How To Enable Private Browsing In Firefox
When surfing the web, your browser often saves information you enter into forms and logs your history. This is useful when you can't remember a website address or forget your password, but if you're using a public computer, you don't want that information to fall into the wrong hands. Firefox offers a private browsing mode, which allows you to avoid being tracked by websites and prevents your information from being saved. Here we'll walk through the steps to turning on private browsing and explore some situations where it may be useful. If you'd like to go one step further in keeping your search history from being logged, check out the Best No-Tracking Search Engines. This video was made with Ezvid Wikimaker.
How Do I Turn On Private Browsing In Firefox?
- Open a new Firefox window
- Click on the menu in the top right corner
- Select "New Private Window"
- Read the information on "Tracking Protection" and select if desired
How Do I Turn Off Private Browsing?
Once you close out of your private browsing window and open a new Firefox window, all settings will return to normal. To see if you're still running private browsing, check the top right corner of the window. If you see a purple mask icon, that means private browsing is still turned on.
Do Other Browsers Offer Private Browsing?
Both Safari and Chrome have their own versions of this feature. However, Firefox is the only one that offers tracking protection, which prevents certain websites from running scripts that can be used to target advertising toward you. If you're a Chrome user, you can read up on how to turn on private browsing in Chrome.
How Else Can I Keep Websites From Storing My Information?
Private browsing modes delete cookies after you close out your browsing session. Cookies are the files that websites use to store your login details and other information about your visits. However, it will not erase all record of your activity online. For those who want to be even more anonymous when they search the web, VPNs and web proxy severs are available. To learn more, read up on What Is A Web Proxy Server?
In Depth
By now, you probably know that browsers save a lot of your information, such as your login credentials and browsing history. While this can be useful, you may not want others to see your online activities or have access to your accounts, especially if you're on a shared device.
One way to keep your information safe is to use the "Private Browsing" mode present in most browsers. Activating this mode in Firefox is simple. First, open the menu located in the top right corner of your browser. From here, just click on "New Private Window." A window labeled "Private Browsing" should appear.
It should be easy to tell if you've successfully enabled private browsing because every new private window you open will show you a page that briefly explains what this mode does. You should also see a purple mask icon in the top right corner of the window.
You should also see a purple mask icon in the top right corner of the window.
Whenever you open a new private window, you'll be given the option to enable or disable "Tracking Protection." This is a feature unique to Firefox and it prevents websites from loading certain scripts that can be used to track you. These scripts are usually used by advertisers to gather information about your browsing behavior, which is done to personalize the ads that you may encounter online.
Private browsing is great for when you need unbiased search results online. Several websites, such as Google, use your past searches and browsing history to tailor their content to your interests. Since private sessions don't save any of these, most of the content you'll see online won't be personalized.
This is also useful for when you're on a public or shared computer. Most websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, save your credentials, preferences, and even login sessions in cookies, which are small files that store data on your computer. Since private sessions delete cookies after closing the window, you won't have to worry about accidentally leaving any of your personal accounts logged in. This also prevents other users from seeing what pages you've been visiting.
This also prevents other users from seeing what pages you've been visiting.
Private browsing sessions are also separate from normal ones. This allows you to login to multiple accounts at the same time. For example, you can have a Facebook account logged in on a normal window while also having a different one logged in on a private window.
While private browsing ensures that you leave no trace of your activities on your computer, this doesn't mean that you're anonymous online. For example, if you're at school or at work, your online activity is most likely being monitored and logged. A private window won't protect you from this.
Even at home, your online activity can still be tracked by your internet service provider. This is because everything you do online is tied to your IP address. Your provider has a general idea of what websites you've been visiting and when you've visited them.
Your provider has a general idea of what websites you've been visiting and when you've visited them.
Overall, Firefox's private browsing mode can be very helpful when you're using a shared device. If you're concerned about your online privacy though, this may not be the best option for you. If you really want to stay anonymous online, you're better off using a VPN or a private search engine.
