Add-on Ghostery / DuckDuckGo issue with AI settings
Please read below my emails to Ghostery support that describes the issue and the Ghostery response.
The issue is using DuckDuckGo in Firefox with the Ghostery add-on enabled, and changing DuckDuckGo AI settings.
Please let me know if there is a resolution available.
Thanks, Malc [edited] @gmail.com __________________________________________________________________________________________
Malc May 1, 2025, 7:39 AM GMT+2
An FYI -
Ghostery Tracker & Ad Blocker - Privacy AdBlock 10.4.32 has an issue in Firefox with DuckDuckGo search engine Settings changes to AI Features, Chat to off, Assist to Never, then saved and shown working with a page refresh.
When Firefox is then shutdown and restarted the intended DuckDuckGo browser changes are not applied. Assist will still show a result in a search.
Proven by disabling Ghostery, again changing DuckDuckGo AI features and saving, shutting down Firefox and restarting, then searching with DuckDuckGo with no Assist displayed in result.
I can answer any questions you may have.
Regards, Long time happy Ghostery user Malc [edited] @gmail.com
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Ghostery Support 2 (Ghostery) May 1, 2025, 10:30 AM GMT+2
Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out to Ghostery and bringing this to our attention!
We were able to reproduce the issue on our end, though with slightly different conditions. It appears that DuckDuckGo’s settings are stored locally in the browser. If Firefox is set to clear cookies and site data (either manually or automatically), this would reset DuckDuckGo’s preferences each time — even with Ghostery disabled.
Could you please check if the option “Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed” is turned off in your Firefox settings and try again? In our tests, DuckDuckGo’s settings were preserved when this option was disabled. It would greatly help to narrow this down.
Here for any further questions! Best, Ghostery Support
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Malc May 1, 2025, 8:20 PM GMT+2
Hi Ghostery Support 2,
Thank you for replying.
Yes, the option “Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed” is turned on. When turned off and the Ghostery extension enabled, the changes to DuckDuckGo were saved and implemented correctly when Firefox was restarted.
I did find this.
In Firefox settings Cookies and Site Data, Manage Exceptions, I added "https://duckduckgo.com" and set Status to Allow. I also turned on “Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed”.
With the Ghostery extension enabled, the saved settings to DuckDuckGo were still active when Firefox was restarted.
But I do not think it wise to give DuckDuckGo an exception to use cookies and site data with no restriction.
Please keep me informed.
Regards, Malc [edited] @gmail.com
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Ghostery Support 2 (Ghostery) May 2, 2025, 10:23 AM GMT+2
Hi there, Thanks for getting back to us!
Unfortunately, there’s not much Ghostery can do in this case. If DuckDuckGo saves its settings internally, there may be no way to keep duckduckgo.com out of exceptions while preserving those settings elsewhere.
You might want to look into third-party tools that support this kind of setup, or consider reaching out to Mozilla’s support team with this request.
Here for any further questions! Best, Ghostery Support Support Ghostery
Ændret af James (On Leave) den
Alle svar (2)
If I could summarize:
- DuckDuckGo stores some settings in a cookie or local storage
- Those settings get removed if Firefox is set to remove cookies when it closes
- That can be resolved with a site Allow exception to the "clear at shutdown" rule
- You are not sure whether you want to make an exception to the "clear at shutdown" rule
It sounds like you trust DuckDuckGo enough to use the site, and the question is whether to have an exception.
I am assuming you use DDG anonymously, i.e., without signing in. When you use a site anonymously and clear its cookies between sessions, most sites are not able to connect your use from the previous session to the new session. You are a new user to them. (Some sites use advanced fingerprinting techniques to recognize you but in most cases, clearing cookies is a way to make the next session start from scratch.)
If it is important to you that each session is disconnected from the earlier ones, then it makes sense to remove the exception and live with the inconvenience of re-entering your settings. On the other hand, if you trust the site with the knowledge that you're the guy who wanted to know about, say, computer security yesterday and chocolate chip ice cream the day before, then the exception saves you time.
Obviously if you sign in, the fact that they initially didn't know who you were becomes irrelevant very quickly. In that case, it is pointless to clear cookies between sessions and only makes your use of the site less convenient.
Thank you Jscher2000 for your comments. I do trust DuckDuckGo much, much more than Google and other search engines. I do not log in to DuckDuckGo. I do not want the information of what I do collected or tracked.
To clarify the issue, it is ONLY the Ghostery add-on that affects DuckDuckGo settings. I have eleven other add-ons including AdBlock Plus, Google Analytics Blocker and uMatrix that do not affect the DuckDuckGo settings. I discovered this by disabling all add-ons and then tested each individually to find if the AI settings were affected.
I have used Ghostery for a very long time and appreciate it's capabilities, which I would like to continue to use.
But now I wonder if settings of add-ons can be/are affected by another with no obvious warning of change, which could be a security issue.
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