Add an all-in-one Librefox addon

[intika]

Addon that would include most important (but not all) privacy settings that are not already included in the core browser

Check #86

[elypter]

i had an idea for a sort of "all in one" privacy filtering addon in the past. it is based on the idea behind umatrix. there is a multitude of settings for privacy and many would benefit from a white&blacklists. instead of implementing this for each function or addon like it is done today which is a lot of dublication of work and has an equivalent performance penalty this filtering could be done by a single addon.

umatrix lists all subdomains of third party resources of a website and allows to set permissions for each resource type. this could be extended by listing not only each subdomain but each individual resource or even dom elements on one axis and horizontally you could add various permissions that you can set for each resource, the whole website or globally. each of those permissions can be overridden by a more defined rule for a specific subdomain or resource. to not overwhelm the user with a huge list of resources and permissions the resource tree should be collapsible/expandable and autoexpand to a decent size.

horizontally you could group permissions as well. for example: cookies, localstorage, indexdb and other storage methods should be grouped as storage. on the individual permission level you can also have more options besides allow, deny and inherit. you can have: fake, limit, ask and replace as well and give them the color yellow.

this would require an extended rule syntax because umatrix only allows handling domains but that already exists in ublock. interestingly umatrix and ublock once were the same addon and ublock still supports the umatrix syntax. he probably split the projects because for some people the huge colored checkerboard looked a bit intimidating. if this is a problem for the librefox addon then the interface could be changed while still maintaining the logic behind it. for example: just show a tree and when you click on a resource you get the rule choices shown in a space below.

this addon could cover all the filtering and permission setting. this could be extended by adding interfaces to new settings once they can be set side wide and maybe even extended in the form of other addons/patches. all settings that only work or make sense globally should be in a different addon. this would mean that there are 2 addons but it think it would make sense logic wise because similar functionality is grouped. it annoyed me that many privacy addons had additional prvacy settings mixed into their main function. you had to look what overlaps which and where the best place is to set a preference. it might also make sense to put the functionality i described directly into the broser and only have the user interface be an addon.

i think there is a hge potential for synergies and more control of the user over websites, not only privacy wise but also in terms of performance and features.

[intika]

This is a nice idea for separate addon on its own, what i learned from experience about addons is:

• The simpler it is the better it will be and get attention
• Give the user choice but never too much, or make it 2 layer of choice one super simple and the other one advanced (like ublock simple for daily use but can be super powerful in features while it still stay super simple... i mean in the main interface it's almost too simple)
• Ready to go and with minimal configuration to start using it
• Can be used with max 3 or 4 clicks after install (can be configured but does not require it by default)
• As minimal interaction as possible at the extend of removing features (no one wants to be disturbed when browsing the web) because of 2 reasons
  • Ir is a vector for forgetting the extension disabled and thus not protected
  • Security addons with too many interactions end-up loosing audience, or not having it at all

So the idea behind this is to get a general extension that regroup some of the features of the recommended one and also some settings that need interaction (disable/enable this or that) and that's it simple clear and efficient. for the rest there are a bench of security extensions (and also users don't like to have their habit replaced, so they will keep using whatever they use and may be less if this or that feature is included)

[elypter]

i think a all in one filter addon has a huge usability advantage. managing filters also means managing filterlist like ublock does. most addons are tedious because they do not have good defaults and you have to either switch it off for the most part or create your own personal whitelists. imagine you could have website settings for every site wide addon or browser setting be controlled by regularly updated lists just as it works with adblockers. you could still modify it to your personal preferences but everything would work out of the box and be the right choice for most users. many settings could also be grouped which would make it much easier to make the browser be less strict if something isnt working. instead of having to turn of every addon individually you could just move a privacy slider which selects some strict or less strict defaults. this way you can get a website working quickly without having to click around a lot and without necessarily having to sacrifice all privacy. of cause it is better to test each setting individually until it works but few users are willing to do that. and when the user already wants to chose a quick and dirty method he could use a more sensible one.

[Atavic]

Some addons that may be worth looking at:
https://github.com/gbaptista/luminous
Best work on js.

https://github.com/plaperdr/fprandom
Counter fingerprinting techniques.

[NotWorthKnowing]

I can tell from the posts I'm seeing here and other places that I'm not going to like some of the default settings. Too much emphasis on putting usability first which is a cop-out (or fail) for a privacy focused browser. I don't care to argue; I might still use it if it is easy enough to find and change the settings I don't like. FFprofilemaker is OK in that regard to use once per update, but not good for catching changes. Privacy Settings was good because you could see everything on one dropdown (although later versions required a little scrolling). I used to have an extension with settings in Addons Manager, and in addition to being more hidden, it was 4 or 5 screens full. But that one did give info about each setting. (edit it was called Tinfoil) I was almost ready to throw in the towel on this project due to all the whining about settings being too strict, but I realize that it probably can't be any worse than raw FF (hopefully!).

[elypter]

if you just want maximum privacy without any considerations towards usability then you should use the tor browser. not using the tor netwok means you already give away your ip for the benefit of a faster and more relyable connection. i think the goal of librefox is to provide a good out of the box solution that is ready to use like firefox but that allows the user to easily change preferences including an increased privacy level. create good code rather than compomises.

[intika]

@NotWorthKnowing the situation you listed will be managed as well, in the current version i am working on we will either have a profiles to chose from (normal/hardened) or per section setting (to enable this or that feature) or both.
What i mean is indeed by default the the browser will be setup for usability BUT you can easily enforce privacy with few clicks on the advanced setting page (i am working on right now) for instance for the feature that close all the unneeded connections instead of editing more than 50 settings you will just need to edit one settings the menu... this is meant for normal and advanced users... newbie will have an out of the box working browser and advanced users would find it way more easy to changes settings compared to Firefox... also your settings will be saved over update so it would be a one time setup.
but i get your point and it's an important one i added a note about this point here
#34 (Take in consideration advanced users that want to have a hardened browser by default) it should be fine :)

[maverick74]

I'm searching for somekind of add-on that would bring Firefox the same privacy level protection that Tor browser has (when it does not have any Tor-specific software installed)

But Firefox won't get it until

https://wiki.mozilla.org/Security/Tor_Uplift/Tracking

Gets solved...

Does this add-on has the same aim?

[Atavic]

GNU Icecat is closer to Tor for those looking privacy protection.

[dimqua]

Well, Tor browser can be used without Tor as well. But even unstable Tor browser versions are based on Firefox ESR.

[Rik44444]

hi just to say this 'all-in-one' addon would be v welcome. for a mainstream user like me, there is just too many addons in this area to keep track of! If i could have 1 addon that does it all that would be fantastic.