Although Firefox is well-regarded by privacy-conscious users, some of its default settings can expose you to privacy risks. Additionally, the browser isn’t optimized for performance, security, and user experience. If you’re using Firefox with its default settings, I recommend turning off these features.
1 Autofill Passwords
Like other browsers, Firefox allows you to save your login information for automatic autofill when visiting websites. While this feature is convenient, it also poses a risk, as unauthorized access or a data breach could expose your sensitive credentials. To safeguard your login details, you must stop Firefox from saving them.
To do this, click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner and select “Settings.” Next, go to the “Privacy and Security” tab on the left and scroll down to the Passwords section.
Here, uncheck the box next to “Ask to Save Passwords.” Also, click on “Saved Passwords” and remove any saved passwords stored in the browser.
Just be sure that you don’t delete all of your passwords before confirming you have them memorized, or otherwise stored safely somewhere else. Getting locked out of your accounts is never any fun.
2 Search Suggestions in the Address Bar
By default, Firefox displays search suggestions as you type in the search bar, which I find bothersome. It also records and shows recent searches, which could be a privacy issue if you share your device with others. Also, trending search suggestions clutter the browser’s address bar. For these reasons, I prefer to keep search suggestions features disabled.
To turn off search suggestions in Firefox, click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner and select “Settings.” Next, go to the “Search” tab on the left and scroll down to the Search Suggestions section. Uncheck the boxes beside “Show Search Suggestions” and “Show Recent Searches” if they’re enabled.
3 Turn Off Speculative Connections
When you hover over a link or start typing a URL, Firefox proactively connects to the linked server, anticipating that you’ll visit the site in order to reduce loading time. While this can speed up browsing, it can be risky if you mistype a URL for a malicious website. Additionally, it uses unnecessary network resources.
Turning off this feature doesn’t significantly affect website loading times, which is why I choose to turn off speculative connections. To do this, type about:config in the address bar and hit Enter. Click “Accept the Risk and Continue,” search for network.http.speculative-parallel-limit, double-click the setting, and set the value to 0.
4 Never Remember History
Firefox offers a “Never Remember History” option that prevents the browser from saving your browsing activity, including visited websites, searches, cookies, and cached data. It’s like a permanent private browsing mode that leaves no traces of your activity and stops others from viewing your browsing history.
To enable this feature, click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner and select “Settings.” Next, go to the “Privacy and Security” tab on the left and scroll down to the History section in the right pane. From the drop-down menu next to Firefox Will, select “Never Remember History.”
This will prevent Firefox from storing history, so you won’t need to clear it. Also, settings such as Cookies and Site Data will be grayed out.
5 Autoplay for Audio and Video
Do you find unexpected audio and video playback on websites annoying? If so, Firefox allows you to stop the media from playing automatically. I always turn off this default setting, as it significantly improves my browsing experience. However, you must note that this setting only blocks auto-play for audio and video; you can still manually play media when visiting a site.
To disable autoplay for audio and video in Firefox, click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner and select “Settings.” Then, go to the “Privacy and Security” tab on the left and scroll down to the Permissions section. Click the “Settings” button next to Autoplay, and select “Block Audio and Video” from the drop-down menu next to Default for All Websites.
6 Telemetry and Data Collection
Although Firefox is a privacy-oriented browser, it still collects data to improve your browsing experience. While this might not be a concern for most users, I prefer to turn off this data-tracking feature. When you turn off this setting, Firefox will also delete any technical details and data it has collected within 30 days.
To prevent Firefox from collecting data, click on the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner and select “Settings.” Then, go to the “Privacy and Security” tab on the left sidebar and scroll down to the “Firefox Data Collection and Use” section. Uncheck the box next to “Allow Firefox to Send Technical and Interaction Data to Mozilla.”
7 Hardware Acceleration
Hardware acceleration offloads processing from your CPU to the dedicated GPU, which can improve performance and speed. However, in my experience, enabling this feature often leads to issues like video tearing, stuttering, and other display problems during video streaming or gaming. For that reason, I prefer to keep it disabled.
To disable hardware acceleration, click on the three horizontal lines and select “Settings.” Then, go to the “General” tab in the left sidebar, scroll down to the “Performance” section, and uncheck the box next to “Use Recommended Performance Settings.” After that, uncheck the box next to “Use Hardware Acceleration When Available.”
8 Microphone and Camera Permissions
Do you find it annoying when websites ask for permission to access your camera and microphone? Do you worry about accidentally granting permissions without realizing it? Firefox allows you to stop these permission requests. You can also choose to grant access to specific websites while blocking others.
To manage these permissions, click on the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner and select “Settings.” Then, go to the “Privacy and Security” tab in the left sidebar, scroll down to the Permissions section, and click on the “Settings” button next to Camera and Microphone. Here, uncheck the box next to “Block New Requests Asking to Access Your Camera/Microphone.”
9 WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication)
WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is a protocol that enables direct peer-to-peer communication in browsers. While this protocol must be enabled for video calls, voice calls, and file transfers, it could also leak your primary IP address, even if you’re using a VPN. Since I value my privacy, I disable WebRTC when I’m not using these features.
To turn it off, type about:config in the browser’s address bar and press Enter. Accept the risk and continue, then search for media.peerconnection.enabled in the search bar. Double-click this setting to change its value from “True” to “False,” disabling WebRTC and preventing IP leaks. You can re-enable it anytime by double-clicking the value again.
These are a few of the settings I always keep disabled in Firefox. Turning off these options will help prevent unwanted data collection, declutter the interface, and improve your browser’s performance. If you’re currently using the default settings, now is the perfect time to make these adjustments and tailor Firefox to your preferences.
If you’re new to Firefox or considering switching from Chrome, I recommend exploring its features that make Firefox a superior option compared to other browsers.
