Mobile/Projects/Firefox Accounts with Sync 1.1 integration

Last updated: 2013/12/19

Goals

The goal of this MVP release is primarily to provide an easy way for users to replicate their Firefox browser experience across any desktop, mobile or tablet screen. Broken down, this includes:

• Introducing "Firefox Account" to Android users
• Providing a much-improved mechanism for sign-up and sign-in to a functional sync experience
  • Objective: reduce barrier to entry to sign-up to use sync functionality
  • Objective: reduce number of failed attempts in setting up the account
• Utilise the current sync service as the first valuable service attached to Firefox Accounts

The underlying tactics to achieve these goals are to:

• Integrate Firefox Accounts with the Current Sync (v 1.1) service
• Improve the sign-up and sign-in flow for sync via Firefox Accounts (username & password)
• Promote sync in-product and in product marketing materials
• [for discussion - requires data] Migrate a majority of existing Sync users to this new service. Dependent on:
  • Number of users impacted
  • Marketing & communications support (for any migration approach)
  • Engineering feasibility (for any migration approach)
• Only ONE flag day is allowed
  • Applicable for current users of sync and new users of Firefox Accounts integrated with current sync
  • ie when 'new sync / sync 2.0' is available, no user action must be required

MVP - requirements

General

• Sign-up is through the creation of a Firefox Account
• Sign-in is through the utilization of a Firefox Account
• No support for federated accounts (although it is understood persona may be leveraged)
• Firefox Account will be integrated with the current sync (v1.1) service
• Given current sync (v1.1) is utilised, the current assumption is that all current, existing sync functionality is supported. However if given the option, the following are must-have sync functionality from the current sync experience:
  • Bookmarks must be synced, but does not require any management from the non-originating device
  • History must be synced (to make the awesomebar relevant) using the current sync algorithm for number of days we sync
  • Passwords must be synced to make the mobile experience that much tighter
  • Security standards must be adhered to in order to protect my saved passwords during syncing
• Modifications to the security defaults and inclusion of optional, higher-security measures
  • NB for messaging: This must factor into all of the comms materials (SUMO, marketing, etc) since this will be different for existing vs new users
• 'Sync' as a name remains unchanged in the UI or corresponding materials
• In terms of 'signing up / signing in' to Firefox Account, for all intents and purposes, this means that a user wishes to set up their browser sync functionality as the first introduction. The requirements & corresponding user stories are written with only this scenario in mind.

Set-up & Account Management

• Firefox Account setup prompt when a user first installs Firefox (new user)
• Sign-up to Firefox Account is via username (email address) and password
• Present to the user what data will be synced and how this relates to their Firefox experience
• If possible, provide an option for which sync data types can be synced if the user wishes to customize that is applicable at the Firefox Account level and NOT on a per-device level [as a nice-to-have]
• Users must not be forced to set up a Firefox Account if they wish to defer (or not do it at all); they must still be able to use the browser as expected, including continuing to pair devices to an existing Sync account.
  • N.B., Sync 1.1 account creation is not supported on Android
• Users must be able to change their passwords
• Users must be able to reset their passwords
• For users who have not signed up to Firefox Account upon initial install, they may be notified or prompted to set one up in order to experience the wonders of sync
• For users who have not signed up to Firefox Account upon initial install, they must be able to initiate and complete the process from somewhere in the Menu
• To support in-product promotion, a snippet must be able to point to a Firefox Account creation page for users who do not yet have a Firefox Account

Existing sync user stories

• By setting up Firefox Account on a desktop or Android device, users expect the sync experience to propagate across all attached instances where Firefox Account is installed, signed-in and used; including: bookmarks, history (awesomebar results), passwords and ability to send open tabs
• No change required for frequency of syncing data (based on current sync)

Detaching Sync

• If a user wants to disable or delete their Firefox Account from a particular desktop or Android device, data previously synced should still remain on other instances where Firefox Account is installed
• If a user wants to disable or delete their Firefox Account from a particular desktop or Android device, data should be preserved locally so that 'sync' stops, but the browser's current behaviour does not change from when sync stopped

Security/Encryption

• It is expected that data is encrypted securely along with their Firefox Account password
• Security defaults should be moderate, with higher-level security options available for users who wish to emulate current sync security defaults
• Stored website passwords should be kept, at default, at a higher security level than bookmarks and history
• Users must be able to recover their bookmarks and history if they have lost or forgotten their password, but it is expected that they will not be able to recover their website passwords

Performance & Stability

• In the event of service interruption, this must have no impact with current use of the browser
• In the event of service interruption, all data that should be synced will sync once service is restored in a way that is seamless to the user and without degradation to browser usage

MVP - contextual user stories

Set-up & Account Management

• As a Firefox for Android user, I want the option of setting up a new Firefox Account when I first install Firefox, so I can sync my browser data between my devices.
• As a user, I want a way to clearly understand what data Sync is actually Syncing, what that data means in terms of my browser functionality, and what happens to that data when I have logged out of my browser.
• As a user, I want to set up a Firefox Account using an email address and password of my choice, so I am not required to use any particular third-party sign-in service - I am comfortable using an email address of my choice for this purpose.
• As a user, I don't want to be forced to create a Firefox Account when I first start using Firefox, so I can start using the browser as quickly as possible once I've downloaded and installed it.
• As a user, I want all of my data (history, bookmarks, etc.) to be saved on my local machine whether or not I've set up a Firefox Account, so I am still able to build up a collection of data and personalize my Firefox experience over time.
• As a user, I want to be able to change the password for my Firefox Account data from any of my Sync-enabled devices, so if someone does steal my laptop or other mobile device they won't be able to access any new data that is added to my Sync Account, even though they will be able to access the data that had been previously synced and is local on the device.
• As a user, I want to be able to reset the password for my Firefox Account data from any of my Sync-enabled devices, so I can continue using my Firefox Account even if I have forgotten my password.
• As a user, I want to be prompted to create a Firefox Account when I first install my browser, but I want it to be easy to dismiss that prompt either forever (so I don't get bothered again), or to be reminded again later in a day or two (so I remember to look at it in more detail another time). I also want it to be very easy to get more details about what a Firefox Account is and why I would want it before I go through the process of creating one.
• As a user, I want to be able to go into a settings menu to create my Firefox Account, so that I can set up it up in my own time.

Core existing sync user stories

• As a user, I want to be able to pick up any new device and replicate my Firefox experience so I don't have to repeat a bunch of work I've already done on another device or computer.
• AWESOMEBAR & HISTORY - As a user with several devices, I want my core Firefox experience to be available on all devices, so I don't have to spend a lot of time rebuilding my awesomebar experience or other personalizations on each. (Equal to whatever parity with current Sync is in terms of # of days of history.)
• PASSWORDS - As a user, if I have typed in and stored a password in Firefox on one device or computer, I don't want to have to type and store that password again on any of my other devices so my web accounts & passwords are magically available on all of my devices (especially important so I don't make typing mistakes on my mobile and become frustrated!).
• OPEN TABS - As a user, I want the option of syncing my tabs from other devices so I can pick up where I left off when I switch to another device. (current Sync behaviour). NB: not married to this use-case for MVP.
• BOOKMARKS - As a user, I want all of my bookmarks to be synced across my devices, although I don't expect full bookmark management tools on mobile devices. Any bookmarks I create while on mobile devices should be put into a single "Mobile" (or similar) folder which is then synced. Desktop bookmark organization & behaviour should not change and vice versa.
• As a user, I expect Firefox Sync to sync my data relatively frequently, but not instantly.

Detaching Sync

• As a user, I want to be able to detach my Firefox Account on a device, but best-effort preserve the account and its related data for use in other clients or for later use in this client, to conserve on data costs on my mobile.

Security/Encryption

• As a user, I expect Firefox Sync to securely encrypt all my Firefox server data with my Firefox Account password.

Performance & Stability

• As a user, in the event of Sync service interruptions, I expect to be able to use my browser and previously-synced local data as normal, even if Firefox cannot access the Sync servers for an extended period of time.

Migration

Strategy

• We want to encourage existing Sync users to migrate to a Firefox Account, without harming the experience of users who aren't ready to move.
• There must be overlapping support for current sync account who haven't signed up to Firefox Account and to the new Firefox Account & sync v1.1
• As feasible, we want to encourage existing sync users to sign up to a Firefox Account
  • User data is preserved (same sync) but the sign-in process will differ, including security defaults
  • If this is NOT feasible, we must not promote any in-product snippets to existing sync users until we can ensure good migration is supported

Migration mechanism

• Detect specific states.
  • Non-email Sync account name. No migration possible.
  • Single device. Encourage migration! No partitioning possible!
  • Self-hosted. Offer to migrate to Mozilla's system if there's no locked pref to indicate that that's not desirable, provide docs to support continued self-hosting, inform the user of decommissioning plans so they can make an informed choice.
• Offer to set up a new Firefox Account using their same email address. Enter the normal account setup flow, which will take care of email verification. Don't reuse the password -- it's gone over the wire, many users won't remember it, and it's probably neither strong nor memorable.
• Preserve data syncing preferences, also allowing user to make new decisions at this point.
• Write decommissioning sentinel into the old Sync account. (bug 895526, bug 895518.)
• Disable or delete local Sync.old account.
• Clean up local prefs for sanity.
• Configure to intercept old account hooks e.g., Send Tab intents.

Non-goals

• Simultaneous syncing across existing sync account with Firefox Account
• No support in syncing over reading lists or any home page management
• No support for add-ons
• No support for FxOS data types

Open questions, issues and action items

Please strikethrough when complete. Thanks!

• Who owns Firefox Accounts & Sync from a product marketing perspective - [eric] is the assumption since he is handling Firefox product marketing currently (although he's brand new :) )
• Who will handle the SUMO articles, etc (respective product lines?) - [roland] Ibai's Garcia team (probably Michael Verdi + new hire who starts in Jan 2013) will write all required SUMO Sync articles on all products; Roland Tanglao will be reviewer and approver for Android SUMO sync articles
• Will each QA contact within each product line be responsible for testing Firefox Accounts & Sync behaviour? - [Tauni] talking to QA
• Any implications relating to FxOS support in terms of Firefox Accounts flows or behaviour? - We all assume not, but needs to be verified.
• Any implications relating to FxOS support in terms of existing Sync behaviour? - Need confirmation of FxOS FxA timing, roll-out and support plans to manage use-cases of one Firefox Account across non-FxOS and FxOS screens
• Do we gain any time by not supporting 'send open tab' or any other current sync feature?
• Need data to understand:
  • How many sync users are Android users
  • How many of the Android sync users are daily users
  • What, in majority, are they syncing
  • Do we have data on failed sign-up attempts
  • How many users 'send open tab'

[old mvp bug tracking]

• Sync MVP bug tracking
• Bugs may still be relevant, so just keeping here for the moment until they can be flushed out as needed or not