Firefox privacy prefpane UI refresh
Alex Faaborg
about refreshing the privacy prefpane interface since we have a little
bit of time before the next beta.
Details: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox3.1/Sprints/Privacy_Prefpane_Refresh
Mockup: http://people.mozilla.com/~faaborg/files/shiretoko/privacyPrefpanei4.png
= Goals / Use Cases =
* Present the user with a single choice about locally stored
information (history) before hitting them with the full complexity of
managing all settings
* Clearly define (through the use of a group box) what "history" now
means in Firefox (all information implicitly collected).
* Present contextual help to the user about other privacy related
features, like private browsing, clear recent history, and the cookies
window.
* Enable users to control the behavior of the awesome bar, in case
they have a large number of bookmarks to sensitive information.
* Simplify the interface so that we later have room to include other
privacy related features, like potentially opting out of targeted
advertising
= Non Goals =
* Assume the user already knows what is being collected, or how a
browser works
* Expose implementation level terminology (like cache)
Implementation is quickly wrapping up by the prolific developer Ehsan
(of private browsing fame :), and I think we got all the strings
landed before the freeze.
Let's use this thread for discussion and feedback,
-Alex
chris hofmann
interactions you have with sites is a good one and worth exploring, but
I have some questions about how we have done that.
cache is not a great term, but it is a separate component from "the
list of sites you have visited" and/or the "cookies" that those sites
have sent you.
why are we hiding and combining "cache" but still exposing a similarly
hard to understand term like "cookies"?
I might want to clear cache to remove some of the problems that you talk
about in the background material and new dialogs, but I don't want to
clear cookies and loose a bunch of information that makes sites a lot
easier to interact with if I don't have to. Is there any way to just
clear cache (or the locally stored pages that speed up loading of sites
in the browser) in the new system?
Its not the best of sources, but google searches for cache and cookies
show similar popularity indicating that current browser users are
looking for and finding information about both terms at about the same rate.
about 1,170,000 for "browser cache"
about 1,180,000 for "browser cookies"
If we want to make it clear about what history means means in this new
definition it seems like a comprehensive list and an explanation of
where that information appears and is used in the browser seems like the
right way.
The new definition of history seems like it might include all these items
* list of sites you have visited (used in history sidebar, history
dialog, and location bar)
* pages stored in the browser to optimize loading of sites (internal
"cache" of page content used by the browser to improve page loading)
* information provided by the site and stored by the browser to
optimize interaction with the site (internal "cookies" used by the
browser to improve interaction with sites)
* list of all the things you have searched for on search engines
(used in search bar)
* all the information you have typed-in to web site forms (on
individual sites and across many sites)
* list of all the files you have downloaded from sites (as shown in
the download manager)
It would have been great if we could have also integrated off-line
content storage into this round of improvements as suggested in
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=449981
-chofmann
> Implementation is quickly wrapping up by the prolific developer Ehsan
> (of private browsing fame :), and I think we got all the strings
> landed before the freeze.
>
> Let's use this thread for discussion and feedback,
> -Alex
> _______________________________________________
> dev-apps-firefox mailing list
> dev-apps...@lists.mozilla.org
> https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-apps-firefox
Mike Beltzner
> cache is not a great term, but it is a separate component from "the
> list of sites you have visited" and/or the "cookies" that those
> sites have sent you.
Elsewhere we've cribbed from IE and used the phrase "Temporary
Internet Files" which, I think, is a much clearer term.
> why are we hiding and combining "cache" but still exposing a
> similarly hard to understand term like "cookies"?
Cookies are, IMO, a special case. There is enough awareness at the
basic user level of the concept of cookies that abstracting away the
concept doesn't help users, and instead may around suspicion and
mistrust. We want to call out, quite clearly, that users are still in
full control of the tracking and data elements placed on their
computer by websites (without their direct approval by default) and
give them the access to delete them individually.
> I might want to clear cache to remove some of the problems that you
> talk about in the background material and new dialogs, but I don't
> want to clear cookies and loose a bunch of information that makes
> sites a lot easier to interact with if I don't have to. Is there
> any way to just clear cache (or the locally stored pages that speed
> up loading of sites in the browser) in the new system?
Clearing information is to be accomplished through the Clear Recent
History dialog. This illustrates one of the most powerful changes to
this design, IMO, which is clearly separating the concept of
"settings" (what Firefox retains) from "management" (clearing or
monitoring the retained data).
> If we want to make it clear about what history means means in this
> new definition it seems like a comprehensive list and an explanation
> of where that information appears and is used in the browser seems
> like the right way.
Excellent point. I believe that pressing the (?) button or F1 from
this dialog will bring a user directly to a SUMO page that should list
that information. We should make sure that's noted in the bug and the
dev-doc-needed flag is added.
> It would have been great if we could have also integrated off-line
> content storage into this round of improvements as suggested in https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=449981
Indeed. Next time, I guess. Though, I do believe that contentStorage
and localStorage are different beasts than cookies, and in both cases
the default is currently that users are asked before information is
retained.
Alex makes a strong point that there's a difference between History
(things retained as you browse) and Data (things stored explicitly or
created by the user) though aspects like Cookies, Cache and off-line
storage blur those lines a little.
cheers,
mike
chris hofmann
> On 21-Mar-09, at 12:26 AM, chris hofmann wrote:
>
>> cache is not a great term, but it is a separate component from "the
>> list of sites you have visited" and/or the "cookies" that those
>> sites have sent you.
>
> Elsewhere we've cribbed from IE and used the phrase "Temporary
> Internet Files" which, I think, is a much clearer term.
>
>> why are we hiding and combining "cache" but still exposing a
>> similarly hard to understand term like "cookies"?
>
> Cookies are, IMO, a special case. There is enough awareness at the
> basic user level of the concept of cookies that abstracting away the
> concept doesn't help users, and instead may around suspicion and
> mistrust. We want to call out, quite clearly, that users are still in
> full control of the tracking and data elements placed on their
> computer by websites (without their direct approval by default) and
> give them the access to delete them individually.
>
those settings be independent of the list of files visited? Looking at
the screenshots its not clear that we will.
The list of files visited adds convenience to browsing when that list is
used in places like the awsome bar.
Turning on and adjusting the size of the cache adds performance to the
browser on systems that have the diskspace to support it.
Those are two different functions. It would be a shame for users to
give up a convenience feature like storing the list of files visited if
they were permanently or temporarily low on disk space and they needed
to turn off caching.
If we combine the convenience feature (list of files visited) and the
performance feature (cache) and abstract into one piece of UI it seems
like we will frustrate users that know the difference between the two,
and lose the chance of helping novice users understand this difference
and take advance of a feature that might be very useful to them.
-chofmann
Mike Beltzner
> Is there, or will there, be a way to set the size of the cache, and
> will those settings be independent of the list of files visited?
> Looking at the screenshots its not clear that we will.
Preferences/Options > Advanced > Network, where it's been since
Firefox 2.0. I'm not sure that I understand what you mean by "the list
of files visited" -- are you talking about download URLs?
> Turning on and adjusting the size of the cache adds performance to
> the browser on systems that have the diskspace to support it.
Our default is 50MB. I think that we should either change the default
(perhaps to a percentage of free disk space with a cap?) or improve
our cache performance so that we're keeping cached items that are
related to sites with high frecency -- having users manage this amount
is and should remain an advanced user option.
> Those are two different functions. It would be a shame for users
> to give up a convenience feature like storing the list of files
> visited if they were permanently or temporarily low on disk space
> and they needed to turn off caching.
Hm, I still don't think I understand what you're talking about here.
In the "Use Custom Settings" option, the user has the exact same
control over their history retention that the do in Firefox 3. The
only change of this dialog is simplifying it for users who don't want
to fiddle every knob.
> If we combine the convenience feature (list of files visited) and
> the performance feature (cache) and abstract into one piece of UI it
> seems like we will frustrate users that know the difference between
> the two, and lose the chance of helping novice users understand this
> difference and take advance of a feature that might be very useful
> to them.
How do I, as a Firefox user, change these setting separately now?
cheers,
mike
Kevin Brosnan
> One of the main UI themes of Shiretoko is privacy, so we are thinking about
> refreshing the privacy prefpane interface since we have a little bit of time
> before the next beta.
>
> Details:
> https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox3.1/Sprints/Privacy_Prefpane_Refresh
> Mockup:
> http://people.mozilla.com/~faaborg/files/shiretoko/privacyPrefpanei4.png
>
> = Goals / Use Cases =
> * Present the user with a single choice about locally stored information
> (history) before hitting them with the full complexity of managing all
> settings
> * Clearly define (through the use of a group box) what "history" now means
> in Firefox (all information implicitly collected).
> * Present contextual help to the user about other privacy related features,
> like private browsing, clear recent history, and the cookies window.
> * Enable users to control the behavior of the awesome bar, in case they have
> a large number of bookmarks to sensitive information.
> * Simplify the interface so that we later have room to include other privacy
> related features, like potentially opting out of targeted advertising
>
> = Non Goals =
> * Assume the user already knows what is being collected, or how a browser
> works
> * Expose implementation level terminology (like cache)
>
> private browsing fame :), and I think we got all the strings landed before
> the freeze.
>
> Let's use this thread for discussion and feedback,
> -Alex
> _______________________________________________
> dev-apps-firefox mailing list
> dev-apps...@lists.mozilla.org
> https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-apps-firefox
>
In the cookies section the keep until drop down could appear to apply
to third party cookies. Any thought on how this could be clarified?
Firefox 3 shipped with the same text, however Firefox 2 looks clearer
as it does not have the 3rd party cookies option.
Mike Beltzner
> In the cookies section the keep until drop down could appear to apply
> to third party cookies. Any thought on how this could be clarified?
> Firefox 3 shipped with the same text, however Firefox 2 looks clearer
> as it does not have the 3rd party cookies option.
As long as we do it without string changes. So:
[x] Accept cookies from sites (Exceptions...)
Keep until [ they expire |v] (Show Cookies...)
[x] Accept third-party cookies
TBH, not sure that's a ton clearer.
cheers,
mike
Nils Maier
* Where is DOM storage/webappstore[1] stuff? Is this part of the Cookie
settings? Actually DOM storage is a lot like "jumbo cookies".
It should be managable.
* It feels wrong to have cookies mixed into "History"... Although thease
can be seen as history.
* Why are location bar settings on the privacy tab? Those are general
settings which only implicitly affect privacy. They don't influence what
data is stored but only how it is presented in a specific part of the UI.
Isn't there a risk that people might think that when they configured to
only display Bookmarks that there is no "visited pages" history anymore
although it can be still accessed easily from the history sidebar or by
reenabling using history in the location bar?
* I don't get what "remove recent history" really means. Last week?
month? current session? If the latter is meant what happens if the
browser crashed and Session Storage kicked in?
* Wouldn't "remove all history" be better than "remove current history"?
"current" feels a lot like above mentioned "recent"
* Why do those actions look like links?
Cheers
Nils
Jesse Ruderman
looking through preferences, trying to find cookie options or turn off
download history, I don't think they're going to find it. From
looking at a dropdown where the current option is "Remember history",
it isn't at all obvious that one of the choices will make more options
available, so they're going to keep looking in the other panes.
Mike Beltzner
primary interface of our browser for someone who's looking for this
sort of fine-grained control. The ability to selectively remember
parts of your web history (but not all) is retained in this design,
and someone looking for it can clearly see the implications of
remembering history in the text beneath the drop down.
My ardent belief is aligned with Alex: the majority of users wish to
be able to make a fairly simple, binary decision (if any decision at
all). Those who wish finer grained control will be pleased to discover
the rich customizations available by selecting the "custom" option.
There is a cost to adding information (in the form of additional text
or additional choices) to a preference panel: it makes it harder to
understand which choice you want to take. Overloading all of our users
with choices that are less germane to their actual goal (I don't want
Firefox to track me online) works against the majority in service of a
smaller group who are concerned with which specific parts of their
history they wish to retain.
One thing we should do, however, is ensure that any users who've
already customized their settings are migrated to a panel in the
"Custom" state.
cheers,
mike
Alex Faaborg
additional consideration:
We may be interested in introducing new functionality to this privacy
pref pane in the future, so simplifying the default display will help
it not get really unwieldy. In particular, there is some interesting
work going on with allowing users to opt out of targeted advertising
from the various major ad networks, so we might start to see options
for that show up in the future in addition to managing local history.
-Alex