Google Docs won't load home screen in Private Window, error message and can't access documents.
If I'm in a regular Firefox window, I can access Google Docs with no problems. But if I open a Private Window and log into Google docs, I get an error message that says "Home screen is temporarily unavailable. Try to load it again or send an error report." The "reload" button just keeps cycling the error message. It started happening suddenly yesterday. I've cleared the cache and cookies and refreshed Firefox, and nothing works. I can't access any of my documents in a Private Window, which I sometimes prefer to do since other people have access to my computer.
All Replies (6)
Hi, it is possible that Google has changed things which is not unusual on Firefox so that the blocking of things that google wants to set such as other cookies Private Mode is blocking.
The use of aggressive ad blockers can also do the same to many sites.
The least thing would be to do a Refresh and that is something that I do not think is warranted due to circumstance. But you decide.
Hi, and thanks for the response! That makes a lot of sense. I did refresh Firefox after it started happening, but no luck fixing it. I appreciate the suggestion though, thanks again.
Most likely private mode blocks something google docs needs to verify the owner so that is why your denied access.
Can you rule out Tracking Protection as the issue? It is automatically enabled in private windows.
When the feature is blocking content, a "shield" icon appears next to the padlock at the left end of the address bar. More info on managing the Tracking Protection feature in this article: What happened to Tracking Protection?.
No shield icon showing up and the problem persists even with Tracking Protection disabled. Thank you for the suggestion though, I appreciate the help.
Note that Private Browsing mode disable local storage, so if the website needs to use this feature then it will fail.
You can check the Web Console to see if there is more detail available.
- "3-bar" menu button or Tools -> Web Developer
- https://developer.mozilla.org/en/Tools/Web_Console