Firefox Suggest Telemetry¶
This document describes the telemetry that Firefox records for the Firefox Suggest feature. That is, it describes Firefox Suggest telemetry recorded on the client. It also discusses the data that Firefox sends to the Merino service.
For information on other telemetry related to the address bar, see the general address bar Telemetry document. For information on all telemetry in Firefox, see the toolkit Telemetry document.
Histograms¶
The following histograms are recorded for Firefox Suggest. For general information on histogram telemetry in Firefox, see the Histograms document.
FX_URLBAR_MERINO_LATENCY_MS¶
This histogram records the latency in milliseconds of the Merino source for suggestions, or in other words, the time from Firefox’s request to the Merino server to the time Firefox receives a response. It is an exponential histogram with 50 buckets and values between 0 and 30000 (0s and 30s).
- Changelog
- Firefox 93.0
Introduced. [Bug 1727799]
FX_URLBAR_MERINO_LATENCY_WEATHER_MS¶
This histogram records the latency in milliseconds of weather suggestions from
Merino. It is updated in addition to FX_URLBAR_MERINO_LATENCY_MS and has the
same properties. It is an exponential histogram with 50 buckets and values
between 0 and 30000 (0s and 30s).
- Changelog
- Firefox 110.0
Introduced. [Bug 1804536]
FX_URLBAR_MERINO_RESPONSE¶
This categorical histogram records a summary of each fetch from the Merino server. It has the following categories:
- 0 “success”:
The fetch completed without any error before the timeout elapsed and it included at least one suggestion. (Before Firefox 110.0, this category meant simply that the fetch completed without any error before the timeout elapsed regardless of whether it included any suggestions.)
- 1 “timeout”:
The timeout elapsed before the fetch completed or otherwise failed.
- 2 “network_error”:
The fetch failed due to a network error before the timeout elapsed. e.g., the user’s network or the Merino server was down.
- 3 “http_error”:
The fetch completed before the timeout elapsed but the server returned an error.
- 4 “no_suggestion”:
The fetch completed without any error before the timeout elapsed and it did not include any suggestions.
- Changelog
- Firefox 94.0.2
Introduced. [Bug 1737923]
- Firefox 110.0
Added the
no_suggestioncategory. The meaning of thesuccesscategory was changed from “The fetch completed without any error before the timeout elapsed” to “The fetch completed without any error before the timeout elapsed and it included at least one suggestion.” [Bug 1804536]
FX_URLBAR_MERINO_RESPONSE_WEATHER¶
This categorical histogram records a summary of each fetch for weather
suggestions from the Merino server. It is updated in addition to
FX_URLBAR_MERINO_RESPONSE and has the same categories.
- 0 “success”:
The fetch completed without any error before the timeout elapsed and it included at least one suggestion.
- 1 “timeout”:
The timeout elapsed before the fetch completed or otherwise failed.
- 2 “network_error”:
The fetch failed due to a network error before the timeout elapsed. e.g., the user’s network or the Merino server was down.
- 3 “http_error”:
The fetch completed before the timeout elapsed but the server returned an error.
- 4 “no_suggestion”:
The fetch completed without any error before the timeout elapsed and it did not include any suggestions.
- Changelog
- Firefox 110.0
Introduced. [Bug 1804536]
FX_URLBAR_QUICK_SUGGEST_REMOTE_SETTINGS_LATENCY_MS¶
This histogram records the latency in milliseconds of the remote settings source for suggestions, or in other words, the time from when Firefox starts fetching a suggestion from remote settings to the time the suggestion is retrieved. It is an exponential histogram with 50 buckets and values between 0 and 30000 (0s and 30s).
Note that unlike Merino, fetches from remote settings happen entirely on the client, so remote settings latencies are expected to be much smaller than Merino latencies.
- Changelog
- Firefox 94.0.2
Introduced. [Bug 1737651]
Scalars¶
The following scalars are recorded for Firefox Suggest. For general information on scalar telemetry in Firefox, see the Scalars document.
browser.ui.interaction.preferences_panePrivacy¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user clicks a Firefox Suggest checkbox or toggle switch in the preferences UI. Keys are the following:
- firefoxSuggestBestMatch:
This key is incremented when the “Top pick” checkbox is clicked. In 120 this UI was removed, so this key is no longer recorded.
- firefoxSuggestBestMatchLearnMore:
This key is incremented when opening the learn more link for best match. In 120 this UI was removed, so this key is no longer recorded.
- firefoxSuggestDataCollectionToggle:
This key is incremented when the toggle switch for data collection is clicked.
- firefoxSuggestNonsponsoredToggle:
This key is incremented when the toggle switch for non-sponsored suggestions is clicked.
- firefoxSuggestSponsoredToggle:
This key is incremented when the toggle switch for sponsored suggestions is clicked.
- Changelog
- Firefox 94.0.2
Introduced
firefoxSuggestDataCollectionToggle,firefoxSuggestNonsponsoredToggleandfirefoxSuggestSponsoredToggle. [Bug 1735976]- Firefox 99.0
Introduced
firefoxSuggestBestMatch. [Bug 1755100] IntroducedfirefoxSuggestBestMatchLearnMore. [Bug 1756917]- Firefox 120.0
Removed
firefoxSuggestBestMatchandfirefoxSuggestBestMatchLearnMore. [Bug 1857391]
contextual.services.quicksuggest.block_dynamic_wikipedia¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user dismisses (“blocks”) a dynamic wikipedia suggestion. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of dismissals at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.block_nonsponsored¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user dismisses (“blocks”) a non-sponsored suggestion, including both best matches and the usual non-best-match suggestions. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of dismissals at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.block_nonsponsored_bestmatch¶
This keyed scalar was removed in Firefox 120. Prior to that, it is incremented each time the user dismisses (“blocks”) a non-sponsored best match. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of dismissals at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.block_sponsored¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user dismisses (“blocks”) a sponsored suggestion, including both best matches and the usual non-best-match suggestions. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of dismissals at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.block_sponsored_bestmatch¶
This keyed scalar was removed in Firefox 120. Prior to that, it is incremented each time the user dismisses (“blocks”) a sponsored best match. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of dismissals at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.block_weather¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user dismisses (“blocks”) a Firefox Suggest weather suggestion. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of dismissals at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.click¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user picks a suggestion. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.click_dynamic_wikipedia¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user picks a dynamic wikipedia suggestion. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.click_nonsponsored¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user picks a non-sponsored suggestion. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.click_nonsponsored_bestmatch¶
This keyed scalar was removed in Firefox 120. Prior to that, it is incremented each time the user picks a non-sponsored best match. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.click_sponsored¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user picks a sponsored suggestion. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.click_sponsored_bestmatch¶
This keyed scalar was removed in Firefox 120. Prior to that, it is incremented each time the user picks a sponsored best match. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.click_weather¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user picks a weather suggestion. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.exposure_weather¶
This keyed scalar records weather suggestion exposures. It is incremented each
time the user is shown a weather suggestion. It can be compared to the
urlbar.zeroprefix.exposure scalar (see Telemetry) to determine the
percentage of zero-prefix exposures that included weather suggestions.
Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of exposures at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.help¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user picks the help button in a suggestion. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of help button clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.help_dynamic_wikipedia¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user picks the help button in a dynamic wikipedia suggestion. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of help button clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.help_nonsponsored¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user picks the help button in a non-sponsored suggestion. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of help button clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.help_nonsponsored_bestmatch¶
This keyed scalar was removed in Firefox 120. Prior to that, it is incremented each time the user picks the help button in a non-sponsored best match. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of help button clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.help_sponsored¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user picks the help button in a sponsored suggestion. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of help button clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.help_sponsored_bestmatch¶
This keyed scalar was removed in Firefox 120. Prior to that, it is incremented each time the user picks the help button in a sponsored best match. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of help button clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.help_weather¶
This keyed scalar is incremented each time the user picks the help button in a weather suggestion. Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of help button clicks at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.impression¶
This keyed scalar records suggestion impressions. It is incremented each time the user is shown a suggestion and the following two conditions hold:
The user has completed an engagement with the address bar by picking a result in it or by pressing the Enter key.
At the time the user completed the engagement, a suggestion was present in the results.
Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of impressions at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.impression_dynamic_wikipedia¶
This keyed scalar records dynamic wikipedia impressions. It is incremented each time the user is shown a dynamic wikipedia suggestion and the following two conditions hold:
The user has completed an engagement with the address bar by picking a result in it or by pressing the Enter key.
At the time the user completed the engagement, a dynamic wikipedia suggestion was present in the results.
Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of impressions at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.impression_nonsponsored¶
This keyed scalar records suggestion impressions. It is incremented each time the user is shown a non-sponsored suggestion and the following two conditions hold:
The user has completed an engagement with the address bar by picking a result in it or by pressing the Enter key.
At the time the user completed the engagement, a suggestion was present in the results.
Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of impressions at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.impression_nonsponsored_bestmatch¶
This keyed scalar was removed in Firefox 120. Prior to that, it records non-sponsored best match impressions. It is incremented each time the user is shown a non-sponsored best match and the following two conditions hold:
The user has completed an engagement with the address bar by picking a result in it or by pressing the Enter key.
At the time the user completed the engagement, a non-sponsored best match was present in the results.
Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of impressions at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.impression_sponsored¶
This keyed scalar records suggestion impressions. It is incremented each time the user is shown a sponsored suggestion and the following two conditions hold:
The user has completed an engagement with the address bar by picking a result in it or by pressing the Enter key.
At the time the user completed the engagement, a suggestion was present in the results.
Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of impressions at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.impression_sponsored_bestmatch¶
This keyed scalar was removed in Firefox 120. Prior to that, it records sponsored best match impressions. It is incremented each time the user is shown a sponsored best match and the following two conditions hold:
The user has completed an engagement with the address bar by picking a result in it or by pressing the Enter key.
At the time the user completed the engagement, a sponsored best match was present in the results.
Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of impressions at that index.
contextual.services.quicksuggest.impression_weather¶
This keyed scalar records weather suggestion impressions. It is incremented each time the user is shown a weather suggestion and the following two conditions hold:
The user has completed an engagement with the address bar by picking a result in it or by pressing the Enter key.
At the time the user completed the engagement, a weather suggestion was present in the results.
Each key is the index at which a suggestion appeared in the results (1-based), and the corresponding value is the number of impressions at that index.
Events¶
The following Firefox Suggest events are recorded in the
contextservices.quicksuggest category. For general information on event
telemetry in Firefox, see the
Events document.
contextservices.quicksuggest.data_collect_toggled¶
This event is recorded when the
browser.urlbar.quicksuggest.dataCollection.enabled pref is toggled. The pref
can be toggled in the following ways:
The user can toggle it in the preferences UI.
The user can toggle it in about:config.
The event is also recorded when the user opts in to the online modal dialog, with one exception: If the user has already enabled data collection using the preferences UI or about:config, then the pref’s user value is already true. Opting in doesn’t change the user value, so no event is recorded.
The event’s objects are the following:
- enabled:
Recorded when the pref is flipped from false to true.
- disabled:
Recorded when the pref is flipped from true to false.
contextservices.quicksuggest.enable_toggled¶
This event is recorded when the
browser.urlbar.suggest.quicksuggest.nonsponsored pref is toggled. The pref
can be toggled in the following ways:
The user can toggle it in the preferences UI.
The user can toggle it in about:config.
The event’s objects are the following:
- enabled:
Recorded when the pref is flipped from false to true.
- disabled:
Recorded when the pref is flipped from true to false.
- Changelog
- Firefox 87.0:
Introduced. The event corresponds to the
browser.urlbar.suggest.quicksuggestpref. [Bug 1693126]- Firefox 94.0.2:
browser.urlbar.suggest.quicksuggestis replaced withbrowser.urlbar.suggest.quicksuggest.nonsponsored, and this event now corresponds to the latter pref. [Bug 1735976]- Firefox 96.0:
The event is no longer recorded when the user interacts with the online modal dialog since the
browser.urlbar.suggest.quicksuggest.nonsponsoredpref is no longer set when the user opts in or out. [Bug 1740965]- Firefox 133.0
Removed. [Bug 1921748]
contextservices.quicksuggest.engagement¶
This event is recorded when an engagement occurs in the address bar while a Firefox Suggest suggestion is present. In other words, it is recorded in two cases:
The user picks a Firefox Suggest suggestion or a related UI element like its help button.
While a Firefox Suggest suggestion is present in the address bar, the user picks some other row.
The event’s objects are the following possible values:
- block:
The user dismissed (“blocked”) the suggestion.
- click:
The user picked the suggestion.
- help:
The user picked the suggestion’s help button.
- impression_only:
The user picked some other row.
- other:
The user engaged with the suggestion in some other way, for example by picking a command in the result menu. This is a catch-all category and going forward Glean telemetry should be preferred.
The event’s extra contains the following properties:
- match_type:
“best-match” if the suggestion was a best match or “firefox-suggest” if it was a non-best-match suggestion.
- position:
The index of the suggestion in the list of results (1-based).
- suggestion_type:
The type of suggestion, one of: “sponsored”, “nonsponsored”, “dynamic-wikipedia”, “navigational”
- source:
The source of suggestion, one of: “remote-settings”, “merino”
- Changelog
- Firefox 101.0
Introduced. [Bug 1761059]
- Firefox 109.0
sourceis added. [Bug 1800993]dynamic-wikipediais added as a value ofsuggestion_type. [Bug 1800993]- Firefox 112.0
navigationalis added as a value ofsuggestion_type. [Bug 1819797]- Firefox 114.0
otheris added as a value of the event object. [Bug 1827943]- Firefox 133.0
Removed. [Bug 1921748]
contextservices.quicksuggest.impression_cap¶
This event is recorded when an event related to an impression cap occurs. The event’s objects are the following possible values:
- hit:
Recorded when an impression cap is hit.
- reset:
Recorded when a cap’s counter is reset because its interval period has elapsed. The implementation may batch multiple consecutive reset events for a cap in a single telemetry event; see the
eventCountdiscussion below. Reset events are reported only when a cap’s interval period elapses while Firefox is running.
The event’s extra contains the following properties:
- count:
The number of impressions during the cap’s interval period.
- eventCount:
The number of impression cap events reported in the telemetry event. This is necessary because the implementation may batch multiple consecutive “reset” events for a cap in a single telemetry event. When that occurs, this value will be greater than 1,
startDatewill be the timestamp at which the first event’s interval period started,eventDatewill be the timestamp at which the last event’s interval period ended, andcountwill be the number of impressions during the first event’s interval period. (The implementation guarantees that reset events are batched only when the number of impressions for all subsequent interval periods is zero.) For “hit” events,eventCountwill always be 1.- eventDate:
The event’s timestamp, in number of milliseconds since Unix epoch. For “reset” events, this is the timestamp at which the cap’s interval period ended. If
eventCountis greater than 1, it’s the timestamp at which the last interval period ended. For “hit” events, this is the timestamp at which the cap was hit.- impressionDate:
The timestamp of the most recent impression, in number of milliseconds since Unix epoch.
- intervalSeconds:
The number of seconds in the cap’s interval period. For lifetime caps, this value will be “Infinity”.
- maxCount:
The maximum number of impressions allowed in the cap’s interval period.
- startDate:
The timestamp at which the cap’s interval period started, in number of milliseconds since Unix epoch.
- type:
The type of cap, one of: “sponsored”, “nonsponsored”
contextservices.quicksuggest.opt_in_dialog¶
This event is recorded when the user interacts with the online modal dialog. The event’s objects are the following:
- accept:
The user accepted the dialog and opted in. This object was removed in Firefox 96.0.2.
- accept_2:
The user accepted the dialog and opted in.
- close_1:
The user clicked close button or something similar link on the introduction section. The user remains opted out in this case.
- dismiss_1:
The user dismissed the dialog by pressing the Escape key or some unknown way on the introduction section. The user remains opted out in this case.
- dismiss_2:
The user dismissed the dialog by pressing the Escape key or some unknown way on main section. The user remains opted out in this case.
- dismissed_escape_key:
The user dismissed the dialog by pressing the Escape key. The user remains opted out in this case. This object was removed in Firefox 96.0.2.
- dismissed_other:
The dialog was dismissed in some unknown way. One case where this can happen is when the dialog is replaced with another higher priority dialog like the one shown when quitting the app. The user remains opted out in this case. This object was removed in Firefox 96.0.2.
- learn_more:
The user clicked “Learn more”. The user remains opted out in this case. This object was removed in Firefox 96.0.2.
- learn_more_1:
The user clicked “Learn more” on the introduction section. The user remains opted out in this case.
- learn_more_2:
The user clicked “Learn more” on the main section. The user remains opted out in this case.
- not_now:
The dialog was dismissed in some way without opting in. This object was removed in Firefox 94.0.
- not_now_2:
The user clicked “Not now” link on main section. The user remains opted out in this case.
- not_now_link:
The user clicked “Not now”. The user remains opted out in this case. This object was removed in Firefox 96.0.2.
- reject_2:
The user rejected the dialog and opted out.
- settings:
The user clicked the “Customize” button. The user remains opted out in this case. This object was removed in Firefox 96.0.2.
- Changelog
- Firefox 92.0.1
Introduced. Objects are:
accept,settings,learn_more, andnot_now.not_nowis recorded when the dialog is dismissed in any manner not covered by the other objects. [Bug 1723860]- Firefox 94.0
Objects changed to:
accept,dismissed_escape_key,dismissed_other,learn_more,not_now_link, andsettings. [Bug 1733687]- Firefox 96.0.2
Objects changed to:
accept_2,reject_2,learn_more_2,close_1,not_now_2,dismiss_1anddismiss_2. [Bug 1745026]- Firefox 100.0
Objects changed to:
accept_2,reject_2,learn_more_1,learn_more_2,close_1,not_now_2,dismiss_1anddismiss_2. [Bug 1761171]- Firefox 133.0
Removed. [Bug 1921748]
contextservices.quicksuggest.sponsored_toggled¶
This event is recorded when the
browser.urlbar.suggest.quicksuggest.sponsored pref is toggled. The pref can
be toggled in the following ways:
The user can toggle it in the preferences UI.
The user can toggle it in about:config.
The event’s objects are the following:
- enabled:
Recorded when the pref is flipped from false to true.
- disabled:
Recorded when the pref is flipped from true to false.
- Changelog
Environment¶
The following preferences are recorded in telemetry environment data. For general information on telemetry environment data in Firefox, see the Environment document.
browser.urlbar.quicksuggest.onboardingDialogChoice¶
This pref records the user’s choice in the online modal dialog. If the dialog was shown multiple times, it records the user’s most recent choice. It is a string-valued pref with the following possible values:
- <empty string>:
The user has not made a choice (e.g., because the dialog hasn’t been shown).
- accept:
The user accepted the dialog and opted in. This object was removed in Firefox 96.0.2.
- accept_2:
The user accepted the dialog and opted in.
- close_1:
The user clicked close button or something similar link on the introduction section. The user remains opted out in this case.
- dismiss_1:
The user dismissed the dialog by pressing the Escape key or some unknown way on the introduction section. The user remains opted out in this case.
- dismiss_2:
The user dismissed the dialog by pressing the Escape key or some unknown way on main section. The user remains opted out in this case.
- dismissed_escape_key:
The user dismissed the dialog by pressing the Escape key. The user remains opted out in this case. This object was removed in Firefox 96.0.2.
- dismissed_other:
The dialog was dismissed in some unknown way. One case where this can happen is when the dialog is replaced with another higher priority dialog like the one shown when quitting the app. The user remains opted out in this case. This object was removed in Firefox 96.0.2.
- learn_more:
The user clicked “Learn more”. The user remains opted out in this case. This object was removed in Firefox 96.0.2.
- learn_more_1:
The user clicked “Learn more” on the introduction section. The user remains opted out in this case.
- learn_more_2:
The user clicked “Learn more” on the main section. The user remains opted out in this case.
- not_now_2:
The user clicked “Not now” link on main section. The user remains opted out in this case.
- not_now_link:
The user clicked “Not now”. The user remains opted out in this case. This object was removed in Firefox 96.0.2.
- reject_2:
The user rejected the dialog and opted out.
- settings:
The user clicked the “Customize” button. The user remains opted out in this case. This object was removed in Firefox 96.0.2.
browser.urlbar.quicksuggest.dataCollection.enabled¶
This boolean pref records whether the user has opted in to data collection for Firefox Suggest. It is false by default. It is set to true when the user opts in to the online modal dialog. The user can also toggle it in the preferences UI and about:config.
- Changelog
- Firefox 94.0.2
Introduced. [Bug 1735976]
browser.urlbar.suggest.quicksuggest¶
This pref no longer exists and is not recorded. It was replaced with
browser.urlbar.suggest.quicksuggest.nonsponsored in Firefox 94.0.2. Prior to
94.0.2, this boolean pref recorded whether suggestions in general were enabled.
browser.urlbar.suggest.quicksuggest.nonsponsored¶
This boolean pref records whether non-sponsored suggestions are enabled. In both the offline and online scenarios it is true by default. The user can also toggle it in the preferences UI and about:config.
- Changelog
- Firefox 94.0.2
Introduced. It replaces
browser.urlbar.suggest.quicksuggest. [Bug 1735976]- Firefox 96.0:
The pref is now true by default in the online scenario. Previously it was false by default in online. For users who were enrolled in the online scenario in older versions and who did not opt in or otherwise enable non-sponsored suggestions, the pref will remain false when upgrading. For all other users, it will default to true when/if they are enrolled in online. [Bug 1740965]
browser.urlbar.suggest.quicksuggest.sponsored¶
This boolean pref records whether sponsored suggestions are enabled. In both the offline and online scenarios it is true by default. The user can also toggle it in the preferences UI and about:config.
- Changelog
- Firefox 92.0.1
Introduced. [Bug 1730721]
- Firefox 96.0:
The pref is now true by default in the online scenario. Previously it was false by default in online. For users who were enrolled in the online scenario in older versions and who did not opt in or otherwise enable sponsored suggestions, the pref will remain false when upgrading. For all other users, it will default to true when/if they are enrolled in online. [Bug 1740965]
The “quick-suggest” Ping¶
Firefox Suggest suggestions record telemetry via the “quick-suggest” ping, which is detailed in the linked Glean Dictionary page.
Nimbus Exposure Event¶
A Nimbus exposure event is recorded once per app session when the user first encounters the UI of an experiment in which they’re enrolled. The timing of the event depends on the experiment and branch.
There are two Nimbus variables that determine the timing of the event:
experimentType and the deprecated isBestMatchExperiment. To determine
when the exposure event is recorded for a specific experiment and branch,
examine the experiment’s recipe and look for one of these variables.
Listed below are the supported values of experimentType and
isBestMatchExperiment along with details on when their corresponding
exposure events are recorded.
- experimentType = “best-match”:
If the user is in a treatment branch and they did not disable best match, the event is recorded the first time they trigger a best match; if the user is in a treatment branch and they did disable best match, the event is not recorded at all. If the user is in the control branch, the event is recorded the first time they would have triggered a best match. (Users in the control branch cannot “disable” best match since the feature is totally hidden from them.) NOTE: The “Top pick” checkbox, which allowed the user to disable best batch, was removed in 120.
- experimentType = “modal”:
If the user is in a treatment branch, the event is recorded when they are shown an opt-in modal. If the user is in the control branch, the event is recorded every time they would have been shown a modal, which is on every startup where another non-Suggest modal does not appear. NOTE: This has been removed in Firefox 124.
- isBestMatchExperiment = true:
This is a deprecated version of
experimentType == "best-match".- All other experiments:
For all other experiments not listed above, the event is recorded the first time the user triggers a Firefox Suggest suggestion.
- Changelog
- Firefox 92.0
Introduced. The event is always recorded the first time the user triggers a Firefox Suggest suggestion regardless of the experiment they are enrolled in. [Bug 1724076, 1727392]
- Firefox 99.0
The
isBestMatchExperiment = truecase is added. [Bug 1752953]- Firefox 100.0
The
experimentType = "modal"case is added.isBestMatchExperiment = trueis deprecated in favor ofexperimentType = "best-match". [Bug 1760596]- Firefox 124.0
The
experimentType = "modal"case is removed.
Merino Search Queries¶
Merino is a Mozilla service that provides Firefox Suggest suggestions. Along with remote settings on the client, it is one of two possible sources for Firefox Suggest. When Merino integration is enabled on the client and the user has opted in to Firefox Suggest data collection, Firefox sends everything the user types in the address bar to the Merino server. In response, Merino finds relevant search results from its search providers and sends them to Firefox, where they are shown to the user in the address bar.
The user opts in to Firefox Suggest data collection when they either opt in to the online modal dialog or they enable Firefox Suggest data collection in the preferences UI.
Merino queries are not telemetry per se but we include them in this document since they necessarily involve data collection.
Merino API¶
Data that Firefox sends to the Merino server is summarized below. When Merino integration is enabled on the client and the user has opted in to Firefox Suggest data collection, this data is sent with every user keystroke in the address bar.
For details on the Merino API, see the Merino documentation.
- Search Query
The user’s search query typed in the address bar.
API parameter name:
q- Session ID
A UUID that identifies the user’s current search session in the address bar. This ID is unique per search session. A search session ends when the focus leaves the address bar or a timeout of 5 minutes elapses, whichever comes first.
API parameter name:
sid- Sequence Number
A zero-based integer that is incremented after a response is received from Merino. It is reset at the end of each search session along with the session ID.
API parameter name:
seq- Client Variants
Optional. A list of experiments or rollouts that are affecting the Firefox Suggest user experience. If Merino recognizes any of them, it will modify its behavior accordingly.
API parameter name:
client_variants- Providers
Optional. A list of providers to use for this request. If specified, only suggestions from the listed providers will be returned. Otherwise Merino will use a default set of providers.
API parameter name:
providers