Settings for privacy, browsing history and do-not-track

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  • Revision id: 17581
  • Created:
  • Creator: scoobidiver
  • Comment: permanent private browsing label and updated win screenshot for fx7, reorganized screenshots, added keywords
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: Verdi
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: Yes
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  • Readied for localization by: Verdi
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This article describes the settings that are available in the Privacy panel of the Firefox Options Window.This article describes the settings that are available in the Privacy panel of the Firefox Preferences window.

The Privacy panel allows you to:

  • Control how Firefox handles your history, which includes what pages you've visited, what files you've downloaded, what you've entered into forms, and what cookies sites have sent you.
  • Control what sites can send you cookies and remove cookies that sites have sent you.
  • Control how the Location bar uses history to suggest matches for what you type. For more information, see Address bar autocomplete suggestions in Firefox.

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Tracking

Tell web sites I do not want to be tracked: Checking this box will tell websites that you wish to opt-out of tracking by advertisers and other third-parties. Honoring this setting is voluntary — individual websites are not required to respect it. See How do I turn on the Do Not Track feature? for more info.

History

The Firefox will setting controls how Firefox saves information about your web browsing.

Remember history

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When Firefox will is set to Remember history:

Click on:

Never remember history

When Firefox will is set to Never remember history:

Using Never remember history is equivalent to always being in Firefox Private Browsing mode. For more information, see Private Browsing - Use Firefox without saving history.

Click on clear all current history to open the Clear Recent History window, which allows you to erase some or all of your history quickly. For more information, see Delete browsing, search and download history on Firefox.

Use custom settings for history

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When Firefox will is set to Use custom settings for history, the following settings will be available:

  • Always use private browsing modePermanent Private Browsing modeAutomatically start Firefox in a private browsing session:
    If selected, Firefox will not remember any new history the next time it starts. For more information, see Private Browsing - Use Firefox without saving history.
  • Remember my browsing history for at least n days:
    If selected, Firefox will keep a list of the pages you've visited in the last n days (by default, n is 90).
  • Remember download history:
    If selected, a list of files you download will be kept in the Where to find and manage downloaded files in Firefox.
  • Remember search and form history:
    If selected, the text you enter into form fields or the search bar will be remembered so you can use those entries again. For more information, see Control whether Firefox automatically fills in forms.
  • Accept cookies from sites:
    If selected, Firefox will accept cookies from sites. Click Exceptions... to control whether some sites are not allowed to set cookies. For more information, see Block websites from storing cookies and site data in Firefox.
    • Accept third-party cookies:
      If selected, Firefox will accept cookies from http://site2.com when you are visiting http://site1.com. For more information, see Third party cookies.
    • Keep until:
      • they expire: If selected, Firefox will allow the sites you visit to specify how long Firefox should keep their cookies.
      • I close Firefox: If selected, your cookies will be deleted when you close Firefox.
      • ask me every time: If selected, Firefox will ask you how long to keep a cookie each time a site tries to set one.
  • Clear history when Firefox closes:
    Certain saved items will be deleted when you close Firefox. Click Settings... to control what items are deleted.

Click Show Cookies... to display the Cookies window. For more information on the Cookies window, see Clear cookies and site data in Firefox.

Location Bar

  • When using the location bar, suggest:
    The Location Bar is the horizontal bar that displays a site's web address (URL). When you type in the location bar, Firefox can display results that match what you type:
    • History and Bookmarks: If selected, the Location bar will display results from the list of sites you've visited and the pages you've bookmarked.
    • History: If selected, the Location bar will display results from the list of sites you've visited. Sites you've bookmarked but haven't visited will not show up.
    • Bookmarks: If selected, the Location bar will display results from the list of pages you've bookmarked.
    • Nothing: If selected, the Location bar will not display results that match what you type.


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