This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

How can i use a sync key independent of my password?

  • 2 cavab
  • 1 has this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by cor-el

more options

I have heard that the old sync service is going away at the end of September, so I need to update to the new Firefox Accounts based sync. However I know that I will not be able to keep my Firefox Account password safe enough to use for encrypting my sync data. Therefore I need to configure Firefox to use a sync key that is not derived from my password. Is there any way to do that? It is ok if I need to edit config files or install add-ons to do it. I need it to work on both Desktop and Android. If it is not possible, I guess I will have to stop using sync.

I have heard that the old sync service is going away at the end of September, so I need to update to the new Firefox Accounts based sync. However I know that I will not be able to keep my Firefox Account password safe enough to use for encrypting my sync data. Therefore I need to configure Firefox to use a sync key that is not derived from my password. Is there any way to do that? It is ok if I need to edit config files or install add-ons to do it. I need it to work on both Desktop and Android. If it is not possible, I guess I will have to stop using sync.

All Replies (2)

more options

No there isn't any way to change it where the "encryption key" is generated from the Firefox Account password. Three-factor login as used in Sync 1.1 is gone in the current Sync 1.5 - name and password only. Each Firefox installation stores the "kA" and "kB" "token" data for the connection to the Sync server and the "encryption key" that is used to encrypt / decrypt user data.

more options

Modified by cor-el