2032573 - Google Lens integration uploads photos to Google without any informed consent

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Firefox for Android :: Search, defect)

Description

[Daniel Holbert [:dholbert]]

Pretend you're a user who's used the QR-code-scanner UI before in Firefox Nightly, and you're accustomed to how it works. You go to scan a QR code, and notice that an icon has changed, but you click through regardless.

Steps to reproduce

1. Open a new tab in Firefox Nightly on Android.
2. Tap the URL bar, and tap the image icon at the far right edge (where QR code scanner button used to be).
   --> You'll be prompted to choose camera or files [without telling you what's going to happen]
3. Choose "Camera", and take a picture of something [let's say a QR code, but pretend there's other faces or context in the background that might be personal].
4. Now there's a confirmation checkmark -- press the checkmark.

Expected behavior

User will likely expect something similar to previous behavior from the QR-code-scanner which occupied this location, which was:

• a confirmation prompt telling you what Firefox is about to do, before anything happens (showing you a URL and asking you if you'd like to visit it).
• the photo never left your device. [so if it'll now leave my device, I would expect to be informed about it beforehand]

Actual behavior

With no warning, user is taken to a Google Images search page, with user's photo submitted and already processed by Google to generate search results. Hypothetically if there were something embarrassing/personal shown in the photo background, the user is now feeling a bit betrayed.

Device information

• Firefox version: Nightly 151.0a1 2026-04-16
• Android device model: Pixel 10 Pro XL
• Android OS version: 16

Any additional information?

I see we have bug 2028573 filed on "New entry flow into Google Lens integration" -- I'm not sure if that's meant to cover this sort of informed-consent, but probably we should turn off this feature until some sort of informed consent is present?

Comment 1

[Daniel Holbert [:dholbert]]

ni=:harrisono to get this on the radar. (Maybe this feature wasn't intended to be enabled yet, per https://phabricator.services.mozilla.com/D291854#10222094 which mentioned the feature being "not on by default for debug or Nightly"...)

Comment 2

[BugBot [:suhaib / :marco]]

Set release status flags based on info from the regressing bug 2024375

Comment 3

[[:harrisono]]

ah this is feature flag issue. I'll post a fix.

Comment 4

[[:harrisono]]

Attachment: Bug 2032573 - Fix Nightly seeing Google Lens integration by default

Comment 5

[Pulsebot]

Pushed by [e-mail]:
https://github.com/mozilla-firefox/firefox/commit/d9ae81be06e8
https://hg.mozilla.org/integration/autoland/rev/3ff52f6d25c7
Fix Nightly seeing Google Lens integration by default r=android-reviewers,RJ

Comment 6

[Mark Banner (:standard8)]

Looking around, it is unclear to me what happens when the feature is eventually enabled - will the only way to scan QR codes be through Google, or will there still be an option for users to not use Google at all? i.e. does there still need to be a bug for Google Lens upload consent?

Comment 7

[Atila Butkovits]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/3ff52f6d25c7

Comment 8

[Atila Butkovits]

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/3ff52f6d25c7

Comment 9

[[:harrisono]]

(In reply to Mark Banner (:standard8) from comment #6)

Looking around, it is unclear to me what happens when the feature is eventually enabled - will the only way to scan QR codes be through Google, or will there still be an option for users to not use Google at all? i.e. does there still need to be a bug for Google Lens upload consent?

This entry flow is not yet finalized, I was asked to land this behind a feature flag in nightly so product can show BPD and others at Mozilla the prototype more easily.
At the moment, the idea is to change the entry flow only when the search engine is Google to open the camera view and if QR code is detected, the user is taken to the QR scanning flow. If the user clicks the shutter button or opens a picture with the media gallery picker, they are taken to the Google Lens flow.
This is the ticket for implementing this change: https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2032541