Back up and transfer your Firefox data to a new device

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When you upgrade to a new computer, you may want to back up your bookmarks, history and passwords to easily transfer them to a new computer and make sure all your data and settings are saved. Firefox creates a local profile local profile that stores data such as bookmarks, browsing history, and saved passwords so you can sync them later when logging in from a new device. This article guides you through the process of safely backing up your data with a Firefox account.

Note: To use Firefox Sync for backing up and transferring your data, you need to sign in to/sign up for a Firefox account. For information about the benefits of a Firefox account see Access Mozilla services with a Mozilla account.

The setup assistant below will help you back up your data in three steps: You’ll need to sign in or create a Firefox account and enable sync on the device you want to back up:

Important: Once you have completed step two, you have successfully backed up your data. Save the download link in a place where you can find it later. At this point, it’s highly recommended that you generate recovery keys, which will allow you to retrieve your password if you forget it in the future. Using recovery keys to retrieve a password ensures that your data is stored and secure.

Back up your data later from the Firefox menu

If you aren’t able to perform a data backup at this time, you can do it later from the Firefox menu. These are the steps you need to follow.

  1. Click the menu PhotonMenuButton button at the top right corner of the screen.
  2. Click Help.
  3. Click Switching to a new device.
    switching_devices_button
  4. Follow the steps in the setup assistant to back up your data.

Manually transfer your Firefox data to a new device

Users who don’t have a Firefox account can back up and move their Firefox data manually by following the steps in Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles .

Common questions

I lost my password – what can I do?

To access your backed-up Firefox data you need to log in to the same Firefox account you used on your old device. If you forgot your password, you’ll need to reset it using recovery keys. Resetting your password without recovery keys will wipe all your data for security reasons.

What data is included in a backup?

In this process we back up the following data:

  • Bookmarks
  • History
  • Lists of open tabs
  • Passwords
  • Saved addresses
  • Saved credit cards
  • Installed add-ons
  • Selected settings

Can I choose what data I want to sync?

Yes, you can choose the data you want to sync in step 2 of the wizard, by clicking the Change what to sync button. You can also change this later by following the steps in How do I choose what information to sync on Firefox?

How do you handle my data?

When backing up your data, your History, passwords, addresses, and credit cards are included. However, we do not collect this information and it remains accessible to you alone. Here is a list of frequently asked questions regarding how we handle user data.