Firefox Account Device Management rolls out

Martin Brinkmann
Oct 8, 2016
Firefox
|
17

Mozilla announced on Thursday that it started to roll out a new account management feature to Firefox account users.

One core feature that Firefox Account users get is support for synchronization of Firefox data between devices.  This means that you may share passwords, the browsing history, bookmarks or other data between devices.

That's great if you work on different devices but want Firefox data such as your bookmarks available -- and kept in sync -- on all of them. So, regardless of where you add a bookmark, it gets synced across all connected devices.

Firefox users who want to disconnect a device from the account and thus Firefox sync, could do so only on on the device itself up until now. While that is not a problem if you have access to the device, it is not if you don't.

Firefox Account Device Management

firefox account device management

The new Firefox Account device management option changes that as it provides you with a web-based option to manage all devices connected to an account.

The Firefox Account page on the official Firefox website offers options to you to change your password, account picture or display name, manage communication preferences, or to delete the account.

The new devices listing on the page lists all connected devices. Each device is listed either with a custom name that you assigned to it, or with the default name which highlights the computer name or mobile device name, and the Firefox version.

There is a disconnect button next to each which you can click on to block the device from receiving sync data.

The change goes hand in hand with options to add device names to Sync using the Firefox preferences. Simply load about:preferences#sync in the address bar of the browser to open the page.

firefox sync device name

It lists the Firefox account that is used, or an option to sign in or create a new sync account. There is a manage link which opens the Firefox Account preferences on the official Firefox site, and options to select which data you want synced across devices.

The new device name option at the bottom lets you change the name of the device. This is then highlighted in various places including on the Firefox website.

Mozilla notes that the new functionality is rolled out to all users over the course of the coming weeks. The new device management options are already available on Nightly versions of Firefox,.

Closing Words

The new device management options improves how Firefox account users manage devices connected to their account. It makes things a lot simpler, as it is now possible to disconnect any device from sync using the web interface.

Now You: Do you use your browser's sync functionality?

Summary
Firefox Account Device Management rolls out
Article Name
Firefox Account Device Management rolls out
Description
Mozilla announced on Thursday that it started to roll out a new account management feature to Firefox account users.
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Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. LetsSynch said on October 9, 2016 at 1:49 am
    Reply

    “synch” gives so much juicy info to the ones behind the curtain…

  2. jasray said on October 8, 2016 at 10:29 pm
    Reply

    The last time I used Firefox Sync, it continued syncing and syncing and syncing everything until I had fifty sets of the same bookmarks, tabs, history, etc. It took a month to figure it all out and trash the Sync feature. The last version, I guess maybe the same base version, assumed that anytime I opened my browser, everything needed to be synced again. Zero programming to determine what’s new and what’s old. Linkman Pro helped fix the Bookmark mess; the rest was a manual affair. It would be like opening Dropbox and having it download all of the same files again and again and again.

    Now, it’s so much easier to use FEBE on any FF based browser, make a full profile, save it, and import it as needed. Bookmarks? Pocket. Even Evernote. FF Sync–never worked for me.

    Tom Hawack-Cowboy: Save us the trash and go read some Cormac McCarthy. “Blood Meridian” is a good start; then, “All the Pretty Horses.” Even the “Horse Whisperer” by Nicholas Evans says more in one sentence with a genuine Western flare. Or “Riders of the Purple Sage” by Zane Grey.

    I’m just sayin’ you sound more like Lenny in “Of Mice and Men” than a wanna-be Western voice in the wilderness. And if you’re worried about modern syncing, try reading a real thinker like Edward Abbey in “Desert Solitaire.” “The Blue Hotel” by Stephen Crane. A little reading will help you realize the western “voice” of America’s finest Western writers.

    1. D. said on October 11, 2016 at 5:34 pm
      Reply

      @ jasray, if you come over here much you will learn Tom Hawack. I don’t take him serious and you should not either:)

    2. Tom Hawack said on October 8, 2016 at 10:46 pm
      Reply

      Don’t be so pedant! It was only a smile :) You sound as a fresh graduate or an upstart crow, depending on your age! — Thanks for the references!

  3. Alex said on October 8, 2016 at 6:29 pm
    Reply

    I cannot get get Firefox on Android to sync passwords with my desktop. Bookmarks sync fine, passwords don’t.

  4. mirek said on October 8, 2016 at 6:02 pm
    Reply

    I use mozbackup http://mozbackup.jasnapaka.com/ Even old, still works fine.

    1. good said on October 8, 2016 at 8:59 pm
      Reply

      good. don’t ever rely on the firefox sync. you will lose your data.

  5. Yuliya said on October 8, 2016 at 5:45 pm
    Reply

    I wonder how much is used this feature? I know Opera reported for their browser that “less than 0.5% of the total Opera user base of 350 million people” (I had to look that up, I thought it was less than 2%) were using it. For me it’s completely useless. Why would I want to sync 100 tabs and 5000 bookmarks from PC to phone :)

    1. Croatoan said on October 8, 2016 at 6:37 pm
      Reply

      I have Opera on PC that sync with phone (everything else that sync is for backup purposes). Easier to later look up information on big screen. You are correct. If you sync 100 tabs and 5000 bookmarks from PC to phone mobile browser would be slow regardless of browser (I tried every major browser).

    2. anon said on October 8, 2016 at 6:32 pm
      Reply

      Mozilla doesn’t limit Firefox Sync and lets you use it with non-Mozilla servers.

      https://docs.services.mozilla.com/howtos/run-sync-1.5.html

      https://docs.services.mozilla.com/howtos/run-fxa.html

  6. Croatoan said on October 8, 2016 at 4:54 pm
    Reply

    I use browser sync for everything except password and history (and also local backup).

  7. Tom Hawack said on October 8, 2016 at 3:02 pm
    Reply

    I’m just a poor lonesome cowboy, accessing the wild web from the ranch only. I happen to ride down to Jackson but that’s about it. Jackson ain’t wild, we bring no device, get on a drink with the sheriff at the only bar, have a smile or two with the ladies, chat occasionally but live, not through a device. There’s a bank as well in Jackson, enough for my bills, no device required.
    I mean, we don’t synchronize down here, man. Ain’t any need for a Firefox account. But for ’em people who live via their devices, the account could come in handy.
    Rawhide.

    1. PantsHunt42 said on October 8, 2016 at 3:47 pm
      Reply

      You know… I reckon if I crack open your cranium, I’ll find a maze marked on the inside .. sweet dreams cowboy :)

      1. Tom Hawack said on October 8, 2016 at 10:07 pm
        Reply

        I totally had missed the reference, Pants, I even then told myself, “Hmm, Pants hasn’t stopped surprising me, what an interesting allegory” … I’m disappointed, Pants :)

        Now I play the role of the guy who’s very square in his mind (the brains under the scalp!), to the point of retorting “But brains ain’t a scalp” and the Man in Black’s drawing would become a sculpture with your, I mean with my brains :)

        Whatever, brains are only the organ of thoughts, the headquarters are in the soul. What we need is not psychology but mysticism. Amen-

      2. PantsHunt42 said on October 8, 2016 at 9:03 pm
        Reply

        Tom: In case you missed the reference:
        “After scalping Kissy, the Man in Black examines a drawing under the scalp.”
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Original_(Westworld)

      3. Tom Hawack said on October 8, 2016 at 6:37 pm
        Reply

        It was that or “No, I don’t use my browser’s sync functionality” :)
        I dislike short answers, I like taking off on the slightest opportunity.
        “Sweet dreams”, so true :)
        Oups, there I go off-topic again …

        Point is I’ve been having this other topic in mind for some time, that of life in a disconnected (or at least not hyper-connected) world, so I thought I’d share that wondering with a valid answer to the article, combining both in one simply splendid comment… we ain’t over-connected deep in this land and we ain’t gonna get on those other things, what you call ’em, Intenet of Things… I’d rather whisper to my horse’s ear, I’m telliin’ ya …

        I guess I happen to feel saturated with technology, once in a while.

  8. Anonymous said on October 8, 2016 at 2:38 pm
    Reply

    I hope the update will make sync easier to understand and use. I have FF on my phone, my tablet and my desktop but I really do not understand how to use it. This feature is quite unclear IMO.

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