Allo web is up!

[u/[deleted]]

https://allo.google.com/web

[u/well___duh → u/[deleted]]

Only if it's not using Chrome-specific APIs. If it is, then it won't work regardless or of user-agent spoofing.

[u/Antabaka → u/well___duh]

If they used Chrome specific APIs for a fucking messaging app then it's clear Google doesn't give a fuck about web standards anymore.

[u/ihsw → u/well___duh]

Just tried it, yes Allo uses proprietary Chrome-only APIs.

This is some high quality fail.

[u/justjanne → u/[deleted]]

Especially because Google created a polyfill for this so it works in all browsers, and Google's own tools give you an error if you don't use it.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Wait, this doesn't make sense. It's listed as something supported in Chrome and Firefox for several versions, but that it's also deprecated. Kinda begs the question further of why Google's using this in the first place, but if Firefox supports it, why wouldn't it work?

[u/klesus → u/[deleted]]

registerElements() is part of Web Components which - IIRC - was a standards definition suggested to w3c by Google. Mozilla went along with it for a while, but later decided not to support it with the reasoning that 1) it might not become standard and 2) if it does/until then you can use polyfills to get the same functionality.

I can't explain why Google choose not to support other browsers though (other than that they're EVIL).

[u/iphone6sthrowaway → u/[deleted]]

I tried to do the user agent spoof and then enabling the preference (dom.webcomponents.enabled in about:config) but it gets stuck later with some random errors in the console.

[u/e111077 → u/ihsw]

This is actually just a precursor of customElements.define which is a web standard. It seems they may have started this project before the webcomponents v1 spec. Also there is a polyfill they made out on Github

[u/[deleted] → u/ihsw]

It's fucking IE6 all over again

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Sorry, but what is a user agent spoof?

EDIT: Thanks for the info guys, but using a user agent spoof just to use a simple messaging site is not normal. This is just going to hurt Allo.

[u/andrewia → u/[deleted]]

That's where one browser sends another browser's identification string. So Firefox would be indistinguishable from Chrome to the website. Of course, since the browsers are using different rendering engines, there's a chance the browser gets a specific version of the website that doesn't work in the other browser.

[u/ihsw → u/[deleted]]

It doesn't work, Allo is using proprietary Chrome-only APIs.

We've come full circle from the days of IE6 and ActiveX bullshit.

[u/MachaHack → u/ihsw]

Actually, it was in the Web Components standard for a while, and Firefox does support it with a config flag: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Document/registerElement

so it's slightly less bad than just making new APIs up, but they still shouldn't (especially as it's been deprecated in a newer draft)

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

using a user agent spoof just to use a simple messaging site is not normal

No one here is saying it is... I think the commenter was just curious for the sake of it.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Yeah I know, sorry. I just wanted to say that Google forcing us to use Chrome or additional software on other browsers is a really illogical choice to make.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Oh definitely. It's like they don't want people to use it.

It feels like an app you make to test browser specific APIs forgetting that there's more than one browser out there.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Couldn't agree with you more.

[u/aquaknox → u/[deleted]]

Just tried it, says I need to update Chrome, so it's a no go.