Why can't I have the browser maintain an in-memory session that is reset if the browser instance dies?
But... you're describing 1st party cookies. You can already set Firefox to delete all cookies whenever the browser is closed. It's not just that this problem has a solution, the solution is already implemented and live today in every major browser.
It's also not 'conceptually' similar to private/incognito mode, it literally is private/incognito mode. Private mode is just Firefox storing all of your session/cookie data in RAM so that it will get deleted when the browser closes. The main difference is that private mode is more aggressive, because it includes downloads/history in the deleted session, and takes extra steps to make sure the data won't accidentally get cached even in temporary files.
The big reason browsers are getting more aggressive about 3rd-party cookies is that they can be used to track you across domains even during browsing sessions, so there's often a good reason to block known tracking cookies outright. Additionally, most ordinary users want cookies to persist between browser sessions, so to enable that behavior we have to be more creative about figuring out which cookies are harmful -- then we can remove them even for ordinary users. It turns out that blocking 3rd-party cookies can sometimes be a useful way to filter "good" and "bad" session data.
But if you don't fall into that category of user, and you're OK with needing to re-log into sites when you open the browser, then go wild. Switching to temporary cookies will definitely help with your privacy, and Firefox even includes ways for you to whitelist any sites where you do want cookies and localstorage to be persistent.
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But... you're describing 1st party cookies. You can already set Firefox to delete all cookies whenever the browser is closed. It's not just that this problem has a solution, the solution is already implemented and live today in every major browser.
It's also not 'conceptually' similar to private/incognito mode, it literally is private/incognito mode. Private mode is just Firefox storing all of your session/cookie data in RAM so that it will get deleted when the browser closes. The main difference is that private mode is more aggressive, because it includes downloads/history in the deleted session, and takes extra steps to make sure the data won't accidentally get cached even in temporary files.
The big reason browsers are getting more aggressive about 3rd-party cookies is that they can be used to track you across domains even during browsing sessions, so there's often a good reason to block known tracking cookies outright. Additionally, most ordinary users want cookies to persist between browser sessions, so to enable that behavior we have to be more creative about figuring out which cookies are harmful -- then we can remove them even for ordinary users. It turns out that blocking 3rd-party cookies can sometimes be a useful way to filter "good" and "bad" session data.
But if you don't fall into that category of user, and you're OK with needing to re-log into sites when you open the browser, then go wild. Switching to temporary cookies will definitely help with your privacy, and Firefox even includes ways for you to whitelist any sites where you do want cookies and localstorage to be persistent.
Fair enough.