How long does it take for the browser.sync api to sync information between devices?

Add-ons Development
#1

Hello there. I’ve been working on an extension(addon) recently, and was looking for a way to sync information across a user’s devices. This would require fast sync of the storage API, which I don’t see. How long does it take for the browser.sync API to sync up between the devices?
Or is there something else that I can use to do this?

The feature is basically like handoff where the user can press a button which will save some information to the sync, and then the user can access it on their other device in an instant.

Thanks!

PS: I hope I’m doing this right, my first time posting here.

#2

The build in Sync Storage is indeed great for synchronizing small data because it doesn’t need any host permissions and it works automatically on all user devices.

But it’s far from perfect - the 100KB limit may be an issue for some use-cases, and then there is 512 items limit (the key values) and 8KB limit per item and then some time-limits how many times per second / minute / hour you can change those. And it doesn’t sync with Android :frowning:.

Regarding the sync interval, I’ve been complaining about it and even though it’s better now (checkout this article), it’s still pretty slow. When my PC wakes up from sleep, it takes usually several minutes till I receive data form other devices. Even worse, sync-up can also take many minutes and if I put there something not long before turning of my PC, it won’t be uploaded (only next day when I turn on PC again). But not always, sometimes it’s faster, sometimes slower. It feels like the server has some issues…

The good news is that the backend will merge your data together - as long as you use different key to add/modify new values, so you won’t loose any data.

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