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How to Disable or Turn Off Private Browsing Mode in Mozilla Firefox

Key Takeaways

  • Private Browsing in Firefox allows you to browse the web without saving your history, cookies, or cached data
  • You can disable Private Browsing mode in Firefox through the Settings menu or by editing configuration files
  • Disabling Private Browsing will restore Firefox’s default behavior of saving your browsing data

Mozilla Firefox’s Private Browsing mode is a useful feature that allows you to browse the web without leaving any trace of your activity on your computer. When you open a new Private Window, Firefox won’t save your browsing history, search records, cookies, cached files, or temporary internet data from that session.

However, there may be times when you want to disable Private Browsing mode and restore Firefox’s default behavior of saving your browsing data. This could be useful if you frequently need to access your browsing history, auto-fill forms, or maintain certain website preferences.

In this article, we’ll explore several methods to turn off or disable Private Browsing mode in Mozilla Firefox across different operating systems.

Disabling Private Browsing Through Firefox Settings

One of the easiest ways to disable Private Browsing mode in Firefox is through the browser’s settings menu. Here’s how you can do it:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox on your computer.
  2. Click on the three horizontal lines (hamburger menu) in the top-right corner of the Firefox window.
  3. Select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.
  4. In the Settings window, scroll down to the “Privacy & Security” section.
  5. Under the “History” sub-section, you’ll see a drop-down menu labeled “Firefox will.”
  6. From the drop-down menu, select “Remember history.”
  7. Close the Settings window, and Firefox will prompt you to restart the browser for the changes to take effect.

After restarting Firefox, Private Browsing mode will be disabled, and the browser will start saving your browsing history, cookies, and other data by default.

Disabling Private Browsing Through Configuration Files

If you prefer a more advanced method, you can disable Private Browsing mode in Firefox by editing the browser’s configuration files. This approach is particularly useful if you want to disable Private Browsing across multiple Firefox installations or for all users on a shared computer.

On Windows

  1. Open the Run dialog by pressing the Windows key + R.
  2. Type %PROGRAMFILES%\Mozilla Firefox\browser\defaults\preferences and press Enter.
  3. In the preferences folder, create a new text file and name it disable_private_browsing.js.
  4. Open the disable_private_browsing.js file in a text editor like Notepad.
  5. Add the following line to the file: pref("browser.privatebrowsing.autostart", false);
  6. Save the file and exit the text editor.

After completing these steps, Private Browsing mode will be disabled in Firefox for all user profiles on your Windows computer.

On macOS and Linux

  1. Open the Terminal application.
  2. Navigate to the Firefox configuration directory by running the following command:
cd /path/to/firefox/browser/defaults/preferences

Replace /path/to/firefox with the actual path to your Firefox installation. For example, on macOS, the path might be /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources/browser/defaults/preferences.

  1. Create a new file named disable_private_browsing.js by running the following command:
touch disable_private_browsing.js
  1. Open the disable_private_browsing.js file in a text editor using a command like nano disable_private_browsing.js or vim disable_private_browsing.js.
  2. Add the following line to the file: pref("browser.privatebrowsing.autostart", false);
  3. Save the file and exit the text editor.

After completing these steps, Private Browsing mode will be disabled in Firefox for all user profiles on your macOS or Linux computer.

Using Third-Party Extensions or Add-ons

If you prefer a more user-friendly approach, you can install third-party extensions or add-ons that disable Private Browsing mode in Firefox. One popular option is the “Disable Private Browsing” add-on, which removes the Private Browsing option from Firefox’s menu and disables the keyboard shortcut for opening a new Private Window.

To install the “Disable Private Browsing” add-on:

  1. Open Mozilla Firefox and navigate to the “Disable Private Browsing” add-on page: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/disable-private-browsing/
  2. Click the “Add to Firefox” button.
  3. In the pop-up window, click “Add” to confirm the installation.
  4. After the installation is complete, restart Firefox for the changes to take effect.

Once the add-on is installed and Firefox is restarted, you won’t be able to access Private Browsing mode until you remove or disable the add-on.

Restoring Private Browsing Mode

If you ever want to re-enable Private Browsing mode in Firefox, you can follow the same steps outlined above but make the necessary changes to restore the default settings.

For example, if you disabled Private Browsing through the Settings menu, you can re-enable it by selecting “Never remember history” or “Use custom settings for history” and checking the “Always use private browsing mode” option.

If you used configuration files or a third-party add-on, you can either delete or rename the files you created, or uninstall the add-on to restore Private Browsing functionality.

Conclusion

Private Browsing mode in Mozilla Firefox is a useful feature that helps protect your privacy by preventing the browser from saving your browsing history, cookies, and other data. However, there may be situations where you want to disable this mode and restore Firefox’s default behavior of saving your browsing data.

In this article, we’ve covered several methods to turn off or disable Private Browsing mode in Firefox, including using the Settings menu, editing configuration files, and installing third-party add-ons. Choose the method that best suits your needs and preferences, and remember that you can always re-enable Private Browsing mode if you need it in the future.

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