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404 DESK / PRACTICAL BROWSER PRIVACY

Firefox Privacy Settings

Review Firefox privacy settings step by step, with official documentation, compatibility tradeoffs, and instructions for undoing changes.

Use stronger tracking protection

Settings → Privacy & Security → Enhanced Tracking Protection

  1. Choose Strict under Enhanced Tracking Protection.
  2. Reload open tabs when Firefox asks.
  3. Check a familiar sign-in and video.

Blocks additional tracking content beyond Standard.

To undo: For a broken site, try its shield control. Return to Standard if Strict does not fit your needs.

Official documentation

Review camera and microphone access

Settings → Privacy & Security / Permissions and data

  1. Find Permissions, then Camera → Settings.
  2. Remove sites that no longer need access; repeat for Microphone.
  3. Block new requests only for features you never use.

Removes device access you no longer intend to grant.

To undo: Remove a block or grant a trusted site access again when needed.

Official documentation

Keep unfinished searches to yourself

Settings → Search

  1. Find Search Suggestions or Search engine suggestions.
  2. Clear Show search suggestions.
  3. You can keep local history and bookmark suggestions.

Reduces sending partial search text to your search provider.

To undo: Check the same box to restore remote suggestions.

Official documentation

Choose less optional data sharing

Settings → Privacy & Security / Permissions and data

  1. Find Firefox Data Collection and Use.
  2. Turn off technical/interaction data, studies, daily usage ping, and automatic crash reports if unwanted.
  3. Keep automatic security updates enabled.

Lets you decline optional reporting; these are separate controls.

To undo: You can re-enable any reporting option individually.

Official documentation

Use HTTPS-only browsing

Settings → Privacy & Security → HTTPS-Only Mode

  1. Find HTTPS-Only Mode. Newer layouts put it under Connection and software security → Advanced settings.
  2. Enable it in all windows.
  3. Use an exception only for an HTTP-only site you intentionally need.

Helps avoid sending page content over unencrypted HTTP.

To undo: Return here to change the mode or manage individual exceptions.

Official documentation

Review encrypted DNS

Settings → Privacy & Security → DNS over HTTPS

  1. Find DNS over HTTPS; open Advanced settings if shown.
  2. Review Default, Increased, Max, or Custom protection and the selected resolver.
  3. Keep Default if you need your VPN, work network, or family filtering to control DNS.

Encrypted DNS protects the lookup path, not all browsing. The resolver still needs your trust.

To undo: Restore Default if a custom mode disrupts your network.

Official documentation

Quiet sponsored address-bar suggestions

Settings → Search → Firefox Suggest

  1. Find Address Bar — Firefox Suggest or Firefox Suggest.
  2. Disable sponsored suggestions if shown.
  3. Review suggestions retrieved from Mozilla separately.

Reduces optional suggested content. Options vary by region and release.

To undo: Enable the individual suggestion types again whenever you want.

Official documentation

Optionally clear site data on exit

Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data / Browsing data

  1. Find the cookie/site-data section.
  2. If you want a fresh start, enable deletion when Firefox closes.
  3. Add exceptions for sites where you deliberately want to stay signed in.

Limits persistence between browser sessions and signs you out of sites. It does not prevent tracking within a session.

To undo: Turn off deletion to keep new site data. Deleted cookies cannot be restored.

Official documentation

Keep a shorter extensions list

Menu → Add-ons and themes → Extensions

  1. Open Add-ons and themes from the menu.
  2. Disable an extension you do not need.
  3. Remove it when you are sure you no longer need its feature.

Fewer trusted add-ons means less extra code with browser access.

To undo: Enable a disabled add-on again; reinstall removed ones from Mozilla’s store.

Official documentation