Manage tabs in Firefox for Android

Firefox for Android,... Firefox for Android, Firefox for Android Beta Last updated: 20% of users voted this helpful

Firefox for Android lets you easily create and manage multiple tabs. This article will show you how it's done.

You can now group tabs into Collections. See Collections in Firefox to learn more.

Where are my tabs?

All of your open tabs are stored in the tabs tray. This is also where you open a new tab.

Firefox tab tray

Tap the tab icon tab icon next to the address bar to visit the tabs tray. The number indicates how many open tabs you have.

Tab's icon

Private tabs

You can also view sites in Private browsing mode if you don't want Firefox to remember your browsing or search history. There is a separate tabs tray for your private tabs.

To view your open private tabs:

  1. Tap the tab icon tab icon next to the address bar to visit the tabs tray. The number indicates how many open tabs you have.
    Tab's icon
  2. Tap the Private browing fxios 13 pb icon to view your open private tabs.

Synced tabs

Once you’ve set up your free Mozilla account on Firefox for Android, you can sync your bookmarks, logins, open tabs and browsing history between devices. There is a separate tabs tray for viewing and opening your synced tabs.

To view your synced tabs:

  1. Tap the tab icon tab icon next to the address bar to visit the tabs tray. The number indicates how many open tabs you have.
    Tab's icon
  2. Tap the Sync Firefox iOS 39 Synced icon icon to view your open synced tabs.

How do I open a tab?

Open a new blank tab

Tap the tab icon tab icon next to the address bar to visit the tabs tray. The number indicates how many open tabs you have.

Tab's icon
  • To open a new tab, tap the FenixNewTab button at the bottom right of the tabs tray.
  • To open a new tab in Private browsing mode, tap the mask icon to view private tabs and then tap the + PRIVATE button.
  1. To open a link in a new tab, long-tap the link to open the contextual menu.
  2. On the contextual menu, tap Open link in new tab, or select Open link in private tab to open the link in your private tabs.
  3. To quickly switch to your new tab, tap the SWITCH option that appears immediately after you open a new tab.

Reload an open tab

To reload a tab, simply pull down from the top of the screen while viewing the tab. This will refresh the web page and display any new information or changes.

To disable this feature:

  1. Tap the Vertical dots menu three dots in the bottom right corner of the screen.
  2. Tap Settings.
  3. Tap Customize.
    Customize
  4. Under Gestures, tap the toggle next to Pull to refresh.
    Pull to refresh

Change open tabs view

You can view your open tabs in List view or Grid view.

Android tab tray - list Firefox tab tray

To switch how your open tabs are displayed:

  1. Tap the tab icon tab icon next to the address bar to visit the tabs tray. The number indicates how many open tabs you have.
    Tab's icon
  2. From the Vertical dots menu three-dot menu button, tap Tab settings.
    Tab settings
  3. Under Tab view, select either List or Grid view.
    Grid view

Reopen previously closed tabs

Note: Private browsing tabs will not appear in your history, so they cannot be reopened.
  1. Tap the tab icon tab icon next to the address bar to visit the tabs tray. The number indicates how many open tabs you have.
    Tab's icon
  2. From the Vertical dots menu three-dot menu button, tap Recently closed tabs.
    Recently closed tabs
  3. Tap the tab you want to open.
Tip: You can also view your recently closed tabs in the History panel.

How do I close tabs?

Close an open tab

  1. Tap the tab icon tab icon next to the address bar to visit the tabs tray. The number indicates how many open tabs you have.
    Tab's icon
  2. In the tab tray, tap the on each tab you want to close.
  3. A Tab closed notification will briefly appear after each closing, tap UNDO to reopen the tab.
    Tab closed - undo

Close all open tabs

  1. Tap the tab icon tab icon next to the address bar to visit the tabs tray. The number indicates how many open tabs you have.
    Tab's icon
  2. From the Vertical dots menu three-dot menu button, select Close all tabs.
    Close all tabs
  3. A Tabs closed notification will briefly appear, tap UNDO to reopen these tabs.
    Tab closed - undo

Auto-close open tabs

You can enable Firefox for Android to automatically close tabs after one day, one week or one month. Firefox won’t auto-close tabs by default. See this article to learn how to set your tabs to be regularly auto-closed.

Inactive tabs

Tabs that you haven’t viewed for two weeks will be moved to the inactive section. This setting is enabled by default. To change this setting:

  1. Tap the tab icon tab icon next to the address bar to visit the tabs tray. The number indicates how many open tabs you have.
    Tab's icon
  2. From the Vertical dots menu three-dot menu button, select Tab settings.
    Tab settings
  3. Under the Move old tabs to inactive section, tap the switch next to Tabs you haven't viewed for two weeks get moved to the inactive section to turn it off (gray) or on (purple).
    Move old tabs to inactive

Close inactive tabs manually

  1. Tap the tab icon tab icon next to the address bar to visit the tabs tray. The number indicates how many open tabs you have.
    Tab's icon
  2. Tap the trash icon next to Inactive tabs to close all tabs in that section.
    Alternatively, you can also tap the downward-facing arrow next to Inactive tabs to expand a list of tabs and close them individually.

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