959565 - [User Story] Decision on opt-in/opt-out for awesomebar search suggestions

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Firefox :: Search, defect, P1)

Description

[Mike de Boer [:mikedeboer]]

Should search suggestions in the awesomebar be enabled by default or not? Do we display an opt-in or opt-ui UI?

Comment 1

[jaramat]

This should definitely be opt-in. Firefox is a privacy-conscious browser, and sending all users' keystrokes in the address bar to the selected search provider *by default* (and in plain text no less) is not a privacy-conscious behavior. Given that most "ordinary" users are going to ignore the opt-out prompt anyway, we should protect them by NOT enabling search suggestions in the address bar by default. After all, if users want search suggestions, they can now use the other two search fields we have in the UI.

Comment 2

[Dave Townsend [:mossop]]

This seems like a product call so over to Kev

Comment 3

[:shell escalante]

update the user story to reflect the "opt-out" notification at first Suggestion contact.  get what kev is thinking so Stephen can create the UX.

Comment 4

[Kev Needham [:kev]]

The search suggests should be opt-out (e.g. by default they are on). Suggested searches are an expected experience in most search surfaces on both websites and in browsing and other products. The utility they provide to the user (assisting them in finding related terms to complete queries that will get them to the content they are looking at faster) is of value, and is consistent with the search experience users get in the search bar. Users will be able to turn the search suggests off simply for those that wish to do so.

Comment 5

[Sören Hentzschel]

Search suggestions are *opt-in* on Firefox for Android. I think it should be consistent across all Firefox products.

Comment 6

[tucker.mcknight]

I agree with Sören, it should be consistent across all platforms, and therefore should be opt-in. More importantly, that matches Mozilla's privacy-focused values. 

If the user has chosen to do it on Firefox for Android, perhaps we could sync that preference and have it enabled automatically on their desktop.

Comment 7

[Gian-Carlo Pascutto [:gcp]]

>Suggested searches are an expected experience in most search surfaces on both websites and in browsing 
and other products.

So are total violations of privacy. What are our distinguishing features again? Why use Firefox over, say, Chrome?

https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/about/manifesto/details/

"Individuals’ security and privacy on the Internet are fundamental and must not be treated as optional."
                                                                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Comment 8

[Gian-Carlo Pascutto [:gcp]]

(In reply to jaramat from comment #1)
> to the selected search provider *by default* (and in plain text no less)

Do we really not use HTTPS for this? I remember Firefox for Android discussion about being blocked on the lack of HTTPS-search-suggest.

Comment 9

[Gian-Carlo Pascutto [:gcp]]

FWIW this bug contains the relevant discussion for FxA, including the UI that was eventually adopted: (A button in the place where they would appear, offering the user to enable them)
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=775087

One notable result of enabling this is that we now end up with 4 different places to search, all using suggestions: the default home page, the awesomebar, the search box and the new tab page. This would then remove the last place to search that respects privacy. Somehow this feels suboptimal.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32496746/search1.png
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32496746/search2.png
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32496746/search3.png
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/32496746/search4.png

Comment 10

[:shell escalante]

Hi Steve- is the UX done for this that it can be turned over to Drew as a possible fix to work on this week?

Comment 11

[Stephen Horlander [:shorlander]]

(In reply to :shell escalante from comment #10)
> Hi Steve- is the UX done for this that it can be turned over to Drew as a
> possible fix to work on this week?

Work is happening in bug 959567

Comment 12

[Marco Bonardo [:mak]]

Kev, can we consider this fixed?

Comment 13

[Kev Needham [:kev]]

I'll flip resolved when the content for the learn more is posted on Monday. Make sense?

Comment 14

[Kev Needham [:kev]]

Ack. Wrong bug. This one's fixed, yes.