Forum Discussion
Smart 💡 Idea: use Automatic Profile Switching in Edge to create a Container like experience
The description for containers or multi-containers in Firefox is this: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/containers Multi-Account Containers is a Firefox add-on that lets you separate your wo...
ali-khawaja
Microsoft
MicrosoftHotCakeX in my opinion, profiles seem too bloated for this simple functionality, plus they are bound to the whole user's data, profile data, passwords, favorites, etc. etc.. its not simply the matter of allowing tabs from multiple profiles in a single windows, but profiles have much bigger ramifications in edge.
this is at least what it seems to me. maybe there is a better and cleaner solution to this. there are already some chrome extensions that are trying to accomplish what firefox containers do.
- Spoiler
ali-khawaja wrote:HotCakeXin my opinion, profiles seem too bloated for this simple functionality, plus they are bound to the whole user's data, profile data, passwords, favorites, etc. etc.. its not simply the matter of allowing tabs from multiple profiles in a single windows, but profiles have much bigger ramifications in edge.
this is at least what it seems to me. maybe there is a better and cleaner solution to this. there are already some chrome extensions that are trying to accomplish what firefox containers do.
Hi,
I see "containers" differently. I think we shouldn't see how containers work in Firefox and then try to exactly mimic it in Edge. first we need to see the idea behind it and what the goal is. the goal is to let users have separate isolated sessions of browser to access websites that are not able to talk back to other browsing sessions. that's the idea.
right now that I'm using Firefox nightly 76 and set some websites like Twitter to be automatically opened in a container, I see the behavior is the same as if i used Twitter in a different profile in Firefox.
it's completely isolated. Twitter cache, cookies etc are all Inaccessible from my main profile.
when I mentioned there needs to be some tweaks, I meant that Edge team need to simplify the profiles that are going to be used for container. (i obviously didn't mean the current state of profiles in Edge is ready for this).
for example the profiles used for containers need to share the same installed extensions, favorites, history etc but when it comes to cookies, site cache etc they should be isolated.
or they can just forget about this and make their own system of container
https://github.com/mozilla/multi-account-containers
either way this is an idea that Has the potential to happen
HotCakeX Agreed. The 'tab container' function surly needs to be separate from profiles as we just want to sandbox a login usually, not manage a complete other profile just for that function. Access to our main profile with tab containers/sandboxing should be a higher priority as it's something devs need all the time. It's the only reason Firefox is still loaded for me as well.
"we need to see the idea behind it and what the goal is. the goal is to let users have separate isolated sessions of browser to access websites that are not able to talk back to other browsing sessions."
Spot on. From the perspective of "how containers work in Firefox", I would want the "isolated sessions of browser" to be across tabs in the same browser instance as opposed to a separate instance for each isolated session. Other than that. exactly mimicking Firefox containers should not be the goal. Aim higher, for sure!
When pondering the needs of a user that already has multiple email accounts (personal, school, work, etc.) then "profile switching" would seem to be a value add. However, if you want to provide equal functionality ("separate isolated sessions of browser to access websites that are not able to talk back to other browsing sessions.") to a user with a single profile, in a single browser instance, then profile switching, as it works today, misses the mark. However, as you suggest, what is already being done today suggests that a much less convoluted approach to the functionality we are seeking should be possible.
- ali-khawajayes agreed, something should happen, whatever the route they choose. i like the new edge, but i am using firefox mostly due to the containers.
- Nice, with all the data gatherings going on around us, it's good to have some controls over the websites
https://www.privacytools.io/
