The annoyance of remote controlled feature flags.
It seems common for modern browsers to roll out features via centrally managed feature flags. I've noticed this especially in Chrome, but Firefox does it too. I find the practice particularly annoying in Firefox because Mozilla positions itself as an advocate of user sovereignty.
Here are the problems I have with this practice:
My experience using two instances of the same browser, even if exactly the same version, is different. Features I use in one instance are "off" and not visible in the other instance. This makes moving between systems awkward, even if I've carefully synchronized browser versions across all my systems.
Getting help with browser features is unnecessarily complicated. It isn't enough to say I'm using version XYZ. I also need to, in theory, provide a long list of currently activated features. Of course, nobody does that, which leads to confusion when trying to follow documentation, help information, or an LLM's output.
I feel a loss of agency over the software running on my computer when a third party can reach into that software at any time and modify its behavior unexpectedly. When a new version is released, I understand that changes might appear, and I'm prepared for that. I just don't want things to change "at random." I get that Google might do this, because that's the sort of thing Google does. But I'm disappointed when Mozilla does this.
I am aware that Firefox has some settings related to this issue. Under "Privacy & Security" in "Settings," I see "Allow Firefox to improve features, performance, and stability between updates." What does the word "improve" mean in this context? I followed the "Learn more" link and read, "Remote improvements range from fixes to feature changes to Firefox." But what is a "feature change"? Are they talking about minor adjustments to behavior to make a feature more coherent (which could be fine), or are they talking about turning features on unexpectedly (which isn't)?
In any case, my real peeve here isn't so much about which features are or aren't active. The inconsistency between browser instances is the problem.