Why Firefox Sync Sucks !
Let's say sometime ago you used Firefox sync on PC & phone but not recently. Meanwhile you got new bookmarks on your PC and you got a new PC (or reinstalled windows)
You want to try Firefox Sync again and log in, you log into your Firefox Sync account and without asking you !!! it starts syncing, merging your current Bookmarks with old bookmarks stored on Firefox servers somewhere (somewhere in USA - NSA?)
All Replies (6)
Hi
That sounds very much like Sync working as designed. When you wish to use Sync, you sign into it and there it will make available your bookmarks to be viewed on a second device.
if you already have bookmarks on your pc, other ones, it merges them creating a mess. that is the problem, it does not ask you if you want to merge your current bookmarks with the ones on Mozilla servers or not.
you cannot delete the current bookmarks on Mozilla servers or even view them to check what is there. when was the last time it synced? there is no info
Is up to you to keep it sync'd at regular intervals. The Mozilla Servers for Sync are not a storage site.
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-do-i-set-sync-my-computer
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/products/firefox/sync
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-do-i-choose-what-types-information-sync-firefox
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-sync-troubleshooting-and-tips
- https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/change-primary-email-address-firefox-accounts
Please let us know if this solved your issue or if need further assistance.
JAMESHU said
you cannot delete the current bookmarks on Mozilla servers or even view them to check what is there. when was the last time it synced? there is no info
To clear old data from the Sync server, reset your Firefox Account password. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/ive-lost-my-firefox-sync-account-information#w_iaove-forgotten-my-firefox-account-password-ae-how-do-i-reset-it
Overall, there is no user control over Sync data, save for selecting the data types that are synchronized to & from each device and the server. All data on the Sync server gets merged on each device and back to the Sync server.
There is no "master" device; all devices are treated equally, save for slight differences with "mobile Firefox" as far as bookmarks and browsing history coming from "desktop Firefox" installations.
As far as viewing your Sync data while it is sitting on the Sync server; there is no way that the Sync server can provide a "view" of that data. Sync data is encrypted as it leaves each device and remains encrypted while that data is away from a Firefox installation; when the data is sent to a device it is decrypted as that data enters the various files in the Profile. Mozilla doesn't have access to the "keys" under which Sync data is encrypted; each of the two "keys" is 64-digit alpha / numeric, which is saved and handled inside of each Firefox installation. And each key is generated algorithmically from the user chosen password; change the Firefox Account password and the "keys" are different.
"Web viewing" of Sync data was never a consideration for Sync by Mozilla; the security provided by a "closed loop" was a priority. Firefox 4.0 thru 28 versions did have a slightly different scheme for the one login key that was used in that version of Sync, but sadly too few users bothered to save that key and couldn't access their Sync data without it. So Mozilla came up with the currently used scheme for Firefox 29 with dual keys that the user doesn't need to deal with, as the keys are hidden in Firefox.
thanks for the info but that is unusable for me.
i got over 25.000 bookmarks and i need to be in control of them. what i hoped was to move away from XMARKS to Mozilla Sync but you can't even compare it. On xmarks server you can view your current set of bookmarks, restore old backups, etc but it does not sync with the phone app.