More detail, please
Thanks for making Mozilla possible. I rely on your work for the security of my work.
I am considering downloading CleanURLs (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/clearurls/). I would like to do this because it takes me a lot of time to clean a URL when I want to share a URL with someone. And, sometimes, a cleaned link in an Amazon URL doesn't work.
Since I am doing this for privacy and security which, I assume, is a reason many people have for downloading this extension. I am concerned about letting programs, apps, extensions, etc. roam wild in my computer.
Today's limitations are helpful, but not very clear. For example, if I download ClearURLs, it will have permission to:
- Access my data on all websites
- Download files and read and modify the browser's download history
- Access browser tabs
- Access Browser activity during navigation
(See attached image.)
Much of what happens on the internet is based on trust. I trust Mozilla so, even knowing about these permissions, I may download it.
However, this is a good example of a common practice which, itself, raises questions of security and privacy.
Pretty much everything I download has permission statements like these, and no way to opt out of them and still make use of the download. I think this is probably true for many of your users.
Using your permission statement as an example, why does the extension need to have permission to:
- Access my data on all websites? The only thing this app does is clean URLs. I would happily give it permission to pop-up when I want to copy a URL and ask if I want to copy the whole URL or a cleaned URL. That is much safer than letting an extension access all my data.
- Download files and read and modify the browser's download history. Why is this permission needed? The stated purpose of the extension is limited to cleaning URLs - which would seem to have nothing to do with the download process or my browsing history.
- Access browser tabs. Once again, what's this have to do with Cleaning URLs?
- Access Browser activity during navigation. For a third time, what's this have to do with Cleaning URLs? If it is for a limited purpose, such as catching unclean URLs and asking if the user would like to clean the URL - then it should say that.
I have taken the time to share this with the hope that you find these suggestions useful for the future development of CleanURLs.
Todas as respostas (1)
Hi
Please appreciate that add-ons for Firefox are developed and supported by independant developers. I recommend that you contact the developer directly using the link on the add-on page to seek support with their software.