Recommended Firefox privacy and security settings for families

Firefox Firefox Last updated: 1 week, 1 day ago

Firefox lets you customize privacy and security preferences so you and your family can browse safely online. To learn more or adjust these settings:

  1. In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click Firefox and then select Preferences or Settings, depending on your macOS version.Click the menu button Fx89menuButton and select Settings.
  2. Go to the Privacy & Security panel.

Privacy settings

Enhanced Tracking Protection

Enhanced Tracking Protection blocks known trackers that gather information about your online activity and are hidden in the websites you visit. Enhanced tracking protection also includes Total Cookie Protection, which prevents websites from tracking your behavior to create a profile based on your activity.

Ask not to be tracked

You can set Firefox's privacy settings to ask websites not to track your online activity.

Tell websites not to sell or share your information

You can set Firefox's privacy settings to tell websites not to sell or share your data. This will notify websites not to sell or share information about your browsing session.

Cookies and site data

By setting cookies and site data preferences in Firefox, you can choose which cookies you want to allow on your computer. You can clear cookies, manage websites that use cookie data, block websites from storing cookies or set Firefox to automatically delete cookies upon exiting the browser.

Password settings

Manage your logins with the Firefox Password Manager, enable or disable password autofill, let Firefox suggest a strong password when you sign up for a new website or ask Firefox to warn you of password breaches.

History settings

Your browsing history contains the sites you have visited. You can choose to have Firefox always remember browsing history and downloads, clear your history automatically when Firefox closes, or always navigate in Private Browsing mode. To learn more, see Private Browsing - Use Firefox without saving history and Delete browsing, search and download history on Firefox.

Address bar settings

You can configure the suggestions you'd like to see when you type into the address bar, such as suggestions from your history, bookmarks, open tabs, shortcuts, and search engines. The Address bar autocomplete suggestions in Firefox article explains how.

Permissions

Some websites may ask your permission to use personal information like your location or resources on your computer as part of the service they provide. The Site Permissions panel will show any special permissions you have granted to a website. You can choose and manage websites that have access to your location, camera, microphone, and other computer capabilities. For more information, see Does Firefox share my location with websites? and How to manage your camera and microphone permissions with Firefox.

Data collection

Firefox collects only the necessary information to evaluate performance and improve your experience. In the Firefox Data Collection and Use settings, you can make changes to your data collection preferences.

Security settings

Deceptive Content and Dangerous Software Protection

Block suspicious content and downloads from malicious websites to keep your computer safe. When this protection is enabled, Firefox will notify you when a website tries to install malware or unwanted software on your computer.

HTTPS-Only mode

HTTPS-Only Mode forces all connections to websites to use a secure encrypted connection called HTTPS.

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