mozllia stores bookmarks????
Have been using desktop firefox for years now. I've just installed firefox for android and done a 'import from other android devices', expecting it to import a small number of bookmarks from another browser within the phone(which it didn't) and it 'imported' a whole load of bookmarks from my PC upstairs which isn't even switched on and not on a network anyway. some of the bookmarks are at least 10 years old and don't even use now but lazily not deleted from firefox on the pc. The only possible explanation is that Firefox is somehow storing my bookmarks online. I'm astonished and really schocked at this at this given the privacy that mozilla prides itself on. I've used it since version 3 or something---have i unwittingly not unchecked a box or something? More importantly how do I delete that personal data stored online?
Chosen solution
in case you haven't setup sync or paired the device to an existing firefox sync account, it is impossible that those bookmarks are stored by mozilla (there is no code in the browser or on mozilla's servers that would facilitate that). it's more likely that you've put your favourites onto the device on its initial setup (through a sort of setup-wizard) or that they are somehow stored in google's cloud services and came onto the device this way...
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PS: I've never setup Firefox sync!!
I can not see that Firefox does this unless you use sync. And then you would need to set up the old PC to sync.
Is there a possibility you have other applications on the PC or the Android phone that have done this.
Firefox sync does store data on a server in order to operate the sync service, but only if you agree and only encrypted data to which you are the sole key holder.
It's really wierd i definitely haven't set up sync or i'd have a password etc. Also when did the import i hadn't paired the device etc. It's worrying especially since i don't have an account it doesn't seem i can delete the data either. It's obviously linked to my IP address. Quite worring really.
Chosen Solution
in case you haven't setup sync or paired the device to an existing firefox sync account, it is impossible that those bookmarks are stored by mozilla (there is no code in the browser or on mozilla's servers that would facilitate that). it's more likely that you've put your favourites onto the device on its initial setup (through a sort of setup-wizard) or that they are somehow stored in google's cloud services and came onto the device this way...
Thanks for your help with this. I think you may be right. I've just been doing some detective work and i'm 'importing from android'(within firefox android) into the phone(which has just had a factory reset). I installed chrome a while back and imported my bookmarks from firefox, i only ever used it once or twice as i didn't like it. It's unwittingly sync'd these by the looks to google. In my sync settings online for chrome there are 400+ bookmarks which i've now cleared. It says it takes a few hours to clear? There was no indication when setting up chrome that's what it was doing!! Sneeky.
Obviously FF stores bookmarks, passwords, etc., online WITHOUT SYNC. Confirmed via this simple experiment performed on my PC, Android tablet, and HTC Android cellphone, which all run FF: turned off wifi and network so there's no internet connection, started FF, resulting in no bookmarks in my toolbar and a bunch of greyed out checkboxes in Android versions; then connected to the internet and - voila! - bookmarks show up in toolbar and greyed checkboxes are now alive!!! Mozilla/FF are definitely storing your info - without your permission - online. I am NOT SYNCING, yet it still does this. Mozilla/FF is performing what is called "the long con," i.e., get you to completely trust in their product, then pull a 180 on you when you are completely taken in!!! Otherwise, why is FF acting this way now all of a sudden????
Additional info: I have never stored any bookmarks or info via the cloud under any provider or on any device. There's no reason why bookmarks only appear in my FF toolbar only when there's an internet connection, except that FF is storing my personal stuff on their servers. This makes me sick to my stomach when a company screws with people. Fortunately, nothing I have in bookmarks is security sensitive, such that I store everything cryptically. You can't use the gobbledygook that I write in these "conveniences." I recommend others to do the same for their peace of mind.
Hi FoxySteve, you wrote:
There's no reason why bookmarks only appear in my FF toolbar only when there's an internet connection, except that FF is storing my personal stuff on their servers.
Firefox stores bookmarks locally. You should be able to see them when you are disconnected from the network.
Desktop
You can pull down the Bookmarks menu using either:
- orange Firefox button > Bookmarks
- classic menu bar > Bookmarks (tap the Alt key if necessary to display)
Firefox also has an optional Bookmarks toolbar button which should display exactly the same bookmarks as the drop-down Bookmarks menu.
Similarly, Firefox's Bookmarks Toolbar should display the same whether you are online or offline, other than "Live Bookmarks" (RSS feeds). You can toggle the display of the Bookmarks Toolbar using either:
- right-click a blank area of the tab bar, or the new tab ("+") button
- classic menu bar > View > Toolbars
If your bookmarks are on a different toolbar, they may be stored by a cloud service (e.g., Yahoo) instead of being native Firefox bookmarks.
Android
Bookmarks should appear when you tap the address bar. You can switch to airplane mode and view and edit bookmarks. I discovered that you also can load a site from history and add a bookmark offline, but the description was not very helpful (something like Page not found).
If your mobile bookmarks are not accessible in airplane mode, they are not native Firefox for Android bookmarks.