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geo.enabled = false does not work in Firefox 54.0

  • 7 replies
  • 4 have this problem
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  • Last reply by cor-el

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about:config geo.enabled = false does not work in Firefox 54.0

This setting works fine in earlier versions (such as Firefox 49.0.2) but not in Firefox 54.0.

How is Location Aware Browsing disabled in Firefox 54.0 and later?

Another question: Is there a way to write a a simple script that changes about:config variables? (A script in a scripting language that runs on a Windows machine.)

about:config geo.enabled = false does not work in Firefox 54.0 This setting works fine in earlier versions (such as Firefox 49.0.2) but not in Firefox 54.0. How is Location Aware Browsing disabled in Firefox 54.0 and later? Another question: Is there a way to write a a simple script that changes about:config variables? (A script in a scripting language that runs on a Windows machine.)

All Replies (7)

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Firefox should always ask for permission and show an icon on the location bar when a website requests permission to use the Geolocation API.

Do you still get this notification dialog when you disable this pref?

Note the websites can use other ways to determine your location via a reverse DNS look up or via a geolocation service on internet. The geo.enabled pref only effects this service in Firefox.

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Re cor-el: Do you still get this notification dialog when you disable this pref?

in firefox 54.0, yes. In Firefox 49.0.2, no. It is this nag I wish to eliminate.

???????? Additional info see https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/geolocation/ and scroll down to -- How do I turn off Location-Aware Browsing permanently?

It just occurred to me that I may misunderstand what setting geo.enabled = false means. I thought it meant that location is never shared. It may mean that your location is always shared and so the drop down nag does not appear.

I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could clarify this for me. ????????

Modified by user1390991

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Still work for me in Firefox 55.

If I check the example the I get "Geolocation is not supported by your browser" with geo.enabled = false and no alert. When the pref is true then I get the doorhanger dialog whether I want to allow the website to use geolocation.

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Hmmm. Well, I guess I'll try upgrading again to Firefox 54.0 from Firefox 49.0.2 and see what happens and then upgrade to Firefox 55.0 and see what happens. But not right now. Maybe next week.

Thanks for taking the time to help me cor-el.

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Best is probably to wait updating to Firefox 55 until a 55.0.1 version is released, because update are disabled to investigate some issues with losing bookmarks/history.

I'm not aware of issues with geolocation in older Firefox version like the 49 version you use.

Did you close and restart Firefox after modifying this pref and confirm that the pref hasn't changed after the restart?

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Re coe-el: "Did you close and restart Firefox after modifying this pref and confirm that the pref hasn't changed after the restart?"

Yes, I restarted Firefox and confirmed that geo.enabled was set to false.


ANYONE READING THIS THREAD PLEASE NOTE

Thanks for your help but I am going to stick with Firefox 49.0.2 for now where all my favorite extensions work properly and I have no problems with geo.enabled = false

Several folks now have told me here and elsewhere they have no problems with geo.enabled set to false in Firefox 54.0 and 55.0.

My problem may have been some sort of fluke or some corrupted file when I upgraded to Firefox 54.0.

I will upgrade to 54.0 again at a later date (and then 55.0 or later down the road) and see if the problem returns.

Again, thanks for your help, but I am dropping this issue for now. If I have problems with setting geo.enabled = false in 54.0 and later versions in the future, I'll revisit it.

Modified by user1390991

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You can create a new profile to test if your current profile is causing the problem.

See "Creating a profile":

If the new profile works then you can transfer files from a previously used profile to the new profile, but be cautious not to copy corrupted files to avoid carrying over problems.