Private Browsing in Firefox for iOS

Revision Information
  • Revision id: 275602
  • Created:
  • Creator: Lucas Siebert
  • Comment: Reverted changes from Bug 1875390 / Bug 1858195. The iOS team decided to push these changes until they get a green light from QA and we just got informed after the content was already live.
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: lsiebert
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: No
Revision Source
Revision Content

Firefox's Private Browsing lets you browse the Web on your iPhone or iPad without saving your history. Open as many Private Tabs as you'd like, and switch between Private and regular browsing easily.

About Private Browsing

Private Browsing does not save history, cookies, passwords, site preferences, or temporary Internet files. It does keep bookmarks you've saved while in Private Browsing.

Private Browsing does not make you anonymous on the Web. Your Internet provider and websites themselves may still be able to track you.

Switch between Private and regular browsing

To switch to Private Browsing:

  • Tap the tab icon at the bottom of the screen.

    iOS select tab
  • Tap the mask button at the top center of the screen.
    Private Browsing Firefox iOS39

To switch back to regular browsing, simply tap the black mask button at the top center of the screen again.

Am I in Private Browsing mode?

To know whether you are in Private Browsing mode you can use the following indicators:

  • When you are using Private Browsing, the tabs icon at the bottom of the screen will have a purple mask on it.
    Private Browsing Tabs Firefox iOS39
  • Additionally, the search bar will be highlighted purple.
    Private Search Bar Firefox iOS39

Use Private Browsing

After switching to Private Browsing you'll see a list of open Private Tabs.

  • Tap a tab to view the page.
  • Tap the plus sign at the bottom of the screen to open a new Private Tab.
    Add Tab Firefox iOS39
Tip: To open a link in a Private Tab, press on the link until the menu opens, then choose Open in a Private Tab.
  • Tap the x to close the tab.
Note: Your private tabs will remain open until you close them. To automatically close all Private Tabs when you switch to regular browsing, see Keep Private Browsing tabs open after exiting Firefox.