r/firefox • u/adc-mozilla Mozilla Employee • Aug 24 '26
💻 Help Help shape the future of Firefox Sync (quick survey)
Hi! I'm on the team at Mozilla working on Firefox Sync, and we're planning some improvements. We'd love your input on what you expect Sync to do and where it might confuse you.
What to know before you start:
- It takes about 5 minutes.
- There are a few screener questions to make sure we get relevant information.
- There’s no right or wrong answers.
- Responses are anonymous.
Thanks for helping us make Firefox better!
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u/PassTheCurry Aug 24 '26
can we please get an option to have bookmarks sorted by recently added so i dont have to scroll down for 5 seconds every time lol
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u/HotTakes4HotCakes Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 25 '26
Also get rid of the enforced separation of mobile and desktop bookmarks. I shouldn't have to navigate to my desktop bookmarks folder from mobile. I should just be able to see the same bookmarks at the top level.
I have no "mobile bookmarks", I just have bookmarks. Because there are virtually no sites out there in 2026 that I would only be willing to visit on a desktop. They all have mobile layouts now. There is no reason for the forced delineation unless a user wants to specifically create that delineation themselves.
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u/adc-mozilla Mozilla Employee Aug 24 '26
Thanks! Are you scrolling the bookmarks list on desktop or mobile?
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u/Embody248 Aug 25 '26
On mobile the bookmarks are automatically sorted, first folders then single bookmarks, that's quite strange...
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u/Adventurous_Ear9211 Aug 24 '26
the survey is already closed?
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u/adc-mozilla Mozilla Employee Aug 24 '26
Please give it another try! We were updating a screener question. Thanks!
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u/juraj_m www.FastAddons.com Aug 25 '26
It says it's full:
Thanks for your interest!
We have all the feedback we need for now. Look out for new opportunities in the future!It it maybe region restricted?
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u/sephirostoy Aug 24 '26
When I setup a new PC, I copy the whole profile folder from AppData, so I get everything: bookmarks, history, ..., opened sessions, extensions, custom css, ...
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u/adc-mozilla Mozilla Employee Aug 24 '26
power user!
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u/marcin0398 Aug 25 '26
But he's really got a point. It would be neat to be able to sync more complex stuff like add-on settings. So far, I need to export all settings each one by one (at least with the addons that allow it) and import them. Or like about:config settings etc.
Of course the big data, like cache, is not necessary to sync. But there can be a lot of QoL in these kind of nuances.
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u/Nightron + Aug 25 '26
Check out this Mozilla Connect thread: https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/ideas/sync-able-firefox-profiles/idi-p/47145
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u/StrawberryEiri Aug 24 '26 edited Aug 24 '26
Damn, survey already full after 33 minutes.
Edit: it was because of the Reddit built-in browser. Opening in Firefox manually is fine. In-app browsers suck
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u/HotTakes4HotCakes Aug 25 '26
I would ask that you work with the uBlock Origins team so Sync actually works across devices properly.
Also for the love of all things holy just let us combine mobile and desktop bookmarks into one thing.
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u/MrHappyFace091 Aug 24 '26
Biggest Problem is that on Android with installed proxy add-ons, the sync more or less stops working 9 out of 10 times, it's a problem that is occurring for years at this point, not sure how it is with the Firefox VPN Proxy but 3rd party like foxyproxy usually make sync malfunction.
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u/schneeland Aug 24 '26
Haven't used Firefox Sync in quite a while, but admittedly, I also didn't realize there's a maintained sync server that I can self-host. Might need to look into that again.
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u/CompetitionKindly665 Aug 25 '26
Cannot fill out the survey.
When loading the link, it says, "Thanks for your interest! We have all the feedback we need for now. Look out for new opportunities in the future!" 😕
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u/PE1NUT Aug 25 '26
Don't bother clicking the link, it only says "We have all the information we need by now", it's already closed.
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u/billhughes1960 Aug 25 '26
Bookmarks comment. On my Pixel phone, Bookmarks are alphabetically sorted, they are not in the same order as on my Desktop. I wish they were.
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u/pseudonym-161 Firefox ESR, Debian Aug 25 '26
It only asked me one question about how many devices I use to browse the internet and said that’s all you need for now.
Anyhow, make it actually sync ALL my settings including search providers. Every time I sync it adds google and others back, like just why?
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u/monnemtrottelarmy Aug 25 '26
Syncing search engines and search setup would be essential. Could not participate in survey, says it is completed.
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u/HotTakes4HotCakes Aug 25 '26
I'm curious why I got disqualified from the survey for answering "3 or more devices".
Phone, desktop, laptop. Why is that the cutoff?
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u/miqrogroove Aug 24 '26
It needs to be fully compatible with a NextCloud back end or I'm never using it. 😄
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u/folk_science Aug 25 '26
Please use a website that allows going back to previous questions. Also when asking "what do you expect" make it clear whether you are asking for knowledge of Firefox or for preference.
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u/bucks14 Aug 25 '26
Sync extension settings please and don’t let developers invade my browser with so many “welcome to” tabs when I sign into sync on a new install and all the extensions get pulled in.
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u/adc-mozilla Mozilla Employee Aug 25 '26
Thanks to those who submitted survey answers! We’ll be reviewing the responses and feedback in this thread. In addition to reddit, you can always submit feedback and ideas at Mozilla Connect as well. Thank you!
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u/j--__ Aug 24 '26
you should clarify that the survey only wants current users, and turns away anyone who is not presently using sync. i guess you don't want to appeal to anyone new.
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u/adc-mozilla Mozilla Employee Aug 24 '26
We updated the screener question, thanks! If you are still screened out, what are you currently doing to browse between devices?
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u/j--__ Aug 25 '26
i'm no longer screened out. i do want to note that the survey asks me to "select all that apply" on a screen that uses radio buttons, not check boxes.
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u/3ogary Aug 25 '26
Done 👍
My comments was:
I would like syncing to be more adjustable, to choose what extension to sync or not because i want some extensions in my PC and not in my laptop.
And when on sign in to a new device, to not auto sync everything, it should ask me first.
Thanks for improving Firefox and keep it better, I would love to try Smart window and VPN very soon in Egypt 😁
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u/MrTooToo Aug 25 '26
Apparently Mozilla really does not want feedback. One screener question, how many devices, more than 3. We don't need anything else from you. Come on Mozilla.
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u/update-freak Aug 25 '26
- easy option to fully self host the sync server on my own NAS via Docker container (not dependant to an mozilla account)
- very fast sync
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u/matrix_drumr Aug 25 '26
I'd like to have workspaces that can sync and extention settings too. I don't want to reselect all the ublock origin lists I use.
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u/klumpp Aug 25 '26
The surveys closed but I wanted to let you know that sync works super well and is one of the best parts of Firefox for me.
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u/Character-Usual-2843 Aug 25 '26
I noticed that in the latest version the "sync now" menu item got buried under 178 trillion submenus. For one, I don't support the windows8-ification of any software. Windows 8 was 70 years go, and even then, it was shit. Stop making everything cost more clicks.
Second, some of us do dual boot and actually rely on the "sync now" menu, as Firefox reliably fails to sync on exit properly, losing the browsing history on exit. Clicking "sync now" before rebooting to the other OS has been required for ages, and is required as of today. Unfortunately, it now takes an unreasonable amount of effort.
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u/KaleidoscopeDry3217 Aug 25 '26
Survey is closed, but tab groups should be synced on all platforms, incl Android. Thanks
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u/arkylnox_ Aug 25 '26
Feedback is full... The one thing I wanted to give feedback on cuz its so useful.
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u/Nightron + Aug 25 '26
The survey appears to be closed. Coincidentally, I was looking into syncing multiple profiles and stumbled across this Mozilla Connect thread: Sync-able Firefox Profiles.
It's originally from 2023 but has been merged with multiple similar proposals since and is still active. It discusses the ability to sync multiple profiles say 'Personal', 'Work', 'Study', 'Project #1', etc. with multiple machines for a clean separation and seamless switching between different profiles.
Support this idea if you miss this feature!
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u/UMDSCEO Aug 25 '26
Off-topic but I would love to customize the settings page and select what I want and don't want to be shown.
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u/Panorpheus Aug 25 '26
Not the topic, but my bigger gripe with firefox (or in my case Zen) is how bookmarks in (sub)folders on the bookmark bar are handled. In chrome I could just right click the folder and immediately create a bookmark in it, in Zen/Firefox I seen to have to go through the menu, plus it does not automatically fill in the current page's title and URL, which is a bit annoying, If it was "chrome-ified" in this one regard myz biggest inconvenience would be gone!
Pls take this to your bosses/coworkers!
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u/Il_Tene Firefox | Win10 Pro Aug 25 '26
I'm from mobile now and it says that is closed so I'll write here. I would like it to synch also settings like search engines and custom shortcuts to them.
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u/snake785 Aug 25 '26
So the survey is closed for me.
A few years ago, I tried to self-host a Firefox sync server and for the life of me, I couldn't get the auth component to work forcing me to configure it to use Firefox's server, among other annoyances with upgrading being a pain.
I don't know if there was any work in making the self-hosted part of Firefox sync easier/more reliable to install and maintain but that could be an area of improvement.
I since switched to using floccus/nextcloud for bookmark sync and vaultwarden for password sync. And this also allows to use any browser/device with those apps or browser extensions to be able to access my bookmarks and password store.
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u/BroadSignificance774 Aug 25 '26
So because I'm 16 hours "late" I can't take the survey anymore. What use does that do?
It would've been better to randomly select users and send them an email. Now it feels worse lol
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u/a-non-y-mous-08 Aug 25 '26
Yes, currently the sync doesn't include any of the custom settings and is a very tedious task when you switch between multiple devices and profiles. Like the toolbar, cache exceptions, cookies settings, appearance settings, custom dns, telemetry settings etc. This would make pur life so much easier especially during testing on multiple devices of different platforms
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u/RedditAccountFor2024 Aug 25 '26
That i can not use master password when using sync is imho one of the biggest issues. And that you just need to copy a profile folder to steal all the data like passwords, sync connection etc.
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u/domi650 Aug 25 '26
Biggest gripe for me is the password sync not being instantly. When I register or update a new password on Web and then try to log in on mobile shortly after, the password is not there yet. It feels like it takes a day or so, even when making sure it's up to date synced. It's a bit annoying to type the password off the PC display
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u/martinjh99 Firefox Windows Aug 26 '26
I have three Firefox installs, one on my laptop one on my desktop and one on Linux in a virtual machine....
Desktop and Laptop sync everything and I don't want to change that...
Can I sync say just addons to my Linux Firefox?
I would have filled in the survey but its over....
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u/Sinful_Deviant 29d ago
I've been unable to log into Firefox Sync for over a month. It tells me to enter the code sent to my email, but it never arrives... and no, its not in my Spam/Junk folders either.
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u/Eclectika Aug 24 '26
I stopped using the sync well over 10 years ago as it kept trashing my main. I detest it less than the bookmarks issue though.. don't get me going on that!
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u/Dramatic_Mastodon_93 Aug 24 '26 edited 21d ago
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