506427 - Checking "Automatically start in a private browsing session" should disable also the cookie section

Status: RESOLVED INVALID

(Firefox :: Private Browsing, defect)

Description

[Francesco Lodolo [:flod]]

When you enable "Automatically start in a private browsing session" in preferences, all controls should be disabled, including those related to cookies.

Now, if you check that option, all controls are disabled except for "Accept cookies from sites" and "Accept third-party cookies", which are enabled and also checked (and this is wrong, as for bug 495579 the browser switch immediately to private mode).

Comment 1

[(no longer active)]

(In reply to comment #0)
> When you enable "Automatically start in a private browsing session" in
> preferences, all controls should be disabled, including those related to
> cookies.

Why do you think they all should be disabled?

> Now, if you check that option, all controls are disabled except for "Accept
> cookies from sites" and "Accept third-party cookies", which are enabled and
> also checked (and this is wrong, as for bug 495579 the browser switch
> immediately to private mode).

No, this is not wrong, because in private browsing mode cookies are still accepted from 1st and 3rd parties, provided that those options are checked.  You can disable them if you would like further privacy control (by for example, rejecting third party cookies.)

I think this bug is INVALID.  Am I missing something?

Comment 2

[Francesco Lodolo [:flod]]

Maybe I'm the one who's missing something here. When you activate "private browsing", cookies are still stored (and kept when you restart the browser)? Even when you choose "Never remember history"? 

If that's the case, I agree with you that this bug is INVALID.

Comment 3

[(no longer active)]

(In reply to comment #2)
> Maybe I'm the one who's missing something here. When you activate "private
> browsing", cookies are still stored (and kept when you restart the browser)?
> Even when you choose "Never remember history"? 

Cookies are stored temporarily for the private session, but are discarded when you leave the PB mode.  If the cookies are not stored at all, many things which use cookies (such as logins on many popular sites) would stop to work.  The PB mode only makes sure that the cookies stored outside of the PB mode are not used inside the PB mode, and the PB mode cookies are all treated as session-only (and never get written to disk.)  This is why in the custom pane, flipping the "always start in PB mode" check box makes the value of Keep Until: "I close Firefox".

> If that's the case, I agree with you that this bug is INVALID.

OK, marking it as such!