Inconsistent Settings Behavior - "Upgrade connections to HTTPS" not working in Private Mode

Brave Feature Requests Desktop Requests
1

Description of the issue:

Inconsistent Settings Behavior - “Upgrade connections to HTTPS” setting not working in Private Mode, but works fine in Normal mode.

How can this issue be reproduced?

Compare how it works correctly in Normal Mode vs how it does not work in Private Mode:

Normal / Standard / Regular Mode (not Private mode)

  1. brave://settings/shields

  2. Upgrade connections to HTTPS, set to Disabled

  3. Open Brave , in regular mode , i.e. not In Private mode

  4. Open a http url , i.e. not a https url e.g. http://httpforever.com/

  5. Observe there is no warning screen, i.e. the http site loads

  6. Click on Brave Lion

  7. Observe that it is set to “Don’t upgrade connections” (corresponding to “Disabled” from above)

Private Mode

  1. brave://settings/shields

  2. Upgrade connections to HTTPS, set to Disabled

  3. Open Brave in Private mode

  4. Open a http url e.g. http://httpforever.com/

  5. Observe the warning screen , click Continue to site

  6. http site now loads

  7. Click on Brave Lion

  8. Observe that it is set to Upgrade connections to HTTPS i.e. it is not set to Disabled / “Don’t upgrade connections”

Expected Result:

Upgrade connections to HTTPS, set to Disabled, should work in Private mode, not just non-Private mode.

Brave Version:

Version 1.73.105 Chromium: 131.0.6778.265 (Official Build) (64-bit)

Reproducible on current live release (yes/no):

yes, as of 2025, Jan 9 using the version listed above

Additional Information:

Numerous posts exists about “Upgrade connections to HTTPS”

https://community.brave.com/search?q=Upgrade%20connections%20to%20HTTPS

Most posts are old or do not specifically address Private mode.

May 2020 - Disabling “Upgrade connections to HTTPS” is not working

official response : “Fixed in Version 1.10.93 Chromium: 83.0.4103.106 (Official Build) (64-bit)”

However, the OP does not indicate whether they are using Private mode or not.

Presumably not and that the fix was only for non-Private mode.

Oct 2024 - Private/Incognito needs global Do not upgrade to HTTPS

Several users confirm this problem, describing it in different ways.

I conclude from my (non-exhaustive) search that this is a unique problem and a legitimate Feature Request.

2

@JoShu I tested and see what you’re saying, that opening in Private causes it to default to Upgrade Connections to HTTPS even if you have global and/or specific site settings to Disabled.

As I contemplated this, I wondered if it is a bug. I’m guessing it may be more of a “feature” as Private or Incognito tends to want to have higher privacy. HTTP would be unsecured connection, which wouldn’t be very “private.”

That said, I’m going to tag in @fanboynz and @Mattches to see if either can provide feedback on it. Do keep in mind that it’s very late on Friday night right now, so it may be a little while before we hear back on anything.

3

I thought this actually was something that was forced by Private browsing but I’m not entirely sure. Further I’ve just found this issue here (opened a while ago now at this point) which seems to indicate that should not be the case:

I’ve asked some folks on the team to confirm whether or not this behavior should be expected.