User Services/Sync/v1

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What is this?

Another attempt to clearly define a v1 for NewSync. Ready for review by project leads.

New Sync MVP

User stories

Core user stories

• As a user, I want to be able to pick up any new device and replicate my core Firefox experience so I don't have repeat a bunch of work I've already done on another device.
• 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, 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. (Basically the same as current Sync behaviour.)
• 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 yet. 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.
• As a user of Firefox for Android, I do not expect my Reading List content to be synced to other devices at this time, because on many platforms Firefox does not yet have the Reading List feature.
• As a user, I expect Firefox Sync to sync my data relatively frequently, but not instantly.

Set-up & Account Management

• As a user, I don't want to be forced to create a Firefox Sync 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 Sync 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 Sync 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 prompted to create a Firefox Sync 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 Sync 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 Sync Account, so that I can set up it up in my own time.

Migration from Old Sync

• MIGRATION - IDEAL: As an existing Firefox Sync user, I want to be migrated to this new Firefox Sync Account service seamlessly and invisibly, so I never have to think or worry about what's happening to my data.
• MIGRATION - IF ABOVE IS NOT POSSIBLE: As an existing Firefox Sync user, I want migrating to the new Firefox Sync Account service to be as simple as possible -- ideally as simple as pressing a single button a single time -- so I don't have to spend a lot of time thinking or worrying about what's happening with my data.
• NEW- NOTE: This user story is mostly a placeholder while we work out a detailed migration strategy. Very likely this will change - As a current Sync user, I expect my current Sync data to be available as normal until I upgrade to New Sync on any one of my devices. Once I have upgraded to new Sync on one device, the first time I use any of my other devices, I expect Sync to prompt me to either upgrade to New Sync or to disable Sync on that device. (This does imply that New Sync will ship simultaneously on all platforms that support current Sync...this story may change as we hash out a detailed migration strategy.)

Detaching Sync

• As a user, I want to be able to detach my Firefox Sync Account on a device, but preserve the account and its related data for use in other clients or for later use in this client, so I can be sure there is a useable backup of my Account & data or to conserve on data costs on my mobile.

Security/Encryption

• As a user, I expect Firefox Sync to securely encrypt all of my passwords that are managed by my Firefox Password Manager so they cannot be accessed by anyone else, regardless of whether they have access to data on the Sync servers.
• As a user, I would like the option of encrypting all of my Sync data, knowing that this will make my data completely unrecoverable if I lose my password.

Telemetry Probes

• As a Mozilla Product Manager, I would like to know how many users are using sync across which devices, and how many devices per user is syncing to an account.

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.
• As a user, in the event of Sync service interruptions, I expect zero data loss across all of my devices, even if Firefox cannot access the Sync servers for an extended period of time.
• As a mobile user, I expect Sync to be as bandwidth-conservative as possible, minimizing re-downloading or re-uploading data in event of system errors or other issues, and otherwise ensuring that bandwidth used should be approximately proportional to the volume of changes.
• As a user of a more limited mobile device (ARMv6, FirefoxOS), I expect Sync to be able to intelligently scale down in terms of the amount of bandwidth and storage it uses so it does not excessively tax my data plan or storage space.

Firefox Health Report

• Nothing

Change log

• 2013/07/19 - Changed "disable" to "detach" when talking about "disabling sync" on a device (dria)
• 2013/07/19 - Changed wording of bookmark sync user story so all mobile devices add bookmarks to the same "Mobile" folder, not one per device (dria)
• 2013/07/19 - Sent link to sync-dev@ list for review (dria)