AMO allowing mobile installation when it is not marked as compatible

Add-ons
#1

Ever since the empty anonymous reviews has been launched, my add-on has been made available for mobile platforms when I have already marked it as not compatible with mobile and even removed it from the version currently available and the one pending review.

This recent comment confirms that the add-on is still available for installation on android: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-plus/reviews/856055/

How on earth are we suppose to make sure that mobile users are not being served an add-on that has been already marked as not compatible for mobile platform? Is this broken? Are all add-ons suppose to receive negative reviews because the users installed through AMO add-ons that are not compatible with the users’ platforms?

I would like to know what else is missing for us, developers, to do to make sure that users in incompatible platforms are not being served the incompatible add-on through AMO incorrectly.

AMO low rating empty review abuse
#2

Another add-on that has received a very negative review because users think it is mobile compatible when it is not, all this because AMO is serving the add-ons to incompatible platforms: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/magic-actions-for-youtube/reviews/856042/

And another: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/userunified-script-injector/reviews/855809/

And another: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tab-reloader/reviews/855585/

And this is a user that actually cared to explain his review, there are sure to exist plenty of others that just rate and don’t say anything.

#3

I tested your add-on listing page on our mobile site (you can do this with an Android device or the Responsive Design Mode in the Developer Tools), and I don’t see way to install it by going directly to its page, or find it using the search tool. It would be useful for us to get more details on how users are finding it and installing it so we can fix the problem.

#4

The same user continues complaining about add-ons showing up on the android section when they are not marked as compatible with android:

Why are these addons in the android section when they clearly are not compatible and the developer hasn’t tested! Here is another add-on does not do anything on android, this is retarded.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/formsave/reviews/856656/

Why are these addons in the android section when they clearly are not compatible and the developer hasn’t tested! This add-on does not work either.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tabkeeper/reviews/856653/

Clearly something is not right on AMO for this to be happening and the add-ons are the ones paying with negative reviews that are completely unfair and only the result of something broken on AMO.

As for providing more details on how users are finding and installing, I think that’s asking a bit much from any developer with almost no way to reach out for such task. We don’t have this kind of acces on AMO to do this.

#5

Looks like this problem is still not fixed, another developer complaining about the same problem: https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/67dq2x/i_submitted_a_webextension_for_desktop_only_but/

One complaining could be a fluke, two could be a coincidence, but three, four, five, etc? At that point it is not something that should keep going ignored.

#6

Another day, another mobile user installing an add-on that is not mobile compatible, yet this problem is still being allowed to happen: https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/6cl1rz/how_do_you_change_magic_actions_youtube_addon/

It is very sad that developers themselves will be forced to start adding an automatic landing page just to warn mobile users that the add-on is not mobile compatible and that they shouldn’t have installed it had Mozilla fixed this problem once and for all.

#7

@jorgev: same problem here.

If I go to https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/android/addon/update-scanner/ I see a “not available for your device” error, and can’t install it.

But it (incorrectly) installs fine on Android from https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/update-scanner/, which is the main AMO landing page for this extension.

I’d expect that an add-on that doesn’t support Android should not be installable, no matter which URL is used.

#8

I filed this issue to look into it. I think there’s a similar issue filed somewhere, but I can’t find it.

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