Ghostery does not keep me logged-in

[WFransL]

Ghostery does not keep me logged-in

I would expect that once logged in to Ghostery on a PC That Ghostery stays logged-in between sessions, Is is not what happens. Every now and then I have to log-in again.

1. Start PC
2. Open Browser
3. Check if Ghostery is logged-in

• Chrome 66.0.3359.117
• WIN10
• Ghostery 8.1.2

[Aziz-Ghostery]

Hi There, We've had dealt with this issue awhile ago, and we frankly thought it was fixed. We'd appreciate it if you could help us troubleshoot this issue by answering the following questions: When you are not using your machine, do you choose to: Log off: Clock: Sleep: Shutdown: How long do you normally leave your machine in the above state?

Chrome Settings:

Privacy and security ==> Content settings ==> Cookies Allow site to Save & read cookie data (On/Off): Keep local data only until you quit your browser (On/Off): Block third-party cookies (On/Off):

Privacy and security ==> Content settings ==> JavaScript

Allowed (On/Off):

System ==> Background Apps

Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed (On/Off):

Regards, Aziz

[WFransL]

See my responses

The issue of being logged out is not limited to Chrome. Also in MS-Edge Ghostery is logged-out.

When you are not using your machine, do you choose to:

One system is shutdown- ed when I do not used this system and the system is used daily Another system is always on (even does not ‘sleep’) and used daily

Chrome Settings: Allow site to Save & read cookie data (On/Off): On Keep local data only until you quit your browser (On/Off): Off Block third-party cookies (On/Off): Off

Privacy and security ==> Content settings ==> JavaScript: Allowed (On/Off): On

Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed (On/Off): Off

From: Aziz-Ghostery [mailto:notifications@github.com] Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2018 11:32 PM To: ghostery/ghostery-extension ghostery-extension@noreply.github.com Cc: WFransL ghostery@lichtenauer.nl; Author author@noreply.github.com Subject: Re: [ghostery/ghostery-extension] Ghostery does not keep me logged-in (#43)

Hi There, We've had dealt with this issue awhile ago, and we frankly thought it was fixed. We'd appreciate it if you could help us troubleshoot this issue by answering the following questions: When you are not using your machine, do you choose to: Log off: Clock: Sleep: Shutdown: How long do you normally leave your machine in the above state?

Chrome Settings:

Privacy and security ==> Content settings ==> Cookies Allow site to Save & read cookie data (On/Off): Keep local data only until you quit your browser (On/Off): Block third-party cookies (On/Off):

Privacy and security ==> Content settings ==> JavaScript

Allowed (On/Off):

System ==> Background Apps

Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed (On/Off):

Regards, Aziz

— You are receiving this because you authored the thread. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/ghostery/ghostery-extension/issues/43#issuecomment-384441129 , or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AkyqftVMtdNOFcdTPtl0CY1308pZGCYLks5tsOtmgaJpZM4TeU6p . https://github.com/notifications/beacon/Akyqfnq8vQihRcR3nUGtS-AP9507dqYSks5tsOtmgaJpZM4TeU6p.gif

[markofstrathclyde]

(Firstly : great extension)

But... me too, any thoughts much appreciated.

Ta

Mark

---

Windows 10 build 1709 64-bit Intel-i5 Chrome 66.0.3359.139

When you are not using your machine, do you choose to: Normally sleep or switch accounts with hibernation happening if left alone for 8 hours +

Chrome Settings:

Privacy and security ==> Content settings ==> Cookies Allow site to Save & read cookie data (On/Off): on Keep local data only until you quit your browser (On/Off): off [is that the problem??] Block third-party cookies (On/Off): off

Privacy and security ==> Content settings ==> JavaScript

Allowed (On/Off): on

System ==> Background Apps

Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed (On/Off): off

[konqui]

same here i also always get logged out

[computeronix]

+1, Edge and Chrome keeps logging me out over time. For a while I stay logged in, then randomly get logged off. My other extensions I use keep me logged in all the time.

Windows 10 (every build I have used is affected).

[oduis]

Same here. I have several machines, and I thought it saw a correlation there, when I log in to another machine it logs me off on the initial machine. Could it be that the user data is synced across devices?

[WebGroupWest]

Definitely "me, too." I recall the "fix" some time back, but it only remained fixed for a few weeks. It's been logging me out constantly, ever since.

Doesn't seem to matter how I log-out of Windows (usually hibernate, or shut down), and my Chrome settings are as you specify above.

Happens all the time for me on Windows, and my Chromebooks.

FWIW, other extensions that maintain my sign-in (such as Trello, Evernote, etc.) do not have this problem. It definitely seems specific to the ghostery implementation.

[mgrigni]

I see this also, is the "do not track" setting relevant?

[christophertino]

Hey guys, we hear you on the log-out issue. We have a new v2 API for our user authentication system that @trickpattyFH20 is currently integrating on the feature/api-v2-auth branch. It kills the old refresh token logic that caused all this headache. We're scheduling this for our 8.2.1 release hopefully next week.

[christophertino]

We released v8.2.3 earlier in the week which should resolve the logout issue. Please give it a test and let us know if you're still getting logged out.

One note: If you have your browser set to clear cookies on close you will be logged out of Ghostery. In Chrome, the setting "Keep local data only until you quit your browser" should be off. In Firefox, you should have Cookies and Site Data > Keep until they expire.

[altae7]

The issue is fixed? On the contrary, login is completely broken for me (Arch Linux, Firefox). I cannot even login anymore. If I try it tells me my login attempt was successful but as soon as I close the Ghostery pop-up and re-open it I'm logged out again.

[christophertino]

Thanks for the heads up @altae7. It looks like the Firefox implementation of chrome.cookies.onChanged is a little wonky. It was also causing problems on Edge. #158 should be the answer.

[altae7]

Thanks. This means we have to wait for a new version to come out, right?

[trickpattyFH20]

@altae7 yes a fix for this will be out with the next release ( PR #158 )

[mcicconi]

@christophertino +1 to @altae7's comment about Firefox - I am consistently getting signed out as well. Thanks for the upcoming fix.

[christophertino]

We found a few more edge-cases contributing to this issue that have now been patched. We're testing the release build now.

[christophertino]

@altae7 @mcicconi Ghostery v8.2.4 is now live. Please let us know if you can now remain signed in.

[WFransL]

Nope, closing EDGE logs me out each and every time.

I have unchecked to delete cookies upon closing in EDGE.

CCleaner leaves EDGE cookies untouched

Chrome works ‘as expected’ and I stay ‘logged-in’.

Frans Lichtenauer

P: +31 487540980

F: +31 878756623

M: +31 653171630

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

From: Christopher Tino notifications@github.com Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2018 3:36 PM To: ghostery/ghostery-extension ghostery-extension@noreply.github.com Cc: WFransL ghostery@lichtenauer.nl; Author author@noreply.github.com Subject: Re: [ghostery/ghostery-extension] Ghostery does not keep me logged-in (#43)

@altae7 https://github.com/altae7 @mcicconi https://github.com/mcicconi Ghostery v8.2.4 is now live. Please let us know if you can now remain signed in.

— You are receiving this because you authored the thread. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/ghostery/ghostery-extension/issues/43#issuecomment-415416200 , or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/Akyqfj2-bNL3s1chDwzkpEP5ApI9_aAXks5uTq-7gaJpZM4TeU6p . https://github.com/notifications/beacon/AkyqfnCyoumFt_o3VKtqt3SZvSuXkqCOks5uTq-7gaJpZM4TeU6p.gif

[altae7]

Negative, still the same. I cannot login at all.

[Aziz-Ghostery]

@altae7 We are working a logout issue for Edge Browser, However V 8.2.4 has the fix for Chrome and FF. Would you please restart your Chrome browser, make sure you are on V 8.2.4 and try sign in again. Please let us know the outcome, Thanks.

[altae7]

I don't use chrome, I use Firefox. And login does not work despite the fact that Ghostery 8.2.4 is installed and I've restarted the computer several times in the meantime. It's simply broken.

[Aziz-Ghostery]

@altae7 This might be due to a corrupted cookies.sqlite file in Firefox's profile folder. In order to fix this, just rename or remove cookie.sqlite while Firefox is not running. Open a terminal of choice and type the following: $ rm -f ~/.mozilla/firefox/.default/cookies.sqlite The profile id is a random 8 character string. Restart Firefox and see if it solved the problem. If the issue persists try creating a new FF profile reinstall Ghostery in that profile and see if the issue is solved.

[Lokumskaster]

Just installed Windows 10 today. Installed Chrome including Ghostery (8.2.4). I have had to log on three times today already.

[Storm-Engineer]

I just noticed this as well. I can't stay logged in either.

@Aziz-Ghostery I tried deleting my cookies.sqlite but it did not fix it.

Arch Linux Firefox 62.0 Ghostery 8.2.4

[christophertino]

Hey guys, we're not having any luck reproducing the logout issue since the 8.2.4 release. Our auth is cookie-based, so if you are getting immediately logged out it means something is nuking the three cookies set on https://account.ghostery.com.

For testing purposes, please check your browser settings to see if you are blocking third-party cookies. If not, you can make an allow exception for https://account.ghostery.com https://consumerapi.ghostery.com (Preferences > Privacy > Cookies > Exceptions in Firefox). Also check to see if another installed extension may be deleting third-party cookies. Lastly, in Firefox if you have first party isolation enabled (custom setting in about:config) that will break our Auth.

Let me know if any of this helps.

[Storm-Engineer]

@christophertino I already had an allow exception for the whole ghostery.com domain.

The only cookie getting created is analytics.ghostery.com

[altae7]

Ok, thanks for the reply. It's the first party isolation then. Since I'm not willing to disable it I'll live with not being able to login.

[Storm-Engineer]

@christophertino I did some further testing. Apparently FF's handling of "3rd party" cookies is the issue.

I had 3rd party cookies set to "never allow", and using Allow exceptions for sites I use. This worked in the past. Now however, apparently it doesn't anymore.

Changing 3rd party cookies to "always" fixed the login issue and changing it back to "never" broke it again. This sounds like a Firefox bug to me because I'm pretty sure Allow exceptions should still work with 3rd party.

[christophertino]

@Storm-Engineer Can you try setting an Allow exception for https://consumerapi.ghostery.com ?

I was able to force the logout with third party cookies set to Never, but adding an exception for the above domain seems to clear it up. Let me know.

[Storm-Engineer]

@christophertino Yes, setting that exception soled it indeed.

But I already had an Allow for the main "ghostery.com" domain, and that should have did the trick already without explicitly setting the subdomain. Plus, other sites have malfunctioned lately as well (eg. YouTube kept forgetting the Dark theme and Autoplay settings) until I set it from Never to Visited.

So I still think Firefox started handling this differently, either intentionally or because of a bug.

[trickpattyFH20]

For anyone unable to login from the extension panel on Ubuntu Firefox: It looks like there is a bug with the Linux package ibus that closes any extensions in FF as soon as a type=password field is focused ibus#2002

Other extensions are experiencing the same problem, and unfortunately there isn't much we can do to workaround it. bitwarden#580

If this is the case, you can try logging in from the Ghostery website https://signon.ghostery.com The authentication from there should carry over to the extension.

[rakoczy]

@Storm-Engineer Can you try setting an Allow exception for https://consumerapi.ghostery.com ?

How to do it in FF63?

[christophertino]

@rakoczy It's under Preferences > Privacy & Security > Cookies & Site Data > Exceptions

[salieri]

This issue remains with Ghostery 8.4.6 on Google Chrome 80.0.3987.78. You log in to Ghostery, forget it for a few days or a week, and when you check back you are logged out.

[christophertino]

Are you clearing cookies on browser close? That would cause a logout. Another thing to consider is that the refresh token expires after 7 days. So if you don't open your browser for a week you would get logged out of Ghostery.

[salieri]

@christophertino I don't think either one of those accurately describes my case. I certainly don't clear cookies on browser close, and I think this issue occurs often enough that the second one is not the case either, but it's hard to be sure. I'll check that.

On that note, though: If Ghostery silently discards an expired cookie and doesn't inform the user that their session is no longer valid, then the UX is very confusing. How would the user ever know when to log back in?

[tankmann]

I have exact the same issue... I only recognize it when I get an offer showing and then I remember or I'm logged out again. Using computer / browser every day, don't delete cookies often... Only thing I have is two location profiles on my mac I switch (office and home), but that can't be the reason. It's actually really annoying, I'm paying and then have to re-login all the time.

[christophertino]

@tankmann Are you on Chrome as well?

[tankmann]

@tankmann Are you on Chrome as well?

Yes I'm on Chrome as well. OSX 10.15.4 (19E287) MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports) Version 80.0.3987.163 (Official Build) (64-bit)

[bramdejager]

Same issue here, I'm running Ghostery for Edge version 8.4.8 on Windows 10. This is the new Edge browser from Microsoft on Chromium.

[tankmann]

Ping Pong?

[tankmann]

I've cancelled my subscription now... Had enough of being logged out all the time plus no reaction here. Bye.

[mojorisinagain]

Running Ghostery version 8.5.4, in Chrome version 87.0.4280.88 (64-bit), on Windows 10 Pro. Started seeing this automatic log out "re-released feature" in mid-to-late November, 2020. Annoying

[etuttle]

I run Ghostery on ungoogled-chromium-macos which is a combo I was so excited about! Until I noticed this dropped authentication issue. In my case, I've never seen login stick across a browser reboot. If it does work at all, it is for a very short time. And I certainly have other extensions that manage to persist their auth.

I will see what I can figure out about 3rd party cookies, exceptions for https://consumerapi.ghostery.com and the like. Meanwhile, I would suggest to Ghostery: after so many years of this problem, could there be a way to detect that it is happening and warn the user? I would prefer to be alerted about that my session was lost. Link to a troubleshooting doc? I (like everyone else here, I bet) had to slowly notice this was happening, get frustrated about it, in my case I emailed support and didn't hear back. Then I finally find this thread. Not a positive experience.

Tackling this head-on may not help your bottom line, but it's the user centric thing to do.

[kheaactua]

Just want to add that I've been running Ghostery for years on multiple browsers (Chrome & Firefox) across multiple computers (Linux and Windows), and it logs me out on everyone. It's so consistent that I just thought that that was the expected behaviour

[MichaelKing1832]

This extension is essentially unusable at this point. Running FF 102.0.1 (64-bit) on WIn10 21H2 (build 19044.1806) with Ghostery extension 8.7.4. Ghostery is logged out on browser launch. Disappointing, but it gets worse. After logging in, any refresh or switching to another tab or going to another URL (i.e. clicking on a link), Ghostery reverts back to its logged out state.

It used to stay logged in, and for a while (a year or so ago?) it actually stayed logged in across browsers. I am checking other extensions to see if they might be blocking Ghostery. The DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials extension doesn't seem to have whitelisted the Ghostery.com domain, so I've added it to the exception list. Ghostery will still not stay logged in for more than viewing that one page, forcing a login after every page, tab switch, or even a reload of the same page.

Unacceptable. This extension is non-functional for me in July 2022. I don't think there is anything unusual about my software (latest Win10x64 21H2, FF 102.0.1, Ghostery 8.7.4 released less than a month ago).

I can confirm that the extension for Microsoft Edge (and likely Chrome is the same) DOES persist the login, and works as expected, even across browser launches. That may be because Microsoft doesn't really "stop" Edge when you close the browser, but it doesn't matter because it works.

Please have the Firefox extension devs and contributors look at this!

[chrmod]

@MichaelKing1832 thank you for your report. We are about to release https://github.com/ghostery/ghostery-extension/pull/808 which should fix all login problems on Firefox. This release will be called 8.7.6. We would appreciate if you could let us know if the fixed worked for you.

[chrmod]

Ghostery 8.7.6 is ready for download from Firefox AMO https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ghostery/?utm_campaign=samesite Please let us know if it fixed your problems with not being able to log in. I will keep the issue opened and pinned for a while longer to be sure we got it right this time.

[MichaelKing1832]

Confirm 8.7.6 is persisting login across tabs and browser restarts with FF 102.0.1 (64-bit) on WIn10 21H2 (build 19044.1826). This is especially timely with the recent changes to Chrome and extension API changes for adblockers driving folks to switch to Firefox.

Bardzo dziękuję! Thank you to @chrmod and the rest of the devs for looking into it and being able to resolve it so quickly!

[MichaelKing1832]

ProTip for users with FF and password managers (e.g. BitWarden): Open Firefox to the Ghostery.com site and login to the website. You will automatically also be logged into the extension.

This is useful because when you are entering login credentials within the Ghostery extension, you are not able to access the other extensions, like BitWarden, to look up and copy/paste the credentials from that extension into Ghostery extension.