Firefox for Android fails to clear its cache even when the function is invoked
In Firefox 42.0 on my Nexus phone, going to Settings > Privacy > Clear now, then checking all the boxes and choosing "Clear data" does nothing. A side effect of this bug is that one of the following 3 boxes is randomly unchecked every time I choose the "Clear now" option. The 3 boxes are:
1. Cache 2. Offline web data 3. Site settings
I recently saw an old article that describes a very simialr problem: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/983277
Just like TenderTendon in that thread, I know the procedure for clearing data very well. To be extra clear, this isn't a question about how to clear the cache. Instead, I'm reporting a problem with clearing the cache.
I'm using these 2 workarounds for now: 1. Choose quit from the Firefox menu. This does erase the history properly. 2. Use private browsing so history won't be saved. If using private browsing and quitting Firefox by pulling it to the left or right on the "square" (recent applications button) at the bottom of the screen, all activity will be gone when Firefox is opened. If closing using the "circle" (bottom middle button) however, the private browsing tab will still be open.
Other things I've already tried: 1. In case someone suggests using "Don't keep activities" under the developer settings, I already tried it, and it doesn't do anything. 2. The CleanQuit addon is unnecessary. Firefox 42.0 does have a quit button in its menu by default.
Where I differ from the poster of that previous thread is that based on his video, he never fully closed Firefox, so his tabs were still there. This is probably expected behavior, because even private tabs aren't closed if I just use the circle button. But in my case, I never even tried closing Firefox. I just went straight for the "Clear data" option, and I think this is really the heart of the problem; the fact that you can't clear Firefox's cache without the quit option.
I'm open to suggestions. Firefox is still a great browser, and those 2 workarounds I described can be considered will keep it working for now. I am still surprised that the problem hasn't been fixed. It's been 2 years since the original poster of the previous thread asked his question. Is there a way to formally report this bug to the developers?
All Replies (7)
Just to clarify, the #1 problem is that history is not cleared from the history list?
Does the "Clear browsing history" button at the bottom of the history list work?
lonetraveller said
1. In case someone suggests using "Don't keep activities" under the developer settings, I already tried it, and it doesn't do anything.
Actually you need that turned off for Firefox to properly clear data.
Is there a way to formally report this bug to the developers?
I can't explain it, but the problem is gone. You were right about "Don't keep activities" needing to be off to properly clear the cache, but I didn't even know about that toggle until I experienced my original problem.
History is now cleared properly by "Clear data" and by choosing "Quit" from the Firefox menu.
The unchecked boxes bug is also gone, and I don't know what caused it. If I can reproduce the problem later, I will post here, but at the moment, Firefox is looking every bit like the amazing browser it has been.
I did some more experimentation and was able to bring the problem of boxes being randomly unchecked back by clearing my internal storage. I cleared my internal storage twice:
The first time: The bug reoccurred, and I was able to fix it by toggling "Don't keep activities on, then back off."
The second time: The bug reoccurred, and I was able to fix it by rebooting my device.
It looks like this problem reoccurs every time you reset your storage or install Firefox on a new device. I still think it's a bug, albeit not a permanent one.
lonetraveller said
I did some more experimentation and was able to bring the problem of boxes being randomly unchecked back by clearing my internal storage.
Is that an Android feature or is there an app for that?
It's an Android feature. In Marshmallow, go to Settings --> Apps --> Firefox --> Storage --> Clear Data
This basically resets an app to the state it was in when you first installed it but hadn't opened it yet. Things like logins, locally stored settings, etc are all cleared out. It's a way to get a clean start. It also helps reproduce problems that were only temporarily fixed like the ones in my original post.
If you used the "Clear Data" button in Android App Settings, it totally makes sense that all of your in-app data is removed, including checkbox customizations in settings. Then you should indeed have default settings. Is that working as expected? If Firefox was still running when you used that function, I suppose the results might be unpredictable; Firefox might have cached those settings in memory and re-save some or all of them before shutting down, or it might not.
Clearing the data may have temporarily affected the settings, but there's no excuse for the problem continuing to occur days after the clearing was done. I did have default settings after clearing once, and that was expected, but I haven't cleared the data for days, and Firefox has been opened and shut down multiple times since then.
The problem with this bug is that it's intermittent. Sometimes the cache fails to clear, and sometimes it's fine. Most recently I've noticed that Google searches haven't been cleared properly; a subtle failure that could nonetheless lead to privacy problems.