[Intermittent] Excluded apps not working while having some of the VPN Privacy Features enabled

[data-sync-user]

Important details:

• the issue is resolved after turning the VPN OFF and ON again;
• this might be reproducing with other steps as well; 
• reproducibility rate: 1 out of 5 times; 
• not able to reproduce on Android/Linux;

Affected versions:

• 2.17.0 (2.202309180636);

Tested Platforms:

• Windows 10/11;

Prerequisites:

• Have Mozilla VPN app installed and open;
• Have a Fx account with an active subscription;
• Be signed in

Steps to reproduce:

1. Turn ON the vpn while on multi-hop;
2. Go to Settings - Privacy features and check the “Block ads” option;
3. Leave the vpn ON for at least 10 minutes;
4. While the vpn is ON, go to Settings - App exclusions and exclude any browser from the vpn protection (e.g. Firefox);
5. Open the excluded browser and browse the internet;
6. Observe the behavior;

Expected result:

• The user is able to browse the internet without issues; 

Actual result:

• The user is NOT able to browse the internet. The pages are not loading;

Notes:

• See the attached video and logs;

┆Issue is synchronized with this Jira Bug ┆Reporter: Bianca Hidecuti

[data-sync-user]

➤ Raluca Monica Ilban commented:

I am able to reproduce this while using the 2.18.0 (2.202310200837) build, on Windows 10.

[data-sync-user]

➤ Bianca Hidecuti commented:

Reproducing this with the latest 2.19 build as well. Attaching logs.

[^mozillavpn-2023-11-10.log]

[data-sync-user]

➤ Valentina Virlics commented:

Reproducing this on Linux Jammy 22.04 while using Mozilla VPN 2.21 (2.21-rc20240322183623) build.

Having some/all privacy features enabled blocks the exclusion logic.

[data-sync-user]

➤ Raluca Monica Ilban commented:

Reproducing on Windows 11 using Mozilla VPN 2.22 (2.202404092113) build.