Bug linking to Instagram from Metafilter? March 18, 2019 1:20 PM   Subscribe

Do links to Instagram cause weird browser behavior for you? If so, is this a Metafilter issue, a browser issue, an Instagram issue, or what?

This is what happens to me when I click on a link to Instagram from a Metafilter page in Firefox on my Mac:

Direct click: opens Instagram link. There is no back button to the original metafilter page. IT DISAPPEARED! If I look at my history, Firefox has a record of the original page as a closed tab.

Command click (Opening in a new tab): Opens Instagram link in new tab. CLOSES original Metafilter tab. I am able to get the Metafilter page back by using the command to undo a tab closing (Command Shift T).

In Safari everything works as expected.
posted by Stewriffic to Bugs at 1:20 PM (5 comments total)

Are you using the Facebook Container add-on for Firefox, which causes Instagram and Facebook links to open in special container tabs for privacy protection? I think this might be a bug in the Facebook Container extension.
posted by mbrubeck at 2:21 PM on March 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


It's a known issue that Facebook Container breaks the back button on normal link clicks. But I wasn't able to reproduce the second problem: command-click to open the instagram link in a new tab does not close the original tab, on my computer.

If anyone else wants to test, you can use this Instagram link (from the egg post).
posted by mbrubeck at 2:28 PM on March 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


Huh. Yep. I do use Facebook Container. The bug is annoying enough that I think I'll disable it.

And now command-click isn't closing the original tab. I swear it was doing that.

Regardless, it seems like it's a me-issue, not any site issue.

That's the best outcome. Thank you!
posted by Stewriffic at 2:37 PM on March 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


I use Facebook container and have this issue. Ctrl-shift-t brings back the closed tab with minimal fuss.
posted by deadwax at 6:56 PM on March 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


Ok, so I take back 10% of the vitrol I directed towards instagram for how "broken" their navigation is considering it sounds like it is self inflicted. not turning off facebook container though; from the ads facebook shows me it seems to know very little about me and I'd prefer to keep it that way. Like I drive a $500 car 'cause that is what I can afford; what in the world makes FB think I can afford a Bentley or even that glowforge they are pushing on me every second ad.
posted by Mitheral at 11:54 PM on March 18, 2019


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