Google login on iPad Air 2 not working

  • Context: Bug 
  • Thread starter Thread starter gentzen
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gentzen
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Since Saturday or Sunday, I can no longer login to Physics Forums on my ipad2. When I click 'Google' on the login dialog, a subdialog with a 'Confirm' button opens. When I press ' Confirm', something quickly loads, and the subdialog stays. I can press 'Confirm' as often as I like, always the same.

Then I can press the 'x' buttons to times, to close the subdialog and the login dialog, and continue without being logged in.
 
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Google AI said:
The fact that the issue occurs across Safari, Chrome, and Firefox on your newer iPad Air M2 points directly to Apple's system-wide WebKit architecture. On iPadOS, Apple forces all browsers to use their underlying WebKit engine. [1, 2]
When Physics Forums updated its framework (XenForo), it implemented Google's modern Identity Services API. This framework uses an embedded iframe or pop-up handshake that Apple's native Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) aggressively flags and blocks as a cross-site tracking attempt. [1, 2]
Because Chrome and Firefox on iPadOS must use WebKit under the hood, they inherit the exact same blocking behavior as Safari. [1, 2]
The Core Problem
When you tap "Sign in with Google", the new framework attempts to open a cross-domain connection between physicsforums.com and accounts.google.com. iPadOS sees a third-party script trying to drop or read a session cookie, silently drops the authentication token to protect your privacy, and the login loop breaks. [1, 2]
How to Fix It Globally on iPadOS
Since the restriction is operating system-wide, you have to adjust the tracking settings for each individual browser app: [1, 2]
  • For Safari: Go to your iPad Settings > Safari. Scroll down to Privacy & Security and toggle off Prevent Cross-Site Tracking.
  • For Chrome: Go to your iPad Settings > Chrome. Toggle on Allow Cross-Website Tracking.
  • For Firefox: Go to your iPad Settings > Firefox. Toggle on Allow Cross-Website Tracking. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Note: Once you change these settings, force-close the browser apps and try logging into Physics Forums again.
Alternative Workaround (If you prefer keeping tracking blocked)
If you do not want to lower your iPad's privacy filters, you can bypass the Google OAuth handshake entirely:
  1. Go to a desktop computer where you are already logged into Physics Forums.
  2. Navigate to your account settings and associate a standard password with your account email.
  3. On your iPads, log in using your standard email and that newly created password instead of the Google button.
I will test this tonight. It looks to me like my issue should be solvable on my side, without action from Greg Bernhardt.
I will report back the results.