Can't block the AI sparkle popups on Lowes

[Elliandr]

Prerequisites

• I verified that this is not a filter list issue. Report any issues with filter lists or broken website functionality in the uAssets issue tracker.
• This is NOT a YouTube, Facebook or Twitch report. These sites MUST be reported by clicking their respective links.
• I performed a cursory search of the issue tracker to avoid opening a duplicate issue.
• The issue is not present after disabling uBO in the browser.
• I checked the documentation to understand that the issue I am reporting is not normal behavior.

I tried to reproduce the issue when...

• uBO is the only extension.
• using a new, unmodified browser profile.

Description

Ordinarily, I can block an element by right-clicking a page and clicking the element to be blocked. However, I cannot select to block the AI sparkle popups. Or rather, I can, but only down to a certain layer. I cannot fully stop it.

For whatever reason, a multitude of websites now use this stupid sparkle icon on the bottom-right corner of the screen. This is normally easy to ignore, but some websites - such as Lowes - tries really hard to force users into using it. When trying to read it draws the eyes down by slowly expanding outward with a message about trying to help me. Think the old Clippy annoyances on MS Word, but dialed up to an extreme because unlike Clippy I cannot close it.

I checked and do not see any related pages here about this. Note, however, that since this issue is specifically related to the feature of selecting elements to block, the check box above, "The issue is not present after disabling uBO in the browser." is NOT true because when uBO is disabled there's no right-click option to begin with. It's strange that I have to select that option to proceed even though some bugs can exist that are only present with uBO because they are bugs in uBO behavior.

Also note that this is different from the type of issue where a blocked element returns repeatedly. In those cases I can block the element, but they come back because the element changes names. In this case I cannot select the element to block it to begin with.

To me, the worst elements of any website as random bits of motion and text that drag itself across the screen and/or cover content. I absolutely hate anything about a website that draws the eyes away from reading or doing what I am trying to do with the website and want to be able to close it.

If I want to use AI to help me with a project I wouldn't use a corporate website to do so. That is completely unnecessary.

A specific URL where the issue occurs.

https://www.lowes.com/

Steps to Reproduce

1. Right-click
2. Block Element
3. Physically drag the box so I can see the bottom right corner
4. Click the sparkle thingy
5. Initially see that the sparkle icon is gone, but the object behind it remains as a white oval covering content.
6. Try again, but find I cannot click the element at all.
7. Drag page down hoping it won't distract me, but the sparkle comes back with messages as it drags itself out.
8. Try again, but I still cannot click the element at all.

Expected behavior

I would expect to be able to block any element on a page page so it never runs.

Actual behavior

I can block part of the element, but not anything behind it.

Configuration

Details

uBlock Origin: 1.72.2
Firefox: 135
filterset (summary):
 network: 180432
 cosmetic: 43608
 scriptlet: 34551
 html: 3772
listset (total-discarded, last-updated):
 default:
  user-filters: 160-23, never
  ublock-filters: 53798-72, 1d.23h.20m
  ublock-badware: 10175-17, 3h.19m Δ
  ublock-privacy: 4109-2, 3h.19m Δ
  ublock-unbreak: 2864-1, 3h.19m Δ
  easylist: 84951-139, 19m
  easyprivacy: 56353-43, 19m
  urlhaus-1: 47395-11, 11h.19m
  plowe-0: 3521-1045, 3d.20m
  ublock-quick-fixes: 529-9, 3h.19m Δ
filterset (user): [array of 160 redacted]
trustedset:
 added: [array of 4 redacted]
switchRuleset:
 added: [array of 1 redacted]
userSettings: [none]
hiddenSettings: [none]
supportStats:
 allReadyAfter: 6470 ms (selfie)
 maxAssetCacheWait: 72 ms
 cacheBackend: indexedDB

[gothic-bum]

The element picker works fine for the "sparkle thingy" element if you select the proper filter from the list of suggested filters.

Per documentation:

If possible, one or more network filters may get suggested, as well as a list of cosmetic filters. When you click on one of the filters, you will see what effect it will have on the web page. Also, ensure the selected filter will not remove any additional elements on the page meant to stay.

and

When you select a cosmetic filter, two sliders will appear that let you further adjust the suggested filter.

The slider on the left-hand side is to adjust the depth of the elements to target. For example, filters with lower depth typically remove large areas of the web page.

The slider on the right-hand side is to adjust the specificity of the filter to create. For example, higher specificity tends to cause fewer elements to be filtered (down to a single one), while lower specificity tends to cause more to be filtered.

Adjust as needed to pick the filter that best matches what you wish to accomplish.

Or you can add to "My filters":

lowes.com##.ChatInviteButton

---

And for help with creating custom filters, you can ask in the official uBO support forum on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/uBlockOrigin/

[krystian3w]

Maybe sometimes some dialog or popover opens there #2027?