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Firefox is adding profiles to separate your browsing sessions

⁨495⁩ ⁨likes⁩

Submitted ⁨⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨ardi60@reddthat.com⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.theverge.com/news/795998/mozilla-firefox-browser-profiles-separate-tabs

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  • Flamekebab@piefed.social ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I thought it had had that for twenty years?

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    • RaivoKulli@sopuli.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Yeah I don’t know why profiles itself are being mentioned as a new thing. What’s new is the more convenient interface for them

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      • SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        you don’t like about:profiles?

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    • muntedcrocodile@hilariouschaos.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I think they are just making a ui to manage it natively.

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      • coolmojo@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        firefox -p was also an UI. Not as fancy as this one.

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    • notarobot@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I tried it during covid when wfh started. I found it really annoying to switch between personal and work profiles. I prefer the chrome way of asking which profile each time I click the icon or having two separate icons.

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      • wildbus8979@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Just add -P to Firefox launch flags. This also has been true for rlike 20 years.

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      • RaivoKulli@sopuli.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I have two separate shortcuts, I just set it so that one shortcut opens one profile and the other the other profile.

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  • pogmommy@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Impressive that theyre finally adding a feature that ive already been using. Makes you wonder how they do that

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    • Scrollone@feddit.it ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      A feature that has been present for 20 years, but never exposed in the interface. Truly magical.

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    • UncleArthur@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Quite. It’s how I’ve been watching YouTube ad-free for ages.

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  • moderatecentrist@feddit.uk ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I already use profiles in Firefox but this looks a much better interface for managing them.

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  • Pika@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    uhhh, this has been a thing for a long time already. I don’t know whats new here. put about:profiles in your url bar for anyone uses a firefox based browser.

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    • cley_faye@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      The UI was clearly not user friendly.

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  • n3cr0@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    about:profiles always worked for me. And the profile manager. I don’t need a 3rd ui for switching profiles.

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    • baronvonj@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      The new one is a much better experience. It works like profiles in chrome now. The old one is still there for you to use if you prefer.

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      • Hawke@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Is it gonna pop up obnoxiously every time you start the program?

        Is it gonna demand that I create a new profile every time I sign in to Google?

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  • 1984@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Feels super strange to read this. They had profiles for what, decades now? It just requires a simple command line flag.

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  • daq@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I think containers (that Firefox already has) are a much better way to handle this. Profiles, art least the way they are implemented on chrome, feels like a massive downgrade.

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    • beejjorgensen@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      It depends on how much separation you need. If you want different bookmarks, history, or settings per, then I believe you need profiles to make that happen.

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      • daq@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Ah, makes sense. I don’t mind sharing history and have never used bookmarks or customized any settings.

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    • Nalivai@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      You can use containers all you want, just don’t create another profile and you’re golden.

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      • daq@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        This is what I do now, just trying to figure out why ff keeps spending time on profiles. Do they hadn’t any advantages over containers?

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  • biotin7@sopuli.xyz ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    So… about:profiles is what then ???

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  • Kissaki@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    The screeshots shows functionality that the current profile/profile launch UI already has. Choose, create, ask on startup.

    Right now it’s hidden behind a startup parameter. But honestly, I would prefer a UI between the current one and the new one. That screenshot looks like it would reduce usability through big spacing and suboptimal alignment. At least judging by my preferences.

    …mozilla.org/…/profile-manager-create-remove-swit…

    Image

    I guess adding a picture is nice. But does it have to be that huge and prominent?

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    • stoly@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      This only works on Windows. For Macs and maybe Linux, you have to run this command to bring up a different profile:

      /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/MacOS/firefox -p

      As best I can tell, there’s no way to make this into a shortcut that you could just click on. This change will be good!

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      • Ferk@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        In Windows it’s the same. Though the parameter is -P (uppercase) not -p. That’s why the comment said “it’s hidden behind a startup parameter”.

        As best I can tell, there’s no way to make this into a shortcut that you could just click on.

        I dont know about Mac, but in Linux you can make a shortcut to call firefox -P. Though what I often do is keep a bookmark to about:profiles and open a new window from there.

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      • 4am@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I made this into a shortcut on Mac OS Panther the year Firefox came out (2004). This has been possible on all operating systems for decades

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      • setsubyou@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        If you want an icon you can double click on your desktop, you can put you command in a file with the extension “.command” and mark it as executable. Double clicking it will run the content as a shell script in Terminal.

        If you want something that can be put into the Dock, use the Script Editor application that comes with macOS to create a new AppleScript script. Type do shell script “<firefox command here>” then find Export in the menu. Instead of Script, choose export to Application and check Run Only. This will give you an application you can put in the Dock.

        If you want to use Shortcuts, you can use the Run Shell Script action in Shortcuts too.

        Finally, if you want something that opens multiple firefoxes at once, chain multiple firefox invocations together on one line separated by an ampersand. There is an option you have to use (–new-instance I think?) to make Firefox actually start a complete new instance.

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      • Kissaki@feddit.org ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        The “Use the selected profile without asking at startup” checkbox in the dialog is not there on mac?

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      • ozymandias117@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        You’ve always been able to navigate to about:profiles as well

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    • chunes@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Bro is still on Windows 7

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  • Dragomus@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Uhm … is this perhaps for the android browser then?

    The desktop browser has had this for a long long time, though in recent builds a bit hidden. I still use various profiles, very handy.

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    • baronvonj@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      No, this is to make the desktop browser profiles work more like Chrome.

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  • slacktoid@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Why would I use this when I have Firefox containers?

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    • WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      separate settings, separate addons, separate about prefs. also for when the PC is used by more than one person but there is only one user account

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      • slacktoid@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Ok this is handy ngl. I’ve forgotten about the shared family compute scenario

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    • AdrianTheFrog@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      It’s the same as about:profiles

      Just an easy way to separate people’s browsing histories, cookes, bookmarks, etc I guess. And you can have them sync independently as well. For if other people want to use the same computer

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      • slacktoid@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        That makes sense. The bookmarks and settings kinda made everything fit better in my head, thanks!

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    • some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      It’s great having a separate profile for when you tell bbc iPlayer you have a tv license.

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      • slacktoid@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        But can’t containers do that? Maybe I’m missing something?

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    • ech@lemmy.ca ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I love containers, but it has a pretty frustrating and unfriendly ui. If something else allowed sorting and categorizing, I think that’d be an upgrade.

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      • slacktoid@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Fair, I just always felt containers were better than profiles, cause each tab is a profile now. The tooling does need improvement, I still get lost when trying to access some configs for it

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    • PriorityMotif@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Multiple accounts on the same websites with different cookies for each one.

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      • cley_faye@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        That’s what containers do.

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  • baatliwala@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    This should have been a feature 10 years ago

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    • null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      It was.

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      • embMaster@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        It wasn’t. It was a hidden feature.

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  • Reygle@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Ironically, in the article it’s pictured running on Windows, which now has a built-in mechanic for automatically screen shotting everything you do and keeping records.

    Yay.

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  • alastel@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    One thing that I wonder is if I can convert my old firefox -P profiles into this new kind of profiles, and have them all be synced by firefox with a single account instead of recreating them on all my devices. On the filesystem they seem to be the same, just not in the same place.

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    • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Their blog implied you would need to create a separate sync account for each profile. It’d obviously be better if you could choose which profiles are linked to which account, in addition to local only.

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  • theherk@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I find multi account containers to be the best workflow ergonomics when it comes to separating logins and sessions. I think having the same bookmarks, theme, etc. is actually nice. But I’m sure many really enjoy profile swapping.

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  • brianary@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Zen has “workspaces”, which I don’t get at all. Profiles seems like too much, containers works fine for me.

    Crazy all the useless nonsense Mozilla has room for, since they helped kill RSS by dropping browser UI support for it for “simplification”. It was the same rationale for removing live bookmarks and Shift+Enter to add .net to an address and Ctrl+Shift+Enter for .org.

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    • Eyck_of_denesle@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      You can assign containers to workspaces so that you can use work stuff one workspace, gaming stuff in one and so on.

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  • froh42@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Yay, a 25 year old feature with a new UI design.

    I’m using FF as my daily driver, but I feel. my hatred for Mozilla soon reaches the level of my hatred for Google.

    I do wonder (just in my head, there’s no hint to that in the public) if all that money Google pays to Mozilla somewhere has a no-competition clause which says FF must stay more shitty than Chrome.

    I’m not consciously of one Innovation out of Mozilla that made FF a better browser, and a lot of interesting stuff has been canceled.

    It’s still an OK browser, but it is like it was 15 years ago. While I watch colleagues using chrome reskins which have great tab management (amazing when you use Jira). Only now that we have LLMs people turn browsers into agents - why the fuck is there no cross - request scripting (go to google, search for this, click on 2nd result…). Yeah we have developer tools like puppeteer for that, but having - say python or js to do so would make people use it more frequently.

    Browser history. Ah damn, a day ago I saw a page that explained how to do xx with yy while considering zz. How great some decent browse history would be. (And yes, FF, keep it all, but only when I’m at weirdkinkyporn.com, please just store it for a few hours)

    Yeah, so much more things you could do (and the above ideas are just half - baked thoughts).

    But Mozilla needa tha sweeet CEO payments. There’s no money for experimental stuff.

    About a month ago, I ranted about that with a few friends, afterwards I rage-contributed to the Servo project.

    I just wish Google would cut off that Mozilla money, I really believe that would improve competition.

    That no-compete agreement is a product of my imagination, but things really feel like that.

    Fuck Mozilla.

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  • Meowie_Gamer@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    took em long enough.

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  • TastehWaffleZ@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I wish there was a feature like this on YouTube. I’d love a profile for watching educational videos, a profile for feeding me cool videos when I’m high, and a profile for when my kids want to watch stuff. I’m tired of vibing and listening to music videos only to get hit with Disney songs.

    It’s insane that they have an incognito mode that still serves up ads even though I have premium.

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    • SnoringEarthworm@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      You can create different accounts under different email addresses.

      Once you’re logged in, you can switch between accounts from the dropdown menu.

      I’ve done this in the past to separate French YouTube recs from English ones.

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      • TastehWaffleZ@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I did this as well but the other accounts get ads because the premium only applies to my first account. Terrible user experience and Google go hand in hand

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    • cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Youtube > Profile picture > Settings > Add or manage your channel(s) > create a channel

      You basically get a new “profile” with your own subs, history, profile picture, and comments

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      • TastehWaffleZ@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Holy crap that’s exactly what I was looking for, thank you!!

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      • Pika@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        ooo I might look into this.

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    • echodot@feddit.uk ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      They do have categories and I’ve tried to put different channels in different categories, but the thing is just so hard to use I gave up.

      It’s quite surprising how bad Google can be at UX.

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      • TastehWaffleZ@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        It really is insane how a company can be so massive yet unable to do basic UI. I got a notification that someone replied to a YouTube comment I made so I clicked the notification and it opened up YouTube’s landing page. I tried to find notifications and couldn’t so instead I tried to find a page that has my comment history.

        I had to look it up and apparently you can’t even find it on YouTube, you have to go to a separate website, my activity.google.com.

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    • Pika@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I agree, I would love seperate “recommendation profiles” so like if I am in the mood for music, swap to music, if I want education, I can swap to that, feeling lets play? swap to gaming, horror could be creepypasta or horror games.

      All under the same parent account so the premium status could apply while google would still be able to leech data off the main profile, the only difference is the curated content given is based off the profile.

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      • TastehWaffleZ@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I had no idea until I read Katy’s comment, it’s a game changer

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    • nameisnotimportant@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Did you try to achieve this with containerized tabs?

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  • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Finally
    Part of Chrome since >7 years?

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    • Ferk@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      It was part of Firefox before even chrome was a thing.

      It’s just that most people are not aware of firefox -P and/or about:profiles

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      • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        I am.
        It’s annoying not just having a dedicated button like, for example, chrome has to manage profiles.

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    • altphoto@lemmy.today ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Don’t use chrome. Google is an evil company now.

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      • Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        Never said I am using Chrome ;)

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  • voronaam@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    It is a great feature and is the main reason I like Floorp (Firefox fork). But the UX does not look good, I think the way Floorp does is better:

    docs.floorp.app/docs/…/how-to-use-workspaces/

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    • cley_faye@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      That does not looks like the same feature at all.

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  • umbraroze@slrpnk.net ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Oh good, the current profile management is a little bit clunky. Having the option to launch random profiles wherever and whenever would be nice.

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  • m3t00@piefed.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    tried tab groups, waste of time. trying to save my pinned tabs from disappearing. have to be careful closing single windows last. opens on the single tab and pins are lost. keep about 20 pinned.

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    • WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      pins are attached to the specific window. if you close the windows one by one it trashes them. use the quit function in the menu on the right, that it does not trash the windows, each of them will reopen next timealong with the pins

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    • mr_satan@lemmy.zip ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      You can usually find recently closed windows in history.

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  • dastanktal@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Finally! Profile management is easily the worst feature in firefox

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  • pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Reminds me of chrome. Not sure if I like that

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  • fascicle@leminal.space ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Finally! That was my biggest gripe when I switched from chrome but I ended up just getting rid of all my profiles, time to set up my old workflows again

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  • Fizz@lemmy.nz ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    This features great if you habe two people who use a device. I have it on the steamdeck in my lounge and its nice for people to be able to open Firefox and have all their accounts saved and their extensions

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  • sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    I this a reskin of about:profiles?

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  • unwarlikeExtortion@lemmy.ml ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Until it gets a proper Guest mode like Chrome (which is basically a private window without the shame of using one), the only thing they did is add a cute little interface to an ancient feature.

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  • stoly@lemmy.world ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    ITT: People who only use Windows and don’t realize that FF works differently on other systems.

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