probably started using the new dialog, will require a migration back to the old one (right now we dont have a reverse migration in place). One other thing to consider is doing a new migration again when we ship in 127.

Comment 4

[Harshit Sohaney]

Attachment: Bug 1894933 - Disable new clear history dialog due to breakage with clear on shutdown. r?pbz

Comment 5

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/eeec13645f7b
Disable new clear history dialog due to breakage with clear on shutdown. r=pbz

Comment 6

[Harshit Sohaney]

Comment on attachment 9400029 [details]
Bug 1894933 - Disable new clear history dialog due to breakage with clear on shutdown. r?pbz

Beta/Release Uplift Approval Request

• User impact if declined: Users who have clearing cookies and site data on shutdown checked, will also have their browsing, form data and download history completely removed unexpectedly.
  The backout for Bug 1892947 - Align clear cookies and site data on shutdown checkbox with new sanitize on shutdown prefs needs to be uplifted as well.
• Is this code covered by automated tests?: Yes
• Has the fix been verified in Nightly?: No
• Needs manual test from QE?: No
• If yes, steps to reproduce: See comment 0
• List of other uplifts needed: None
• Risk to taking this patch: Medium
• Why is the change risky/not risky? (and alternatives if risky): This is only a pref flip, but there is a small possibility that we introduced a regression in 126 for the old dialog. But we have done some manual testing with the pref flipped and the regressing bug backed out, and have found no errors.
• String changes made/needed: N/A
• Is Android affected?: No

Comment 7

[Serban Stanca [:SerbanS]]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/eeec13645f7b

Comment 8

[Donal Meehan [:dmeehan]]

Comment on attachment 9400029 [details]
Bug 1894933 - Disable new clear history dialog due to breakage with clear on shutdown. r?pbz

Approved for 126.0 RC1

Comment 9

[Pulsebot]

https://hg.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla-beta/rev/53b3b4c83a06

Comment 10

[bhidecuti]

Verified as fixed on Firefox 126.0 RC, build ID 20240506203248 and on Firefox Nightly 127.0a1, build ID 20240506214401, using macOS 12.6.6, Windows 11 and Ubuntu 22.04.
privacy.sanitize.useOldClearHistoryDialog pref is now set to true.
I have also verified that only the "Cookies" and "Cache" checkboxes from the old dialog are checked after selecting the "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed" checkbox and that the history is no longer cleared on shutdown.
Please let us know if any other scenarios should be covered.