Brave-browser: Deleted all bookmarks, they keep coming back

[johnyqi]

Description

Im trying to sync bookmarks on two computers, and they just getting doubled and tripled. Then I deleted all bookmarks, but they keep coming back. I simply cant get rid of them, unless i disable syncing altogether

Brave version (brave://version info)

0.59.35 Chromium: 72.0.3626.81 (Official Build) (64-bit)

[srirambv]

Please add detailed steps that you did and the device setup you have like the OS details. Please use the template to provide as much info as possible

[hyatt-e]

I'm having this issue as well.

Currently on:
Windows 10
Brave Version 0.62.51

Using the bookmarks manger to delete and reorganize. Deleted about 10 bookmarks and moved some into folders. After a few minutes some, but not all of the deleted bookmarks return. Sometimes a new folder is created with the name of a deleted bookmark. Some of the bookmarks placed in folder return to their previous location.

[peeter123]

I've had this issue as well using the latest Brave for Windows release (on windows 10) and an Android device in the sync chain.

I worked in the bookmark manager on windows and bookmark renames reverted themselves and deletes kept coming back.

[mortuusangelus]

Experiencing this as well, both desktop (Kubuntu Linux and a synced Android device).

Brave | 0.63.55 Chromium: 74.0.3729.131 (Official Build) (64-bit)
-- | --
Revision | 518a41c1fa7ce1c8bb5e22346e82e42b4d76a96f-refs/branch-heads/3729@{#954}
OS | Linux
JavaScript | V8 7.4.288.26
Flash | (Disabled)
User Agent | Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/74.0.3729.131 Safari/537.36

Brave | 1.0.95, Chromium 74.0.3729.157
Android 9; moto g(7) Build/PPO29.114-16-5

[anotherzen]

I have had this issue since i started using Brave a few months ago.
Can confirm it is still not fixed on: 0.65.120
Windows 10, latest update.

I have synced set up with 2 other devices.

Deleting or moving a bookmark or a folder of bookmarks, returns it after anything from 10 seconds to a minute. Deleted bookmarks return as folders instead of bookmarks. Moved bookmarks return as bookmarks. I can see it live in the bookmark manager, stuff just pops back.

I have to delete/move the items from anywhere between 3 to 10 times to keep the changes.

[mpaluta]

I have this issue as well, much like @anotherzen describes. I also just moved a bookmark and it created a duplicate with an empty string as the name. It is causing quite a mess when trying to organize bookmarks.

I'd recommend renaming the issue to something like "Delete or move bookmarks and they return to previous state" for an easier time finding this issue.

The behavior seems very random to me and I can't figure out what causes it to work sometimes and not others. My sync chain has one Linux beta, one Windows beta, and one iOS. I am currently experiencing this on at least Linux and Windows. I am not sure on iOS because I don't typically move or delete bookmarks there.

Linux version:
Version 0.66.92 Chromium: 75.0.3770.90 (Official Build) beta (64-bit)

[theDwiz01]

Same as all these guys are experiencing. Following...

[JamesABaker]

This is still occurring on two systems of mine.

OSX

Brave 1.1.22 Chromium: 79.0.3945.79 (Official Build) (64-bit)
Revision 29f75ce3f42b007bd80361b0dfcfee3a13ff90b8-refs/branch-heads/3945@{#916}
OS macOS Version 10.14.6 (Build 18G1012)
JavaScript V8 7.9.317.31
Flash (Disabled)
User Agent Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_14_6) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/79.0.3945.79 Safari/537.36
Command Line /Applications/Brave Browser.app/Contents/MacOS/Brave Browser --enable-dom-distiller --disable-domain-reliability --no-pings --extension-content-verification=enforce_strict --extensions-install-verification=enforce --enable-oop-rasterization=Enabled --sync-url=https://no-thanks.invalid --enable-features=PasswordImport,WebUIDarkMode,SimplifyHttpsIndicator --disable-features=AutofillServerCommunication,AllowPopupsDuringPageUnload,SyncUSSBookmarks,SmsReceiver,AudioServiceOutOfProcess,NotificationTriggers,LookalikeUrlNavigationSuggestionsUI,WebXR,WebXrGamepadModule,UnifiedConsent --flag-switches-begin --flag-switches-end --enable-audio-service-sandbox --disable-webrtc-apm-in-audio-service
Executable Path /Applications/Brave Browser.app/Contents/MacOS/Brave Browser

Ubuntu

Brave1.1.22 Chromium: 79.0.3945.79 (Official Build) (64-bit)
Revision29f75ce3f42b007bd80361b0dfcfee3a13ff90b8-refs/branch-heads/3945@{#916}
OSLinux
JavaScriptV8 7.9.317.31
Flash(Disabled)
User AgentMozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/79.0.3945.79 Safari/537.36
Command Line/opt/brave.com/brave/brave --enable-dom-distiller --disable-domain-reliability --no-pings --extension-content-verification=enforce_strict --extensions-install-verification=enforce --enable-oop-rasterization=Enabled --sync-url=https://no-thanks.invalid --enable-features=PasswordImport,WebUIDarkMode,SimplifyHttpsIndicator --disable-features=AllowPopupsDuringPageUnload,SyncUSSBookmarks,AudioServiceOutOfProcess,SmsReceiver,NotificationTriggers,LookalikeUrlNavigationSuggestionsUI,AutofillServerCommunication,WebXR,WebXrGamepadModule,UnifiedConsent --flag-switches-begin --flag-switches-end --disable-webrtc-apm-in-audio-service
Executable Path/opt/brave.com/brave/brave

[mpaluta]

@bsclifton @srirambv any updates on this? Looking through some open and closed threads, this issue has been going on for roughly a year now and detracts from UX. After restarting my browser for the latest update, my bookmark ordering is scrambled again and phantom ones that I deleted months ago are back from the dead.

Related: #6461, #6034, as well as many closed issues over the past year.

[johnyqi]

I can confirm that almost after one year that syncing bookmarks is still messed up. It created a bunch of duplicates for me, out of nowhere.

[anotherzen]

I can confirm as well. I am experiencing both duplicates and issues with the order in which the bookmarks are placed on the bookmarks bar. Brave sync link is 2 computers 1 phone.

[adutra22]

Experiencing lots of issues with sync'd bookmarks here as well. 5 devices synced, and have duplicates/triplicates of bookmarks. I clean them up, but then they all come back. There really needs to be an option that you can define the "master" in the sync chain. Any changes on that "master" bookmark setup needs to then be trickled down to all the rest of the devices in the sync chain.

[bsclifton]

@mpaluta @johnyqi @anotherzen @adutra22 have you all tried leaving the sync group and creating a new one? I suspect something is corrupted and starting fresh may resolve the issue

cc: @darkdh

[over-soul]

I have the same issue with Brave 1.2.42

[johnyqi]

@mpaluta @johnyqi @anotherzen @adutra22 have you all tried leaving the sync group and creating a new one? I suspect something is corrupted and starting fresh may resolve the issue

cc: @darkdh

I was trying to avoid that, it's total pain in the bu** to sort them all out now. I will do that this week and let you know.

[JamesABaker]

@mpaluta @johnyqi @anotherzen @adutra22 have you all tried leaving the sync group and creating a new one? I suspect something is corrupted and starting fresh may resolve the issue

cc: @darkdh

I have tried leaving the sync chain, starting a new sync chain, and making sure that all the new browsers are empty of bookmarks. They all sync up again and look clean. However, as soon as I remove any bookmarks the weird duplicates and resurrection issue comes back.

[mccompunerd]

@mpaluta @johnyqi @anotherzen @adutra22 have you all tried leaving the sync group and creating a new one? I suspect something is corrupted and starting fresh may resolve the issue

cc: @darkdh

I have had this issue as well. This is my 4th sync chain in attempts to fix the issue. I have 3 computers and one Android phone in the chain, but the issue has persisted even with just one computer and the phone in the chain during troubleshooting.

[johnyqi]

I tried today to fix the issue, it's a total mess. The browser crashed 4-5 times. I tried using an existing sync code, it pulls old bookmarks although the code was not accepted at all. I tried creating a new code, the button gets blocked or browser crashes. I'm giving up, deleting sync entirely and keeping bookmarks on a single computer.

[janvojt]

I have issues with bookmarks as well. They reappear randomly. I can currently reproduce the issue where I delete a bookmark and it comes back after a while.

I am running Linux with Brave Version 1.3.91 Chromium: 79.0.3945.117 (Official Build) beta (64-bit).

Bookmark sync is completely broken in Brave. @bsclifton, can I somehow help you debug this? Is there a way to find out what is actually stored in the sync chain? Does bookmark sync actually support deletion? Does it support ordering?

[bsclifton]

Hi folks - what platforms are you all using? Knowing the devices in the group will help us troubleshoot 😄 (ex: is this between Desktop instances? Or between Desktop and iOS? or Desktop and Android? or Desktop/iOS/Android)

The root cause may be related to https://github.com/brave/sync/issues/261. If someone has a Desktop to Desktop sync which is having this problem, that should be the easiest to troubleshoot / narrow the problem down

[janvojt]

I have 3 Linux Debian desktops, and 1 Android device in the sync chain. I barely use bookmarks in Android device though. Probably never edited them so far. It seems like it is broken just syncing between the desktops.

[JamesABaker]

I have the issue between OSX (desktop) and Ubuntu (desktop). More details above.

[mccompunerd]

My troubleshooting setup is currently just two devices that are actively used:
One laptop running Linux Mint 19.3 and running Brave Version 1.2.43 Chromium: 79.0.3945.130 (Official Build) (64-bit).
One Galaxy S8 Android 9 running Brave 1.7.0, Chromium 79.0.3945.116

On the Android phone I only add and occasionally access bookmarks. The only device that ever deletes bookmarks is the Linux laptop.

[johnyqi]

I started from a scratch, new sync, installed it on MacBook Pro and iPhone. I have one bookmark on iPhone, none on MacBook Pro, they are not syncing.

[mpaluta]

I am running Mint, WIndows, and iOS. Version 1.3.99 Chromium: 79.0.3945.130 (Official Build) beta (64-bit)

I'm watching it happen before my eyes on Windows currently. I delete a bookmark from my Bookmarks Bar. It will stay that way for ~30-40 seconds, then reappear. Then if I delete it again, the process repeats. I've reproduced this about 5 times now over a few minutes. I suspect sync keeps running and somehow failing. Is there anywhere I can see logs and share those here if that would be helpful?

[darkdh]

@mpaluta can you go to brave://inspect/#extensions and then inspect Brave Sync extension?
These should be some evidence resides in console log

[mpaluta]

@mpaluta can you go to brave://inspect/#extensions and then inspect Brave Sync extension?
These should be some evidence resides in console log

@darkdh yep, I see a bunch of these:
Record with CRC 23LfR3 is missing parts or corrupt.

Huh, the device name it is running get-existing-objects and resolve-sync-records is the _old_ device name for my iPhone. My best guess as to what is happening is that when I delete bookmarks from desktop, those deletions don't get synced over to my (old?) phone. Instead, at unpredictable intervals, sync transfers those old bookmarks back to desktop, even though my deletion on desktop should presumably have a more recent timestamp than whenever I last updated my phone bookmarks.

Are all devices considered "equal" in Brave sync and are merged based on event timestamps, or is there a "master" device (my phone) pushing changes to all other devices but not pulling changes from them?

Is there anything else I can provide that would be helpful for troubleshooting? I'm willing to try removing devices from the chain as well, but held off on that after @JamesABaker 's comment.

[JamesABaker]

@mpaluta I am not seeing missing parts or corrupt. Perhaps that is fixed by systematically removing devices. What I have for brave://inspect/#extensions in Brave Sync is Ignoring DELETE of object 239,240,77,222,254,239,58,25,118,204,202,226,131,175,137,236. multiple times. I do not know how to match the bookmark ID with the bookmarks to check if these are the zombie bookmarks.

[fusionneur]

Same issue, but even if i never used sync. I also inspect Brave sync but didn't find any 'corrupt' stuff.
This occurs randomly, but whenever this occurs, next time i open brave i get restore tabs, thus meaning it crashed on exit.
Note that i have multiple profiles and had sessions on each of them before exiting brave completely.

Version 1.2.43 Chromium: 79.0.3945.130 (Official Build) (64-bit) Windows 10

[ghost]

I'm in the same situation as @fusionneur, the deleted bookmarks keep reappearing randomly even though I've never used Sync, I'm not logged into any Google account, and I don't have any addon that performs bookmark synchronization.

Not only deleted bookmarks reappear, but if I had reorganized the rest of my bookmarks, it restores the previous organization. It is evidently pulling some sort of backup from somewhere.

I've also noticed that it happens after apparently closing unexpectedly even though I did close the browser manually. This started right after I migrated to Brave in December, it never happened while using Chromium.

My system is Manjaro KDE and I'm currently on Brave 1.2.43 Chromium: 79.0.3945.130 (Official Build) unknown (64-bit).

[over-soul]

This seems to happen if Brave closes unexpectedly on one of my devices. Then bookmarks duplicate, organization changes, deleted bookmarks come back, etc.

[fusionneur]

One mention - i have multiple local brave profile. I have a feeling that it might be related to this somehow.

[ghost]

One mention - i have multiple local brave profile. I have a feeling that it might be related to this somehow.

Same thing here, although I don't manage my profiles using the native Chromium feature, but via the flag (brave --user-data-dir=/path/to/profile), therefore the profiles are not within the same BraveSoftware parent folder and should [supposedly] not be aware of each other.

[fusionneur]

Latest release completely disabled sync:
Release Notes V1.3.115
Fixed several crashes and stability issues by temporarily disabling sync. (#7781)

I will remove duplicate bookmarks to see if they reappear anytime soon

[Caduceus26]

Deleted bookmarks coming back is still a problem. I switched to Brave a few days ago. After importing my bookmarks from Chrome, a couple of days later the bookmarks were screwed up seven ways from Sunday (folders and bookmarks duplicated multiple times, out of order, etc.) I went through straightening them out only to have the problem come right back -- deleted bookmarks reappearing, out of order, multiple folders/entries. I deleted all the bookmarks and imported from MS Edge. Same problem after a few hours.

I uninstalled Brave, removed the BraveSoftware folder under AppData/local, reinstalled Brave, imported bookmarks again. Bottom line: the problem reoccurred, My bookmarks are a mess.

I like Brave for what it's trying to do with the browser privacy issues but the bookmarks problem is a pretty big deal.

[janvojt]

@srirambv why is this issue still untriaged and flagged needs-more-info? What exactly is needed to triage this?

It has been untriaged for well over a year. I really liked the idea of leveraging blockchain to sync bookmarks, but being completely broken it suggests this may have been a bad use-case.

[bsclifton]

@janvojt I removed the needs-more-info. We're doing a proper sync implementation building on what Chromium has already and the devs (I assigned them) are making great progress. This will get users not only sync-able bookmarks, but everything else that you'd basically see on https://chrome.google.com/sync

The main tracking issue for this is https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/9241 if you'd like to subscribe. Thanks for hanging in there- I know having an unreliable implementation isn't fun