Firefox privacy: 15 tips for secure and private browsing

1. Open the Firefox browser on your computer.
2. Click on the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner of the Firefox window.
3. From the drop-down menu, select “Preferences” (on macOS) or “Options” (on Windows).
4. In the left sidebar of the preferences/options page, click on “Privacy & Security.”
5. Scroll down to the “Permissions” section.
6. Under the “Permissions” section, you will find the following options related to blocking pop-ups and ads:- Block pop-up windows: Check this box to enable the built-in pop-up blocker in Firefox. It will prevent websites from opening pop-up windows without your permission.- Block new requests asking to allow notifications: Check this box to block websites from displaying notifications prompts.- Send websites a “Do Not Track” signal: Enable this option if you want Firefox to send a signal to websites requesting not to track your browsing activity.
7. Additionally, you can click on the “Settings…” button next to the “Block pop-up windows” option to configure exceptions or advanced settings for the pop-up blocker.
8. To enhance ad blocking, you can install ad-blocking extensions from the Firefox Add-ons store. Some popular ad-blocking extensions include uBlock Origin, Adblock Plus, and Privacy Badger. Open the Add-ons Manager by clicking on the menu button, selecting “Add-ons,” and searching for the desired ad-blocking extension.
9. Once you find the ad-blocking extension you want to install, click on the “Add to Firefox” or “Install” button next to it.
10. After the installation, follow the prompts to configure any additional settings specific to the ad-blocking extension.

By enabling the built-in pop-up blocker and installing ad-blocking extensions, you can enhance your browsing experience in Firefox by preventing annoying pop-ups and blocking unwanted ads.

8. Disable automatic search suggestions

To disable automatic search suggestions in Firefox, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Firefox browser on your computer.
2. Click on the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner of the Firefox window.
3. From the drop-down menu, select “Preferences” (on macOS) or “Options” (on Windows).
4. In the left sidebar of the preferences/options page, click on “Search.”
5. In the “Default Search Engine” section, you will see the search engine that Firefox uses for its search suggestions.
6. To disable search suggestions, uncheck the box next to “Provide search suggestions” or a similar option depending on the version of Firefox you are using.
7. You can also click on the “Search Suggestions Settings” button to further customize the behavior of search suggestions, such as enabling or disabling specific search engines.
8. Once you have made your desired changes, close the preferences/options page.

By disabling automatic search suggestions in Firefox, you can have more control over your search experience and prevent suggestions from appearing as you type in the search bar.

9. Control what’s being synchronized

To control what's being synchronized on Firefox, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Firefox browser on your computer.
2. Click on the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner of the Firefox window.
3. From the drop-down menu, select “Preferences” (on macOS) or “Options” (on Windows).
4. In the left sidebar of the preferences/options page, click on “Firefox Account” or “Sync” (depending on your Firefox version).
5. If you're not already signed in to your Firefox Account, sign in using your account credentials.
6. Once signed in, you will see the synchronization options available.
7. To control what's being synchronized, click on the “Sync Settings” or “Manage What's Being Synced” button.
8. In the synchronization settings, you will find a list of different categories, such as bookmarks, browsing history, open tabs, add-ons, passwords, and more.
9. For each category, you can toggle the switch to enable or disable synchronization. If the switch is blue, it means the category is being synchronized, and if it's gray, it means it's not being synchronized.
10. Review the categories and adjust the switches according to your preferences. You can choose to synchronize specific categories or disable synchronization for all categories.
11. Once you have made your desired changes, close the preferences/options page.

By controlling what's being synchronized on Firefox, you can customize the data that is shared and synchronized across your devices using your Firefox Account. This allows you to have more control over your data privacy and storage preferences.

10. Review website permissions

To review website permissions in Firefox, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Firefox browser on your computer.
2. Visit the website for which you want to review permissions.
3. Click on the padlock icon located in the address bar. If the website is using an insecure connection, you may see an information icon instead.
4. A drop-down menu will appear. Click on the arrow icon or the “Connection Secure” label.
5. In the drop-down menu, you will see various options related to the website's permissions. These options may include:- Permissions: This option allows you to view and manage specific permissions granted to the website, such as camera, microphone, location, and notifications.- Disable Blocking for This Site: This option allows you to disable any content blocking settings specifically for the current website.- View Cookies: This option lets you view the cookies stored by the website on your browser.- Clear Cookies and Site Data: This option allows you to remove all cookies and site data associated with the website.- View Pocket Saves: This option is specific to the Pocket service, where you can view and manage any saved articles or content from the website.
6. Click on the relevant option to review or manage the specific permissions or settings for the website.

 

By reviewing website permissions in Firefox, you can have better control over the access granted to websites for various features and resources. This allows you to ensure your privacy and security while browsing the web.

 

11. Turn on add-on installation warnings

To turn on add-on installation warnings in Firefox, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Firefox browser on your computer.
2. Click on the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner of the Firefox window.
3. From the drop-down menu, select “Add-ons” to open the Firefox Add-ons Manager.
4. In the Add-ons Manager, click on the “Extensions” tab on the left sidebar.
5. Click on the gear icon (settings) located in the top-right corner of the Add-ons Manager.
6. From the drop-down menu, select “Install Add-ons from File…”
7. In the Install Add-ons from File prompt, check the box next to “Warn me when sites try to install add-ons.”
8. Close the Add-ons Manager.

By enabling this setting, Firefox will display a warning message whenever a website attempts to install an add-on in your browser. This provides an additional layer of security and allows you to control the installation of add-ons, helping to prevent potentially malicious or unwanted installations.

12. Disable Firefox telemetry

To disable Firefox telemetry in Firefox, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Firefox browser on your computer.
2. Type “about:config” in the address bar and press Enter.
3. A warning message will appear stating, “This might void your warranty!” Click on the “I accept the risk!” button to proceed.
4. You will now see the Firefox advanced configuration page.
5. In the search bar at the top, type “telemetry” to filter the preferences related to telemetry.
6. You should see various preferences related to telemetry. Here are some key preferences you can modify:- “toolkit.telemetry.enabled”: Double-click on this preference to set its value to “false”. This disables the main telemetry feature in Firefox.- “toolkit.telemetry.unified”: Double-click on this preference to set its value to “false”. This disables the unified telemetry feature.- “toolkit.telemetry.archive.enabled”: Double-click on this preference to set its value to “false”. This disables archiving of telemetry data.- “toolkit.telemetry.newProfilePing.enabled”: Double-click on this preference to set its value to “false”. This disables the telemetry ping for new profiles.- “datareporting.healthreport.uploadEnabled”: Double-click on this preference to set its value to “false”. This disables the uploading of health report data.
7. After modifying the preferences, close the about:config tab.

By disabling Firefox telemetry, you prevent Firefox from collecting and sending usage data and statistics to Mozilla. This helps to maintain your privacy and control the information shared by your browser.

13. Disable WebGL and WebRTC

To disable WebGL and WebRTC in Firefox, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Firefox browser on your computer.
2. Type “about:config” in the address bar and press Enter.
3. A warning message will appear stating, “This might void your warranty!” Click on the “I accept the risk!” button to proceed.
4. You will now see the Firefox advanced configuration page.
5. In the search bar at the top, type “webgl.disabled” to locate the preference related to WebGL.

   

6. You should see the “webgl.disabled” preference in the list. Double-click on it to set its value to “true”. This disables WebGL in Firefox.
7. In the search bar, type “media.peerconnection.enabled” to locate the preference related to WebRTC.
8. You should see the “media.peerconnection.enabled” preference in the list. Double-click on it to set its value to “false”. This disables WebRTC in Firefox.
9. After modifying the preferences, close the about:config tab.

By disabling WebGL and WebRTC, you can prevent websites from utilizing these technologies in your browser, which can help to enhance privacy and security. However, please note that disabling these features may impact certain web applications or functionalities that rely on them.

14. Delete cache and cookies

To delete the cache and cookies in Firefox, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Firefox browser on your computer.
2. Click on the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner of the Firefox window.
3. From the drop-down menu, select “Preferences” (on macOS) or “Options” (on Windows).
4. In the left sidebar of the preferences/options page, click on “Privacy & Security.”
5. Scroll down to the “Cookies and Site Data” section.
6. Click on the “Clear Data…” button.
7. In the Clear Data window that appears, make sure the checkboxes for “Cookies and Site Data” and “Cached Web Content” are selected.
8. You can also choose to select other checkboxes, such as “Offline Website Data” or “Site Preferences,” if you want to remove additional data.
9. Click on the “Clear” button to delete the selected data.
10. Firefox will start deleting the cache and cookies. Once the process is complete, you can click on the “Done” button to close the Clear Data window.

By deleting the cache and cookies in Firefox, you remove temporary files and stored data related to websites you've visited. This helps to free up disk space, clear browsing history, and ensure a fresh start when browsing the web.

15. Change the default search engine

To change the default search engine in Firefox, you can follow these steps:

1. Open Firefox on your computer.
2. Click on the three horizontal lines (hamburger menu) located in the top-right corner of the browser window.
3. From the drop-down menu, select “Preferences” (on macOS) or “Options” (on Windows/Linux).
4. In the Preferences/Options tab, click on “Search” in the left-hand sidebar.
5. Under the “Default Search Engine” section, you'll see a dropdown menu. Click on it to reveal the available search engine options.
6. Select the search engine you want to set as the default. If the search engine you prefer is not listed, click on “Find more search engines” at the bottom of the dropdown menu to browse additional options.
7. Once you've selected your desired search engine, close the Preferences/Options tab.

From now on, when you perform searches using the address bar or the search bar in Firefox, the browser will use your newly selected default search engine.

Final thoughts