Remove the Security Levels icon from the toolbar

Since Security Levels are not something users are expected to change regularly and they come with a lot of caveat and are quite nebulous (See: tor-browser#42572), I'd like to suggest we remove the icon from the toolbar by default.

The icon could still be re-added by dragging it from the Customize toolbar menu.

What do you think about it?

It certainly seems like a good idea to me

added 14.0 stable Backlog Feature labels

added Desktop label

changed the description

marked this issue as related to tor-browser#42572

added Security Settings UX labels

added UX Team label

This would be problematic for Tor Browser (especially given the current absence of any onboarding), but I don't think I share the same concerns about Mullvad Browser.

To play devil's advocate, would it really be that problematic for Tor Browser to remove the button?

A lot of why we left it there was mostly for legacy reasons, it used to be part of torbutton. But even during the browser initial integration we disabled the ability to modify the security level and sent users to about:preferences#security to do the actual change. Now it's been some years and I expect our users understand it's just an indicator and not something to interact with, so why not just remove it from the toolbar for new installs (post 14.0 stable obviously)?

I don't feel strongly about the toolbar icon specifically – however the reason I mentioned the lack of onboarding is because I think we need to maintain a clear route to our security levels for new or returning high-risk users.

The only medium-long term benefit to the toolbar icon seems to be for quick access to toggle your security levels in response to breakage, which is problematic in its own right.

removed Backlog label

added Next label

assigned to @henry

@henry can you do this next week for 14.0a3 (MB only)?

So just remove the security level button from the default toolbar? That part is easy, but migrating existing users takes a bit of work.

@donuts @ruihildt What is the expected behaviour for existing users?

• Do we remove it from their toolbar if it is still in the default position?
• Do we remove it from their toolbar if it is not in the default position. E.g. the user placed it elsewhere in the customizable UI?
• Do we remove it if they have a non-default security level?
• Do we remove it if they have a custom security level?

Feel free to weigh in here too @ruihildt, however I would say:

Do we remove it from their toolbar if it is still in the default position?

Yes.

Do we remove it from their toolbar if it is not in the default position. E.g. the user placed it elsewhere in the customizable UI?

No.

Do we remove it if they have a non-default security level?

Yes.

Do we remove it if they have a custom security level?

No, and this is a very good catch :)

We should also consider what happens when the user adopts a custom level, in future, after the icon has been removed from the toolbar. Removing the icon from the toolbar entirely will mean the warning will be missed.

We could:

• re-enable the icon in that scenario (however it would need a more user-friendly way to be dismissed)
• or use a different component entirely, e.g. an infobar

or use a different component entirely, e.g. an infobar

I think an infobar notification would be an improvement in Tor Browser as well.

I think we should allow a user to dismiss it, but we should re-show it if they change from non-custom to custom again.

@ruihildt You've most likely thought about this already, but to stave off any panic about the missing icon I'd recommend preparing a small section in your release post to acknowledge this change, including a short guide on how to re-add the toolbar icon for those who wish to keep it.

I usually go round the changelog and see if anything needs highlighting. Good reminder in any case. :)

Looping in @felicia.

removed Next label

added Doing label

mentioned in merge request !136 (merged)

marked this issue as related to tor-browser-build#41220 (closed)

Thanks @henry !

closed

mentioned in merge request !162 (merged)