Mastodawn

TheMedievalDrK Sep 9, 2023

Since I've seen a lot of chatter about people switching to #Firefox as Google ramps up the enshitification of #Chrome, let me tell you about a killer feature for people who (a) need multiple accounts on the same websites (eg. devs) or specifically (b) have to use multiple Google accounts.

Firefox has an official addon called Multi Account Containers that lets you trivially set up color coded tabs that have separate sets of cookies. Log into your dev account in one, and your test account in another. Log into your personal #gmail in one and have another tab next to it with your work Gmail. I'm actually not signed in to any Google accounts in most my tabs, I just have containers for the specific tasks I do on Google products.

It'll take you 30 seconds to set up.

Add-on: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/multi-account-containers/

Mozilla's explanation: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/containers

Firefox Multi-Account Containers – Get this Extension for 🦊 Firefox (en-US)

Download Firefox Multi-Account Containers for Firefox. Firefox Multi-Account Containers lets you keep parts of your online life separated into color-coded tabs. Cookies are separated by container, allowing you to use the web with multiple accounts and integrate Mozilla VPN for an extra layer of privacy.

Voron Sep 7, 2023

@ricci #vivaldi 😊

Owen 🇦🇺🦘Sep 8, 2023

@voron @ricci
Not on iOS......yet.....but definitely a Chrome replacement on other platforms, if you need/want Chrome.

Patrick Johanneson 🚀 🇨🇦Sep 8, 2023

@voron @ricci It's based on Chromium, in case that matters to you.
https://vivaldi.com/blog/vivaldi-different-from-chrome/

Built using Chromium, but different from Chrome | Vivaldi

What should you make of the fact that Vivaldi shares its engine with Google Chrome?

Vivaldi Browser

Christopher Sep 8, 2023

@voron
The only thing I've found Vivaldi does better than Firefox, at least for my purposes, is tab stacking. If someone wanted to make a Vivaldi style tab stacking plugin for Firefox, that'd be great.
@ricci

Joel Pomales Sep 7, 2023

@ricci this is the feature that keeps me on Firefox.

BrightFlame 🌟☀️🌙Sep 9, 2023

@joelpomales @ricci I use different containers for all my various navigating. Each social in its own container. Containers for things like banking, writing, university... These plus Ghostery plus Adblock keep me relatively private.

Brett Phinney Sep 7, 2023

@ricci I wish https://paperpile.com/ worked with Firefox :(

Paperpile Reference Manager

Paperpile is a clean and simple reference manager that makes it easy to collect, organize, share, and cite your research papers.

Paperpile

Rob Ricci Sep 7, 2023

@UCDProteomics Chrome is truly the new Internet Explorer: targeted by lazy web devs who don't bother checking other browsers

Richard Turner Sep 10, 2023

@UCDProteomics @ricci Sadly they seem to think this is a selling point 😢

Pseudo Nym Sep 7, 2023

Thank you. Will give this a try.

Alas, looks like it isn't supported in Android Mobile

Rob Ricci Sep 7, 2023

@pseudonym Alas that does seem to be the case. I saw something a while ago about Firefox bringing desktop extensions to the mobile browser, so perhaps that will change in the near future.

Jason Bowen 🇺🇦Sep 8, 2023

@ricci @pseudonym Fingers crossed it actually happens.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/14/23831094/firefox-android-open-extension-support

https://blog.mozilla.org/addons/2023/08/10/prepare-your-firefox-desktop-extension-for-the-upcoming-android-release/

Firefox’s Android app is getting proper support for extensions once again

Firefox’s Android app will soon support an “open ecosystem of extensions” allowing users to customize the browser with a wide range of third-party addons.

The Verge

Mirek Svoboda Sep 9, 2023

@jbowen @ricci @pseudonym
I use Fennec (Firefox for Android). With a small hack, it is possible to use nearly all plugins, instead of just few preselected ones. The hack is descibed at https://www.reddit.com/r/fossdroid/comments/p7mgec/guide_using_most_all_firefox_addons_on_fennec_on

Guide: Using most (all?) Firefox add-ons on Fennec on your phone

Hey, I found out about this recently and apparently a lot of people don't know about this either, so here's a quick guide that's not much more...

reddit

Jason Bowen 🇺🇦Sep 9, 2023

@goodmirek @ricci @pseudonym Ah, I didn't think Fennec was still being developed

Mirek Svoboda Sep 9, 2023

@jbowen @ricci @pseudonym I install Fennec via F-droid and there is a new version every few weeks.

Pseudo Nym Sep 9, 2023

@goodmirek @jbowen @ricci

Good to know. Thanks for the info

Cassandrich Sep 7, 2023

@ricci I have containers in Firefox without adding any extension for it, though ..?

Patrick Mevzek Sep 7, 2023

@dalias @ricci AFAIR it was at some point bundled into Firefox, then it became an extension.

Cassandrich Sep 7, 2023

@pmevzek @ricci Uhg, does that mean upgrading is going to nuke my containers?

Patrick Mevzek Sep 7, 2023

@dalias @ricci This is all from my memory so I can be wrong, will try to search around. I was using containers "as soon" as they existed, and now have the extension, and never lost existing containers in the progress, but can't vouch on that either.

Patrick Mevzek Sep 7, 2023

@dalias @ricci OR maybe I am confusing 2 things as the FAQ at https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/containers says "Are Firefox containers and Multi-account containers the same? Firefox Containers and Multi-Account Containers are complementary features that help you keep your online activities organized. While both options allow you to separate your browsing into different container tabs, the Firefox Containers feature allows you to always open new tabs in containers."

Multi-Account Containers | Firefox Help

Add Container tabs to Firefox with the Multi-Account Containers add-on, to separate your work and personal browsing.

Cassandrich Sep 8, 2023

@pmevzek @ricci Multi-Account Containers sounds sketchy (integration with their VPN partner stuff) and like it does unwanted things (automatically switching to a container context based on which site you're loading, vs locking to a context and always opening links in that container context) that harm privacy instead of preserving it.

Cassandrich Sep 8, 2023

@pmevzek @ricci Regular container tabs tho are excellent and one of the best features of Firefox.

Patrick Mevzek Sep 8, 2023

@dalias @ricci I don't remember now why, but I had to install the extension, so anyway I live with it now. I do use the "automatically assign site X to container Y", avoids some errors, having a dozen or so containers. Anyway the logical followup would be not to have to do that and each tab/site in its own container by default, with only the possibility to "open it" to other sites/containers, but otherwise fully restricted by default.

Patrick Mevzek Sep 8, 2023

@dalias @ricci Yes the VPN stuff is garbage/shouldn't be there, but the other part can be useful and is purely locally handled.

@dalias @pmevzek @ricci

> automatically switching to a container context based on which site you're loading

That doesn’t happen by default, only if you explicitly assign the site to a container

Cassandrich Sep 8, 2023

@MildDrop72 @pmevzek @ricci Right, but if you don't want that it's unclear that there's any value over the built-in container functionality.

Patrick Mevzek Sep 8, 2023

@MildDrop72 @dalias @ricci Yes, you have to do it once, and then it is applied forever. Works as long as you can discriminate just based on the hostname.

viq Sep 9, 2023

@dalias
There's also an unofficial extension called Temporary Containers which can, if you configure it that way, open any new site in a brand new container that will get removed a few minutes after you close last tab from that container.
Yes, it can break spectacularly on sites that redirect between domains for authentication.
@pmevzek @ricci

d00b Sep 17, 2023

@viq @dalias @pmevzek @ricci

Yes, redirected auth can be a pain but it can be fixed by using the "always open this domain in the same container" feature and have the auth site open in the target site container.

Not the perfect isolation but good enough for most cases.

The only thing that still requires me to disable temp-containers is for using paypal. But then again, it's a simple disable-pay-enable.

Cassandrich Sep 17, 2023

@d00b @viq @pmevzek @ricci These temp containers sound like a more bad-site-breaking, worse-UX version of firstparty isolate and completely useless if you have the latter.

viq Sep 17, 2023

@dalias @d00b @pmevzek @ricci https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/first-party-isolation/ ?

First Party Isolation – Get this Extension for 🦊 Firefox (en-US)

Download First Party Isolation for Firefox. This add-on enables the First Party isolation pref. Clicking the Fishbowl icon temporarily disables it.

Cassandrich Sep 17, 2023

@viq @d00b @pmevzek @ricci You don't need the extension. It's in about:config

viq Sep 17, 2023

@dalias
Interesting, I'll need to have a look.
With temporary containers if you open a site say by first opening new tab and then going there, or by clicking from "somewhere else", you'll end up in a new container, whereas to my understanding with first party isolate it will be "same session". Both of which may or may not be desirable 🤷
@d00b @pmevzek @ricci

d00b Sep 18, 2023

@dalias @viq @pmevzek @ricci

Temp containers create a new session/tab every time I click on a URL whose base domain is different from the one in the address bar. First party isolation seems less restrictive (or not?).

viq Sep 18, 2023

@d00b @dalias @pmevzek @ricci
New container, yes.
But, say, you click on a link someone sent you in email, and you end up on reddit. And you click on a search result, and you end up on reddit. Do you want those two reddit tabs to share cookies etc, or not?
Different people have different answers for that. For *me*, for *most* of my browsing, the answer is "no". But that's not necessarily true for everyone.

d00b Sep 18, 2023

@viq @dalias @pmevzek @ricci

Same for me: the answer is almost always NO and that's the cool thing about temp containers: it defaults to NO while still giving me the ability to decide otherwise.

In the end, it's up to me to decide how trackable my sessions will be.

Tom Sep 8, 2023

@pmevzek I use containers in latest Firefox without an extension. It's great.
@dalias @ricci

ShittyKopper Sep 8, 2023

@dalias @ricci I believe containers are baked into Firefox but the addon is an optional "container manager" of sorts that adds features on top of it.

There are alternatives like https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/containerise but all of them rely on the built-in container features of the browser itself. (And you don't need them to use containers, they're mostly for convenience)

Containerise – Get this Extension for 🦊 Firefox (en-US)

Download Containerise for Firefox. Automatically open websites in a dedicated container. Simply add rules to map domain or subdomain to your container.

🇨🇦Sep 7, 2023

@ricci After having used Arc (not as my main browser, just testing), the only feature I liked was the multi profile to more easily handle several clients. Perhaps this will be a good solution. Thank you for posting about this.

bgt lover Sep 7, 2023

@ricci now, I'm checking to see if any of that is accessible to screenreader users...

Rob Ricci Sep 7, 2023

@bgtlover I'm not optimistic, due to the way it's integrated into the Firefox UI (for example it uses colors and icons to flag which container a tab belongs to), but I would love to hear otherwise!

bgt lover Sep 7, 2023

@ricci it may though, alt text can be added to images and icons, so who knows

essjax Sep 7, 2023

@ricci this is exactly what I needed, thank you

Daniel Quinn Sep 7, 2023

@ricci it also pairs nicely with "Cookie Autodelete": https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/cookie-autodelete/

You can setup containers to delete all cookies that aren't directly related to the services you care about for that container.

Cookie AutoDelete – Get this Extension for 🦊 Firefox (en-US)

Download Cookie AutoDelete for Firefox. Control your cookies! This WebExtension is inspired by Self Destructing Cookies. When a tab closes, any cookies not being used are automatically deleted. Keep the ones you trust (forever/until restart) while deleting the rest. Containers Supported

Pete Wright Sep 7, 2023

@ricci

This is a must have add-on if you are a web dev. Also love how it'll automatically sandbox Fbook properties to help avoid their trackers.

Flaming Cheeto Sep 8, 2023

@ricci any browser rec for Windows 8.1? Chrome and now Firefox have both discontinued updates. Laptop prolly doesn't have specs to update Windows and I'm no longer savvy enough for Linux

Rob Ricci Sep 8, 2023

@PizzaDemon I'm afraid I don't - I haven't used Windows since Windows 98

Rachel Greenham Sep 8, 2023

@PizzaDemon @ricci Firefox ESR still supports as far back as windows 7. You won’t get new features since 115 but you will carry on getting bug & security updates

Flaming Cheeto Sep 8, 2023

@StrangeNoises @ricci until September 2024.

Andrew Cook Sep 8, 2023

@ricci I've been making use of Firefox's Facebook container feature for years, but I didn't realise there was an addon to extend this to other types of accounts. Very handy! I'll set this up later, thanks for the tip!

Leo ☕Sep 8, 2023

@ricci More than 30 seconds (had to relogin to affected accounts), but awesome. Thanks for this.

Shadow Heart Sep 8, 2023

@ricci the thing about switching to Firefox is that we do so on more than just PC we also use it on our phones and tablets. While I can't speak to the experience on iOS on Android its awful. The project focus is on desktop so either we choose to use it (bad experience and all) or a Chromium alternative on Android/iOS devices.

maarten brouwers Sep 8, 2023

@Sh4d0w_H34rt @ricci I mostly use safari on iOS. But by having the Firefox browser installed on mobile as well I can access all passwords that are synced in all apps. It functions as any other password manager. Maybe you care about more than just password syncing, then this is no solution, but for me this was all I needed.

Shadow Heart Sep 8, 2023

@murb @ricci yeah I use a dedicated password manager, never trust any browser to store my passwords.

tא‎máš Sep 8, 2023

@Sh4d0w_H34rt @ricci I can't speak for your Android, but on my Android Firefox is lovely :)

Performance is on par with Chrome, and I couldn't use the web without ublock honestly

I don't notice any issues and I've been using it as my daily driver for years

vilibald Sep 8, 2023

@Sh4d0w_H34rt @ricci How come I (or any member of our family) can use it as the only browsers on all tablets and phones and not suffer any bad experience? Sounds like you are not using it at all.

Yves L. Jardin-Noam Sep 8, 2023

@ricci
Absolutely love this feature. Just be aware: it does not work in private browsing.

Of course, private browsing is effectively it's own disposable container.

Erin Dalzell (He/Him) 🇨🇦Sep 8, 2023

@ricci @gorfram thanks, I did not know this!

vandorb12 Sep 8, 2023

@ricci you can still set up multi user agents and have the same switching behavior in Firefox. Mental Outlaw has a vid about it on his supported platforms.