Watch DRM content on Firefox

Revision Information
  • Revision id: 90693
  • Created:
  • Creator: Joni
  • Comment: added unsupported platforms per Firefox team. Added audio in affected content as well.
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: heyjoni
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: No
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Revision Content
This article applies to a newer version of Firefox.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is used by online video and audio services to restrict users from using content in ways that the service does not explicitly permit. While some DRM-controlled content can be viewed using Microsoft Silverlight and Adobe Flash plugins, many services are moving towards HTML5 videos and audio requiring a different DRM standard.

The desktop version of Firefox now gives you the option to integrate this code using a DRM plug-in from Adobe. This plugin implements a system called Adobe Primetime and allows Firefox to play DRM-controlled video and audio online. Firefox protects users by sandboxing or restricting the plugin by asking the operating system to limit what the DRM plug-in can do on your computer.

Firefox downloads and enables the Adobe Primetime DRM plugin by default to give users a smooth experience on sites that require DRM. If you prefer not to run any closed-source code on Firefox, you can easily disable the plugin and opt out of future updates by following the steps below:

Disable the Adobe Primetime plugin

Disabling Adobe Primetime from the plugins page prevent it from running on your computer, but it will still update when a new version is available.

  1. Click on the menu button The image "new fx menu" does not exist. and choose Add-ons.
  2. Click on Plugins on the left side of the Add-ons Manager page.
  3. Select Never Activate on the menu next to ‘’Adobe Primetime DRM’’.
This affects only controlled HTML5 videos. You will still be able to view DRM-controlled videos that require Silverlight or Flash plugins if you've enabled them.

Opt out of DRM completely

You also have choice of opting out of the current DRM download as well as any future DRM updates.

To opt out of all DRM updates, follow these steps:

  1. Click on the menu button The image "new fx menu" does not exist..
  2. Click Settings .
  3. Remove the check mark next to Play DRM.

Supported Platforms

Currently, Adobe Primetime is only available for Microsoft Windows Vista and above in 32 bit versions. 64 bit Windows operating systems, Mac OSX, and Linux are currently not available.

Users on unsupported platforms may still follow the instructions above to opt out of DRM completely.