We need to add support for the new widgets to policy so enterprises can turn them on/off.

We have a generic policy called "FirefoxHome" that we can add them to:

https://mozilla.github.io/policy-templates/#firefoxhome

I'm also wondering if it's time to migrate those to a "new tab" policy since that would make more sense to folks.

We can key off this pref to control all widget visibility (specifically for the widgets "section")

• browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.widgets.system.enabled

Note that weather is not covered in that policy (nor is it controlled by the pref above) and may also want/need controls added:

• browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.system.showWeather

(Note that system.* prefs hide the feature from ever being enabled/settings being show)

What's the difference between:

browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.widgets.focusTimer.enabled
and
browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.widgets.system.focusTimer.enabled

(Same with lists)

And tab notes.

Great question! We use widgets.system.focusTimer.enabled pref to turn off (and hide) the feature entirely. This is the pref we flip when testing/rolling out a feature.

The non-system pref is the user pref (widgets.focusTimer.enabled) to enable that feature. Even if this pref is set to false, there is somewhere in about:settings#home or the customize panel on new tab to toggle the feature back on.

Normally in policy we lock the prefs on or off and then it gets disabled.

This works in preferences, but not in new tab:

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1983258

I'm wondering if I should allow enterprises to force it on or off or remove it completely.

https://hg.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/rev/8f10a04d4f2f

Did you want to nominate this for the Fx156 relnotes? If so, set the relnote-firefox flag to "?"
https://wiki.mozilla.org/Release_Management/Release_Notes_Nomination

Possible wording:

The FirefoxHome policy now has a Widgets option, letting administrators control whether the new tab page productivity widgets are available.

Release Note Request (optional, but appreciated)
[Why is this notable]: Benefits Enterprise users
[Affects Firefox for Android]: No
[Suggested wording]: I like you're wording.
[Links (documentation, blog post, etc)]:

FirefoxHome should link to https://firefox-admin-docs.mozilla.org/reference/policies/firefoxhome/

Should go in the enterprise section.

Thanks, added to the Fx156 nightly release notes, please allow 30 minutes for the site to update.

firefox-esr153 Uplift Approval Request

• User impact if declined/Reason for urgency: Wanted for policy parity with 156
• Code covered by automated testing?: yes
• Fix verified in Nightly?: yes
• Needs manual QE testing?: no
• Steps to reproduce for manual QE testing:
• Risk associated with taking this patch: low
• Explanation of risk level: Policy only
• String changes made/needed?: None
• Is Android affected?: no

Original Revision: https://phabricator.services.mozilla.com/D316903