Quick Tip: Fix Display Issues with
Third-Party Comment Plug-Ins and Page Elements
in the Mozilla Firefox Browser
At some point today, Firefox updated itself. And afterwards, I found I could no longer see Facebook Comment Sections on third-party sites, (like Buzzfeed or USAToday.) Certain embedded elements, like Tweets and Instagrams, were also being replaced with the ALT text. I did NOT like this behavior at all! Refreshing the page did nothing, nor did disabling ad-blockers.
I was actually alerted to this issue when I received a Facebook notification that someone had replied to one of my comments. I tried to go back to the site to continue the discussion, but the Comment section simply was not there. So I tried opening the page in Chrome, et voila! The Comment Section appeared right where I expected, and I could continue my discussion. I use Firefox as my primary browser, and I didn't want to have to open a page in Chrome every time I wanted to read the comments. It was time to troubleshoot this issue.
Firefox has upgraded its Tracking Protection. With its Default Settings, the new Firefox blocks many plug-ins from displaying on many sites. If a site uses a third-party Commenting plug-in or "share" feature, Firefox may see this as cross-site tracking and block the element. Luckily, it's easy to tell Firefox to override this on a site by site basis.
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| Same Page, with Tracking Protection ON vs OFF |
When Firefox has tracking protection enabled, it will display a Shield icon in the URL-bar, to the left of the actual web address. On pages using https:// protocol, the shield will display to the left of the lock.
How to Disable Tracking Protection on a Site-by-Site Basis, The Easy Way
To override Tracking Protection, click on the shield icon in the URL Bar.
A menu will drop down, with a section labeled "Tracking Protection." Within that is a button labeled "Disable protection for this site."
Click on that button. The label will change to "Enable Tracking Protection," and the Shield icon will appear with a slash over it, indicating Tracking Protection is turned off.
Refresh the page, and the missing Page Elements (Tweets, Instagrams, Gifs, Comments, etc.) should appear.
To re-enable Tracking Protection, click the Shield Icon, then click on "Enable Protection."
Remember, you need to turn Tracking Protection OFF to see blocked elements on the page. If you are seeing ALT Text instead of Tweets or Instagrams, and you are NOT seeing Comment Sections, turn Tracking Protection OFF. When Tracking Protection is ON, it may filter third-party elements out of the page.
And it's THAT simple. Have you noticed missing page elements since you upgraded Firefox? Did you try disabling your ad-blocker to no avail? Let us know in the Comments Section here. (If you can't see it, well you know how to fix that now!) And as always, thanks for reading.
NOTE: I am currently running Firefox Quantum, Version 58.0.1 for Windows. Steps and graphics may differ slightly for Mobile, Linux, or Mac versions of Firefox. This information may not apply to earlier versions of Firefox, but should continue to apply to later releases.
Can't read/make comments on BizPacReview using Firefox but I can do both using Chrome and IE. Why does this only happen on Firefox?
ReplyDeleteBetween privacy protection and ad blocking, Firefox blocks many of the plug-ins that make comment sections display. Sometimes even with these protections disabled, you need to reload the page to see comments.
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