Zen settings blocked content button does not work

[claremont-awilson]

Preliminary Checks

• [x] I have read and understood the important section above.
• [x] I have searched existing issues and avoided creating duplicates.
• [x] I am not filing an enhancement request.
• [x] I have checked that this issue cannot be reproduced on Mozilla Firefox.
• [x] I have checked that this issue can be reproduced once I removed all my Mods and Custom CSS.

What happened?

If I'm on say TheVerge and they link content to Twitter/X - it gets blocked. Fine.

There is a button however titled "Allow on www.theverge.com" but it does nothing:

Expected behavior

The button would allow the content or open up settings

Actual behavior

The button does nothing.

Steps to reproduce

Go to page (e.g. https://www.theverge.com/fortnite/685442/thats-a-victory-royale-i-tell-you-what)

Click on button

Screenshots and videos

Screenshot above

Version

1.12.10b (Firefox 139.0.1) (64-bit)

What platform are you seeing the problem on?

Windows - x64

What component is this issue related to?

Security

Relevant log output if applicable

[nasserd]

The content is restricted when "Enhanced Tracking Protection" (Privacy & Security) is in Strict or Custom modes. The content is visible/unrestricted in either Standard mode, or when the domain is manually added to the Manage Exceptions list.

(Just adding how the trigger/button does not seem to add to the Exceptions list, as part of the expected behavior.)

[chupi33]

i have the same pb on MacOS Sequoia 15.6 Version Twilight 1.15t

[Propheticus]

Found the reason. The about:config advanced pref zen.urlbar.show-protections-icon needs to be set 'true' in order for this to work. (which defaults off)

Nothing changes, unless you switch the toggle there (or reduce the level of enhanced tracking protection)

[nasserd]

Thank you @Propheticus that's wild! By tinkering with the UI a bit there's still a bug in that implementation!

The on-page "Allow" button activates/brings-focus to the "Allow (x)" toggle from within the Protections menu; this activation requires that zen.urlbar.show-protections-icon is set to true. This works as expected when the address bar is on full display only

When the layout is in either Compact Mode or if the URL bar is embedded into the Sidebar, then the functionality is not available. This is because that condensed URL bar is 'hiding' the Protections icon from display as the URL bar's only 2 icons are cookies and workspace, or cookies and SSL when hovered-over.

The bug-fix would be to:

1. show the Protections icon by default, and
2. show the Protections icon in the URL bar in the Sidebar (possibly replacing the cookies option as default, or adding it as a third icon)

tbh, idk how much usage the cookies icon gets for users to revoke a single cookie on the page (in any layout viewstate). The inclusion of the Protections function would make more sense and align with security focus of that module: SSL certificates and Protections against things. Maybe its presence should be toggled overall as a Zen-wide setting

[Propheticus]

@nasserd the icon is shown when you click the url bar so it expands, but the issue then is this other issue https://github.com/zen-browser/desktop/issues/7851 which causes icons' menus to malfunction when they're clicked after the url bar is clicked/focussed first.

[nasserd]

Interesting. It would all indicate that the icons' viewstates are all jumbled and lost overall, thus impeding their primary and secondary levels of interactivity (activation-based).

That puzzle would be solved by revisiting/refactoring how the sidebar renders and makes those elements actionable beyond pure display with hover states.

Perhaps it needs to be a copy of the fully-loaded address bar but trimmed for dimensions and icon options (container might be a border color rather than icon placement), rather than a slender view with extra toys.

[dosubot[bot]]

Hi, @claremont-awilson. I'm Dosu (https://dosu.dev), and I'm helping the desktop team manage their backlog and am marking this issue as stale.

Issue Summary:

• You reported that the "Allow on [site]" button for blocked content in Zen Browser 1.12.10b on Firefox does not work properly, especially on sites like TheVerge.
• The issue is linked to the advanced preference zen.urlbar.show-protections-icon being off by default, which disables the button functionality.
• The button only works when the full URL bar is visible; in Compact Mode or when the URL bar is embedded in the Sidebar, the Protections icon is hidden, causing the button to fail.
• Suggestions include showing the Protections icon by default and improving sidebar rendering to restore button interactivity and usability.

Next Steps:

• Please let me know if this issue is still relevant with the latest version of Zen Browser.
• If it is, you can keep the discussion open by commenting here; otherwise, this issue will be automatically closed in 7 days.

Thank you for your understanding and contribution!

[chupi33]

hello

i have the same issue with the latest version of Zen Browser

Version

1.14.11b (Firefox 141.0.3)

What platform are you seeing the problem on?

Windows 11 MacOS 26 Beta

[Propheticus]

@dosubot should stop closing issues that have a todo status.

[dosubot[bot]]

Noted! By default, Dosu is set up to skip closing issues with a "todo" status—this is controlled by the workflow configuration in .github/workflows/src/close-issues.yml, which passes a "todo-label" to the script. If Dosu is closing "todo" issues, it's likely due to a config change or override in that workflow. You can adjust the "todo-label" in the YAML to make sure issues with that status are never closed automatically. Let me know if you want help reviewing or updating the workflow!

To reply, just mention @dosu.

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