Yes. Because I have too many devices. Firefox sync is easy except that I have to reconfigure settings for each add-on.
Does Chrome sync addon data? I am getting a bit annoyed by the fact that Firefox does not, but actually I don't remember if Chrome ever did this.
It's not a question of the browser, it's the addon. There are separete APIs for local and synced storage (but same interface). Both browsers use the same main api (web extension).
I'm pretty sure I've seen some FF addons have an option to sync their setting via FF Sync.
Ditto
Yep. It's e2e encrypted, and you can even self-host the sync server, if you don't want to rely on an external service. Pretty much a no-brainer.
Have you hosted it yourself? I'm curious about doing it, if its not a hassle.
Yea, it's pretty easy if you already have a server. All you need to do is run a docker container, and change the identity.sync.tokenserver.uri setting in about:config. On mobile you have to enable the debug mode by going to "Settings > About Firefox" and tapping the Firefox logo a few times, then go to the new "Sync Debug" settings entry.
The container above only runs the sync-server though, you still have to log into a Mozilla account to use it. There is a replacement that includes the whole stack, but I haven't tried that one yet.
Neat, sounds simple enough. Thanks!
Though if it still requires a Mozilla account I'm not sure its really worth it. If I'm trusting them enough to sign in through their account, then I trust them enough to believe its all e2ee anyways. So I'm not sure I'd be gaining much.
I'll look into the full stack though. If its just a case of a few other containers in a compose file, I'd give it a try.
I sync bookmarks between devices and sometimes send a tab from one device to another.
EDIT: I trust Mozilla way more than Google.
Yes. I want to have access to both history and bookmarks on all my devices and send specific tabs to other devices. Sync makes these super convenient.
Yeah, I mainly use it for the "send tab to device X", love that feature so much!
I wish this feature would work for me. I can send a tab from firefox on windows or Linux and it won't show up on Firefox for iOS at all, or sometimes it will show up after a long (5+ min) delay.
Hmm that's weird, always worked flawlessly for me, I do also have my devices on the same VPN at all times though, maybe it's that? I also only use Linux and Android.
Likely an iOS issue, I'm sure.
just tested on an iPad I have, works fine :--)
I recommend KDE Connect, it also has this function. :)
But sometimes I use this and sometimes I use that feature.
mostly just to send websites I find while on mobile to my PC so I can properly read/interact with them on my PC
I do the same, just with xdg-open via ssh
I use it for preferences and bookmarks and stuff. But I never save passwords in any browser, I have my password manager for that.
No, I don't need yet another account, nor do I have a need to sync anything.
I don't really use bookmarks, and haven't found much value in sharing anything between my devices. I just install ublock on new devices and that's about it.
For me its mainly history.
Having to type out full URLs for sites I've already visited on other devices bums me out.
So does not being able to go back and look for that one thing in my history. When was that... was that on my phone, or my laptop, or my desktop...?
Yes, I trust the encryption layer and the Mozilla Foundation has good ethical principles. I'm also a big fan of Firefox Relay (email alias provider) to protect my inbox from spam.
Yes, because it's the only way I can save my phone bookmarks and share it directly with my computer. As a device that I carry with me almost all of the time, there are a lot of sites, articles and etc. that sometimes can't finish to read or explore when on the street or in a meeting with friends or whatever, so I just bookmark them to revisit it later at home from my laptop. Would prefer to export them to a file to avoid the use of a Mozilla account, but it's not possible on Android. At least not that I know of.
No. I tried it once and lost half my tabs and bookmarks. I assume because they were different on each device I synced. One overwrote the other. Maybe if I had brought an in-use device into a new browser installation it would have worked as intended. But I don't trust it won't lose things now. All my devices have their own set of things to sync.
Yes, but only on new installs to get all my extensions and settings. Then I disable it
No, I use my devices for different purposes and I don't have any interest in them communicating
using it, syncing my bookmarks with it between systems (work, home, laptop, phone, tablet)
Yes, because it helps me organize my horde of bookmarks that I need to sort and keep on task with my projects.
Yes. I sync everything but passwords and bookmarks.
I get passwords. Why not bookmarks?
I use the same account at work and at home, so I need to separate bookmarks.
Makes sense. Don't cross the streams.
I use it for open tabs only. I then monthly bookmark all of them on a desktop. Then I close all the tabs on my phone and start again.
Only on one instance, because I don't want the same bookmarks and set of extensions on every computer. I wish it were more configurable.
Yes, but it doesn’t synchronize all like the values in the about:config.
Syncing all about:config values wouldn't work, since it contains lots of variables which are OS-specific or contain temporary values, like timestamps.
If you want to synchronize specific values, you can create a user.js file in your Firefox profile folder and synchronize that via file sync or Git or similar.
Yes. For many years and couldn't do without it.
Nah, I dont use it. In fact, I go through and disable almost all the "extra" stuff in any browser I install. I'm of the "Do one thing well" school of thought, so all these apps trying to do everything, all at once, just to keep you in "their" system? No thanks. Sync offers absolutely zero features that don't have better, alternative options already.
I love Sync!
Except on iOS, where my bookmarks and passwords never actually synch, because it's not really Firefox but a weird skin on Safari because... Apple.
I think that uploading bookmarks to the computer of other guy (server) is not private or save thing to do. There are a lot of laws which may force to open that data about you and a lot of ways to bypass cryptography/security exist, as computer is not small and simple system.
Firefox Sync is end-to-end-encrypted, meaning your data gets encrypted before upload and decrypted after download. The encryption key, i.e. your password, never leaves your computer. The way a password reset works, is by simply erasing your data from the server and then re-uploading from your Firefoxes. This means, if law enforcement or attackers get data from Mozilla's servers, they can't do anything with your Sync data.
I'm on board with being sceptical about security, but this is one of the simplest and most bulletproof approaches.
agree, but still backdoors sometimes leak to the internet. The companies who store data centralised like messeges usually have a big legal pressure like Telegram while it had system Ton. Idk if Mozilla have that sort of pressure, I would not question it if it would be decentralised system. Anyway there are always compromises and it souldn't be too much focus on it. For example basically all programming languages are have closed source parts, simply because CPU scheme is usually proprietary and could not be checked after manufacture.
I wouldn't have it any other way. I need to have my desktop and phone browsers synced.
A community for discussion about Mozilla Firefox.
