The anti🚫-derailment🚃 & thread🧵 hijacking🔫 thread🧵 ⁉

[Az_F]

Ah yes the new resin capsules! That’s even cooler

[ODaily]

I’ve been trying to make a firefox addon. I’m not capable of doing it myself, but I’ve been trying to push it through chatgpt. It works, kinda, but it doesn’t actually accomplish it’s goal.

Would anybody knowledgeable in these fields be willing to look at it and see if you could offer some pearls of wisdom?

The addon is specifically for firefox on android mobile. It’s only purpose is to make every website always load in desktop mode. That’s it, so simple, and yet so hard.

The original version just caused firefox to report that the desktop toggle was “on”.

When that didn’t work, chat gpt tried forcing it to report no touch screen and a larger screen size so websites couldn’t detect a mobile device.

When that didn’t work, it tried to load a script into each page to force it.

It still doesn’t work, and I’m waiting out the “cooling off” period on my account to be able to use the more advanced model again. So, I’ll attach the file and a summary from chatgpt about what it has done and why and maybe you can let me know what direction I should head in, or if I’m just wasting my time.

Summary

@chatgpt

Here’s a summary of your project’s progression, focusing on each major version of the “Force Desktop Mode” Firefox extension, including the rationale behind changes and key troubleshooting steps:
Version 1.0

Goal: Initial release to force desktop mode on all websites by spoofing user-agent and disabling touch capability.

Key Features:

Simple JavaScript injector

navigator.userAgent spoofing

Attempted to remove mobile indicators

Issues:

Not effective on many websites

Firefox review required before installation

No permanent effect—still required manual desktop mode toggle

Manifest v2 used (allowed in Firefox, deprecated elsewhere)

Why It Changed:

Did not override all mobile detection mechanisms

Needed deeper spoofing and broader script injection

Version 2.0 / 2.1

Goal: Improve spoofing by using injected scripts and explicitly disabling mobile features.

Changes Made:

Added content_scripts for automatic injection

Disabled navigator.maxTouchPoints

Spoofed window.navigator.platform and userAgent

Removed mobile indicators like ontouchstart

Improved detection blocking for device fingerprinting scripts

Fixes Attempted:

Confirmed via test websites (WhatIsMyBrowser, etc.)

Verified screen resolution, JS detection, and UA string

Problems Identified:

Still detected as mobile on some sites

TouchEvent not removed on all pages

Android Firefox limitations around scripting API

Why It Changed:

Fix inconsistencies in user-agent detection

Provide more complete spoofing

Improve reliability on Android Firefox

Version 3.0

Goal: Migrate to Manifest V3, align with new Firefox requirements, and improve maintainability.

Changes Made:

Migrated from background_page to background.service_worker (eventually rolled back)

Switched from deprecated applications to browser_specific_settings

Defined explicit Firefox UUID for gecko.id

Used scripting.executeScript API

Problems Encountered:

Firefox does not support service_worker in background (unlike Chrome)

Validation error: /background/service_worker not supported

Required matching of gecko.id with UUID from AMO

API compatibility issues on Firefox 91 (especially on Android)

    Warnings about scripting.executeScript not supported

Why It Changed:

To comply with Firefox’s manifest validation

Improve standards compliance

Clean, structured separation of injected code

Version 3.1

Goal: Fix manifest and background script compatibility issues introduced in 3.0.

Changes Made:

Reverted to background.scripts instead of service_worker

Ensured gecko.id matches actual AMO UUID

Maintained Manifest V3 but avoided unsupported APIs

Reorganized script logic for better injection and spoofing

Clarified there was no use of bundlers, minifiers, or generators

Results:

Passed validation

Uploaded and installed successfully

Improved spoofing consistency across more websites

Still hit some limitations due to Firefox Android support

Planned Version 3.2 (Postponed)

Intended Features:

Replace scripting.executeScript with content_scripts if Firefox Android continues to block it

Optional UI toggle for enabling/disabling spoofing

Possibly adapt for broader multi-platform spoofing consistency

Continued cleanup and modularity

Overall Summary:
Version Summary
1.0 Initial attempt with basic spoofing. Ineffective on many sites.
2.0/2.1 Introduced broader spoofing (UA, touch points, platform). Improved but not foolproof.
3.0 Migrated to Manifest V3. Broke due to Firefox’s lack of service_worker support.
3.1 Fixed manifest and background compatibility. Fully working version using allowed APIs.
3.2 (Upcoming) Will address Firefox Android API gaps and possibly improve flexibility.

Let me know when you’re ready to proceed with 3.2, or if you’d like help debugging real-world site behavior based on what’s working or failing now.

force-desktop-mode-v3.1.zip (1.4 KB)

Also, if you have firefox on android, and you want to test it out, it’s available as a firefox addon under the unoriginal name “Force Desktop Mode”.

[Pilgrimsmaster]

@ODaily

android mobile. It’s only purpose is to make every website always load in desktop mode

How sold are you on firefox?

Brave

As simple as that…

[ODaily]

Very sold. Also have the same button. I just want it super glued into place so that I never ever ever have to touch it again.

[Not]

Chameleon – Get this Extension for 🦊 Firefox (en-US)

You can set your browser profile to whatever you like. Microsoft explorer linux, firefox mobile, random desktop… And so on.

[ODaily]

Just tried it with it set to windows 10, firefox, and set a screen size. Still loads mobile view.

I ran into something similar when testing/checking the failures. I was able to succesfully spoof the browser as something else, and fake the screen size, and some other things that chatgpt thought might be checked to determine mobile or not. And I still got mobile view.

The kinda effed up part about is that it has no problem showing the desktop view, as long as you open the menu, and click on the toggle for “Desktop View”. So this is clearly attainable, I just want it automated.

[Not]

Hmm, interesting. This has worked for me in the past. Something may have changed, likely on the firefox end.

I wonder if there might be something in the about:config

[Not]

Found this. Have not read much.

https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/p38p6t/guide_how_to_always_use_desktop_view_in_firefox/

[ODaily]

I’m about to have a hissy fit.

Spent DAYS trying to write an addon. I tried 3 distinct approaches to it. Then switched to writing scripts for tampermonkey. Just failure after failure, after failure.

I had already loaded Firefox Nightly so I could view website interactions through about:config. Started trying the method from the article @Not found. (dedided to switch to Firefox Beta) and it kinda crudely worked. Not perfect, but liveable.

So I started moving all my settings over and installing stuff I normally use. When, in the process of that I discovered a toggle under SETTINGS > SITE SETTINGS that’s called “Always Request Desktop Site”.

Yeah.
It just sets the toggle to be default on, instead of default off.
I’m just gonna go erase everything I’ve been working on for the last 5 days.

[amal]

Oof … well at least you tried… probably learned some stuff too.

[amal]

[Pilgrimsmaster]

@ODaily

I’m about to have a hissy fit

That’s the “wrong way” to look at it.

You saw a problem
You tried to fix it
You mostly succeeded
You learned some stuff
You found an easier / better way
You now have a solution to your problem.

Thats a win in my book

Great news and nice work

[enginerd]

One-Handed Suturing Tool #goodtoknow #surgeonlife #funfacts #vet #medicine #surgeon #suturing #hack

[Not]

I shall respond later. Busy rn

[amal]

The one handed suture really is interesting… but I swear by small dermal staples now

[ODaily]

[amal]

I’ll burn this place to the ground…

[amal]

Microchip voices in the wild …

[ODaily]

You know, that’s kinda nice. At least the cop pulling them over gets a warning before stepping into whatever that is gonna be.

[amal]