On Monday, July 13, 2015 at 10:11:20 AM UTC-5, quantumpart...@gmail.com wrote: > I don't usually get involved in these sorts of discussions, but I have to > voice my objection to this decision. There was no consultation that I could > tell. I only started using Pocket a few months ago, so I didn't really notice > when the icon moved on my toolbar. But now it's no longer a removable add-on > (heck, the Service set-up was bad enough), I am concerned for my privacy. > Baking this into the core code raises a lot of questions - is it sandboxed > correctly, like a conventional add-on? Can it be exploited if it's included > by default with millions of browsers? With the current state of online > security, these questions should have been at the top of everyone's lists > when the deal was on the table.
This thread has gotten long so it is understandable that new contributors would not have gone through the entire thread yet. Some of the concerns brought back up regarding privacy and third-party integration has, at least in part, been addressed to some extent. Regarding no consultation before third-party integration--as far as I can tell, this isn't the first time third-party code has been contributed into the core of Firefox. The major difference with this is the Pocket integration is the first one to have prominent branding included. That being said, there have been some key members of the Mozilla Foundation that seem to have indicated that things probably will be handled differently for any future integrations. Regarding sandboxing of the code--the Pocket code appears to be all done in cleanly written javascript code which only hooks in (and is activated) when the button is pressed. Regarding if it is sandboxed like a conventional add-on--since being integrated with Firefox, the code is probably more peer reviewed than most conventional add-ons. Also, if you are concern about privacy, you may want to be careful what add-ons you use since they are given an awful lot of power. Just ask anyone that has played with the Greasemonkey add-on what degree of access an add-on has. Regarding privacy--since the client code is now under a license that allows for open review, it is much easier to review the code used with Firefox now. This integration has probably improved the privacy situation rather than made it worse. However, it should be kept in mind that the Mozilla Foundation can only review the code integrated into Firefox. Any other related software for accessing the data (such as the phone apps or extensions for other browsers) fall outside of the scope of their control. Regarding Pocket no longer being a removable add-on, the code currently is designed to only load in use (lazy load), if the icon to activate the integration is removed from the UI then it should never load making it removed from a practical stand-point. I agree that it still provides an additional level of comfort when something is put in the add-ons list and can be truly removed. That will hopefully be considered with future integrations such that they become bundled add-ons instead of uninstallable integrations, but I don't think they will be reverting this specific integration back into an add-on form. _______________________________________________ governance mailing list governance@lists.mozilla.org https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/governance
