Canvasblocker: a few suggestions for reorganizing preferences

[practik]

Now that CanvasBlocker has grown to include other APIs, the preferences could be a bit more logically organized:

1. Change the name of the Faking section to Canvas API.
2. Move the settings “Block mode” and “Store image for inspection” into the Canvas API section.
3. Move the three other API sections up so that all four API sections are together.
4. Two options for the “API whitelist” settings (aka “Protected API features”):
   a. Move them into a new section between Window API and Notifications.
   b. Break them up and move each API’s features into the appropriate API section. Building on the suggestion at https://github.com/kkapsner/CanvasBlocker/issues/245#issuecomment-419511152, that might look something like this:
   Protect audio API Block audio fingerprinting on all websites ☑︎ Block/allow on specific websites (click arrow to add) ▼ example1.com ☐ example2.com ☐ [ ] + Block/allow specific API features on all websites ▼ getFloatFrequencyData ☑︎ getByteFrequencyData ☑︎ getFloatTimeDomainData ☑︎ getByteTimeDomainData ☑︎ getChannelData ☑︎ copyFromChannel ☑︎ getFrequencyResponse ☑︎
5. One last little thing: In the API Whitelist / Protected API Features section, there should not be any hyphens in the API names – e.g. “Canvas API,” not “Canvas-API."

[spodermenpls]

Ideas 1-3 are good, and I quite like the radical redesign in idea 4b).. I think it would make extra descriptions as in #248 unnecessary, and wouldn't need gray-out mirroring like proposed in #247 .. if implemented, the "arrow menus" should stay open when you left them open, when you close and re-open the CB tab.

[spodermenpls]

"One last little thing: In the API Whitelist / Protected API Features section, there should not be any hyphens in the API names – e.g. “Canvas API,” not “Canvas-API.""

@practik Are you using the German version? With commit eed3e670ce2beee6d748edf711f31ac9295fbea1 in effect next release, there aren't that many hyphens left in the English locale..

[practik]

No, this is in the English version, and the hyphens are just in the API Whitelist as far as I can see.

[spodermenpls]

The mentioned API titles in the whitelist aren't part of the locale template, so they're "Germanized" for all languages - your turn, @kkapsner..

[practik]

Of course, if idea 4b is accepted, then 5 won't matter anymore :-)

[spodermenpls]

That is true indeed..

[kkapsner]

Very good input.

To 1.:
The faking section will stay there (the rng settings are API independent) but a separate canvas section makes totally sense.

To 2.: The block mode is also for all APIs. But the "store image..:" will go to canvas

To 3.: I would rather move the canvas section down. So the order will be:

• (empty section for the first three settings)
• asking
• faking
• notifications
• lists
• canvas API
• audio API
• history API
• window API
• DOMRect API
• misc
• settings

To 4.: b:

To 5.: obsolete due to 4b

[spodermenpls]

Your modification of idea 4b is good too, but could still use my descriptions then. #247 is no longer needed then, though.

[spodermenpls]

the "arrow menus" should stay open when you left them open, when you close and re-open the CB tab.

@kkapsner Is this implementable, at least with an optional switch? This would make editing the site specifics a lot more convenient, re-opening menus (and finding the right one..) gets annoying after doing it for the 99th time..

[practik]

Ah, I didn't realize that block mode and RNG settings were for all APIs. But I think these changes will make that clearer.

[kkapsner]

Saving the arrow state is possible and should not be too hard.

[kkapsner]

Please check https://github.com/kkapsner/CanvasBlocker/releases/tag/0.5.4-Alpha3 (the arrow thing is not yet in).

[spodermenpls]

The new settings panel looks very neat, much better than before!

[kkapsner]

And it will become even more usable when #242 is done.

[spodermenpls]

@kkapsner By the way, when do you plan to lift the version count up to 1.0? Wouldn't the next release be a good candidate?

[practik]

I agree with spodermenpls, the new preferences look great. Thank you kkapsner for all the work!

[kkapsner]

Hm... I think CB is ready for 1.0 but I'm not sure if I am ;)

[spodermenpls]

Do you need help with replacing "0.5.4" with "1.0"? 😉

[kkapsner]

I will decide short before the release.

[kkapsner]

Please test https://github.com/kkapsner/CanvasBlocker/releases/tag/0.5.4-RC1

[practik]

I'm testing 0.5.4. RC2. All looks good in the prefs, but I notice that when I click on the page action icon, the "more" option is missing.

[practik]

And wow, there is a LOT of DOMRect faking happening on some webpages.

[spodermenpls]

@practik Take a look at the release notes: "notification details are not stored by default".. set the checkmark in the notification settings if you need the request details (needs potentially lots of RAM though, that's why it's disabled now by default).

And I've noticed the hefty amounts of DOMRect requests too:

I am quite amazed how the DOMRects numbers fly through the roof during a Youtube livestream, with enough endurance you'd probably break the 1 million readouts barrier, with an activated chat box and lots of users participating..

[practik]

notification details are not stored by default

Ah, that's what that means – I saw that preference but I thought it was just a reworded version of "Store image for inspection." Thank you.

DOMRect

Yep, YouTube seems a prime offender here. Just loading an ordinary YouTube video page triggers 80–90 requests, and scrolling to the bottom and back to the top again adds about 400 more.

[kkapsner]

And wow, there is a LOT of DOMRect faking happening on some webpages.

That's why I disabled notifications for DOMRect on my machine...

[kkapsner]

0.5.4 is out: https://github.com/kkapsner/CanvasBlocker/releases/tag/0.5.4