Current Firefox version have switched to Private Browsing mode in a Window.
You can now find Private Browsing in the Firefox menu button drop down and in the File menu as New Private Window.

• https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Private+Browsing

Hi glennm2077,

Firefox relocated the private browsing Menu.

You can now start Private browsing by selecting New Private Window under the File menu.

Or You can use Ctrl + Shift + P shortcut for quick launch of a Private Window.

See also:

• http://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2013/04/02/firefox-gives-you-more-control-over-your-privacy/

What I miss is the functionality of the "Start Private Browsing" and "Stop Private Browsing".

I still want it to function the same way. When I choose "Start Private Browsing" I expect it to close my current browser tabs, and then start a new "Private Browsing" tab. When I am done, I expect there to be a "Stop Private Browsing" option where I found the "Start Private Browsing" option that closes the private session and reopens my previous tabs.

You can switch windows if you want to use Private Browsing mode.
You do not need to close one of those, but go to the PB window if you want to use Private Browsing or go to the normal window if you want to keep data like history and cookies and cache.
You can use this to your advantage to inspect another email account and have them both open at the same time.

Thank You. This solves my problem.

Glennm2077

You're welcome

Not happy!

This new, "improved" service is not equivalent to a private browsing mode, and you have lost (or overlooked in your enthusiasm) one important feature. In the old private browsing mode, I could create as much "mess" on the desktop as I liked, opening new windows and tabs, either deliberately or as uninvited pop-ups and pop-unders. But at a single keypress (OK, 3 keys at once) I could clear the whole mess away and get back to where I was. So if you do intend to stick with this new model, could we at least have a link/key that does a "close every private-mode window" please?

Actually, the old private mode isn't gone. It's can still be done, but it's no longer just a single mouse click/key press. If you first install the wonderful Session Manager add-on, you can reproduce the original behaviour. To "start private browsing":

• Save your current browsing state as a session called, say, PM
• Open a new Private window

To "stop private browsing":

• Open a new, non-private (i.e. normal) window
• In that new window, restore the PM session

It's not particularly user-friendly, but at least it might keep people going while we wait for a better-thought-out new design.

My problem: I open a new private window and close the initial window and expect everything I do from now forward will be in the private window. But, not true. If I click on an embedded link (in Outlook, Word, PDF, e.g.) it ignores my private window and opens a new non-private window. How can I fix this?

Thanks for any help.

You can't. External links opened via another program always open in a normal tab. You can however make this tab private with an extension.

Future Firefox versions will support Private Browsing per tab, this is already available in an extension.

• Private Tab: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/private-tab/

The Firefox menu button gets purple or you get a purple PB mask on the menu bar or tab bar (Linux) if you are in a PB tab and all Private Browsing mode tabs get a dashed underlining.

Thank you ... for once I found an answer that was short and sweet - and exactly what I was looking for  :)