Uninstall Firefox from your computer

Revision Information
  • Revision id: 76599
  • Created:
  • Creator: AliceWyman
  • Comment: added steps for manual program files removal for win, fx31 and removed "feedback" step for win7/8 missed in last edit
  • Reviewed: Yes
  • Reviewed:
  • Reviewed by: AliceWyman
  • Is approved? Yes
  • Is current revision? No
  • Ready for localization: Yes
  • Readied for localization:
  • Readied for localization by: AliceWyman
Revision Source
Revision Content

This article describes how to uninstall the Firefox application for supported operating systems. If you are planning to uninstall and reinstall Firefox to fix problems you may be having, you should first read Troubleshoot and diagnose Firefox problems.

Uninstall Firefox

  1. Open the Applications folder in Finder.
  2. Drag the Firefox application to the Trash.

Your uninstall of Firefox is finished.

Uninstall Firefox

If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it - see Install Firefox on Linux for details. If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory to uninstall Firefox.

Remove user data and settings

Uninstalling Firefox does not remove your user profile, which includes personal information such as bookmarks, passwords and cookies. If you also want to remove this information, you should remove the folder that contains your Firefox profile, which is stored in a separate location from the Firefox program.

  1. If you want to preserve your bookmarks, passwords, cookies, and other user data and settings, see Back up and restore information in Firefox profiles.
  2. Delete the firefox folder that contains your profile folder and the profiles.ini file Delete the Firefox folder that contains the Profiles folder and the profiles.ini file - see How do I find my profile? for the location.

Uninstall Firefox

To uninstall Firefox, follow these steps:

  1. (If Firefox is open) Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Exit.Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select Quit Firefox.Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Quit.
  2. Click the Start Menu and select Control Panel. The Control Panel window will open.
    Control Panel - WinXP
  3. In the Control Panel window, click on Add or Remove Programs. The Add or Remove Programs window will open.
  4. From the list of currently installed programs, select Mozilla Firefox.
  5. To begin the uninstall, click the Remove button to the right of Mozilla Firefox.
    If the Uninstall Wizard does not run, you can start it manually by running helper.exe, which is located by default in C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe.
  6. In the Mozilla Firefox Uninstall Wizard that opens, click Next.
  7. Click Uninstall.
    • If Firefox is still open, you must close Firefox to proceed with the uninstall.
    • If you want to remove your Firefox user data and settings, put a check mark in the box that says Remove my Firefox personal data and customizations. If you select this option, Firefox will not preserve your bookmarks, saved passwords, and other data if it is installed again.
  8. Click Finish.
  9. To remove other files and folders that may not be removed by the uninstall, you must manually delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located by default in C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox.
  1. (If Firefox is open) Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Exit.Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select Quit Firefox.Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Quit.
  2. Click the Start Menu and select Control Panel. The Control Panel window will open.
    Control Panel - Win7
  3. In the Control Panel window, click the Uninstall a program link under the Programs section.
    Uninstall a program - Win7
  4. From the list of currently installed programs, select Mozilla Firefox.
  5. To begin the uninstall, click the Uninstall button at the top of the list.
    If the Uninstall Wizard does not run, you can start it manually by running helper.exe, which is located in one of these locations by default:
    (32-bit Windows) C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe
    (64-bit Windows) C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe
  6. In the Mozilla Firefox Uninstall Wizard that opens, click Next.
  7. Click Uninstall.
    • If Firefox is still open, you must close Firefox to proceed with the uninstall.
    • If you want to remove your Firefox user data and settings, put a check mark in the box that says Remove my Firefox personal data and customizations. If you select this option, Firefox will not preserve your bookmarks, saved passwords, and other data if it is installed again.
  8. Click Finish.
  9. To remove other files and folders that may not be removed by the uninstall, you must manually delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations by default:
    • (32-bit Windows) C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
    • (64-bit Windows) C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
  1. (If Firefox is open) Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Exit.Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select Quit Firefox.Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Quit.
  2. From the Start Screen, click the Desktop tile. The Desktop view will open.
  3. From the Desktop, hover in the lower right-hand corner to access the Charms.
  4. Select Control Panel from the Settings charm. The Control Panel window will open.

    Control Panel - Win8
  5. In the Control Panel window, click the Uninstall a program link under the Programs section.
    Uninstall a program - Win7
  6. From the list of currently installed programs, select Mozilla Firefox.
  7. To begin the uninstall, click the Uninstall button at the top of the list.
    If the Uninstall Wizard does not run, you can start it manually by running helper.exe, which is located in one of these locations by default:
    (32-bit Windows) C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe
    (64-bit Windows) C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe
  8. In the Mozilla Firefox Uninstall Wizard that opens, click Next.
  9. Click Uninstall.
    • If Firefox is still open, you must close Firefox to proceed with the uninstall.
    • If you want to remove your Firefox user data and settings, put a check mark in the box that says Remove my Firefox personal data and customizations. If you select this option, Firefox will not preserve your bookmarks, saved passwords, and other data if it is installed again.
  10. Click Finish.
  11. To remove other files and folders that may not be removed by the uninstall, you must manually delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations by default:
    • (32-bit Windows) C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
    • (64-bit Windows) C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
  1. (If Firefox is open) Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Exit.Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select Quit Firefox.Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Quit.
  2. Click the Start Menu and select Control Panel. The Control Panel window will open.
    Control Panel - WinXP
  3. In the Control Panel window, click on Add or Remove Programs. The Add or Remove Programs window will open.
  4. From the list of currently installed programs, select Mozilla Firefox.
  5. To begin the uninstall, click the Remove button to the right of Mozilla Firefox.
    If the Uninstall Wizard does not run, you can start it manually by running helper.exe, which is located by default in C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe.
  6. In the Mozilla Firefox Uninstall Wizard that opens, click Next.
  7. Click Uninstall.
    • If Firefox is still open, you must close Firefox to proceed with the uninstall.
  8. Click Finish.
  9. To remove other files and folders that may not be removed by the uninstall, you must manually delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located by default in C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox.
  1. (If Firefox is open) Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Exit.Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select Quit Firefox.Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Quit.
  2. Click the Start Menu and select Control Panel. The Control Panel window will open.
    Control Panel - Win7
  3. In the Control Panel window, click the Uninstall a program link under the Programs section.
    Uninstall a program - Win7
  4. From the list of currently installed programs, select Mozilla Firefox.
  5. To begin the uninstall, click the Uninstall button at the top of the list.
    If the Uninstall Wizard does not run, you can start it manually by running helper.exe, which is located in one of these locations by default:
    (32-bit Windows) C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe
    (64-bit Windows) C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe
  6. In the Mozilla Firefox Uninstall Wizard that opens, click Next.
  7. Click Uninstall.
    • If Firefox is still open, you must close Firefox to proceed with the uninstall.
  8. Click Finish.
  9. To remove other files and folders that may not be removed by the uninstall, you must manually delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations by default:
    • (32-bit Windows) C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
    • (64-bit Windows) C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
  1. (If Firefox is open) Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Exit.Click the Firefox menu at the top of the screen and select Quit Firefox.Click the Firefox menu Fx89menuButton and select Quit.
  2. From the Start Screen, click the Desktop tile. The Desktop view will open.
  3. From the Desktop, hover in the lower right-hand corner to access the Charms.
  4. Select Control Panel from the Settings charm. The Control Panel window will open.

    Control Panel - Win8
  5. In the Control Panel window, click the Uninstall a program link under the Programs section.
    Uninstall a program - Win7
  6. From the list of currently installed programs, select Mozilla Firefox.
  7. To begin the uninstall, click the Uninstall button at the top of the list.
    If the Uninstall Wizard does not run, you can start it manually by running helper.exe, which is located in one of these locations by default:
    (32-bit Windows) C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe
    (64-bit Windows) C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\uninstall\helper.exe
  8. In the Mozilla Firefox Uninstall Wizard that opens, click Next.
  9. Click Uninstall.
    • If Firefox is still open, you must close Firefox to proceed with the uninstall.
  10. Click Finish.
  11. To remove other files and folders that may not be removed by the uninstall, you must manually delete the Firefox installation folder, which is located in one of these locations by default:
    • (32-bit Windows) C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox
    • (64-bit Windows) C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox

Remove user data and settings

Your Firefox user data such as history and bookmarks are stored separately from the Firefox program. If you did not select the option to remove your Firefox personal data and customizations when you uninstalled Firefox (see above) then this information is still on your computer. To completely remove this data, you must manually delete the Firefox folder that contains your user profile:

The uninstaller does not remove any user data such as history or bookmarks. To completely remove this data, you must manually delete the Firefox folder containing your user profile:

  1. Click the Windows Start button, and select Run….
  2. Type in %APPDATA% in the Run prompt then click OK.
  3. Open the Mozilla folder.
  4. Delete the Firefox folder.
  1. Click the Windows Start button.
  2. Type %APPDATA% in the search field and press enter to open the hidden Roaming folder.
  3. Open the Mozilla folder.
  4. Delete the Firefox folder.
  1. From the Start Screen, click the Desktop tile. The Desktop view will open.
  2. From the Desktop, hover in the lower right-hand corner to access the Charms.
  3. Select the Search charm. The Search sidebar will open.
  4. Type %APPDATA% in the search field and press enter to open the hidden Roaming folder.
  5. Open the Mozilla folder.
  6. Delete the Firefox folder.



Based on information from Uninstalling Firefox (mozillaZine KB)