mozilla-mobile/firefox-ios

Firefox briefly shows previous session before opening copied link from widget

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#29,121 opened on Sep 3, 2025

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Description

teps to reproduce:

  1. Force close Firefox.
  2. Copy a link.
  3. Use “Go to copied link” from the Firefox widget.
  4. Observe the app’s behavior when launching.

Expected result: Firefox should open directly on the copied link without displaying the previous session.

Actual result:

  • A screen with the Firefox logo appears in the background.
  • The last opened tab before closing the app is briefly displayed.
  • Only afterwards, the copied link is loaded.

Notes:

Reproduces for private browsing also.

Device & Build Information:

  • Device: iPhone 14+ (iOS 16.0.3)
  • Build version: v143.0 (60740)

:information_source: Reference Person

+@Foxbolts+

┆Issue is synchronized with this Jira Bug

Contributor guide

Research direction
Investigate the app delegate and widget URL handling. Trace the launch sequence to see why the previous session is shown before navigating to the copied link. Focus on the `application( :didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:)` and widget URL handling code.
Tech stack
swift
Domain
mobile
Issue type
Bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
Half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
iOS developmentSwift
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
40