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Can't open Firefox Private Browsing via command line switch

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  • Last reply by markyork67

I'm on a Win10 Pro 64-bit Lenovo laptop.

FF private opens fine using Ctrl+Shift+P or clicking on New Private Window in the menu, but I'm trying to create a desktop shortcut that opens an FF private window. Everything that I've read says to simply add a space and then "-private" to the Target line in the shortcut properties.

However, when I use the shortcut, a regular browser window opens with my Google account logged in and search history available.

I'm on a Win10 Pro 64-bit Lenovo laptop. FF private opens fine using Ctrl+Shift+P or clicking on New Private Window in the menu, but I'm trying to create a desktop shortcut that opens an FF private window. Everything that I've read says to simply add a space and then "-private" to the Target line in the shortcut properties. However, when I use the shortcut, a regular browser window opens with my Google account logged in and search history available.

Chosen solution

The "-private" command line switch would only work if Firefox is closed and no Firefox applications present in the Task Manager, otherwise try the "-private-window" switch.

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Chosen Solution

The "-private" command line switch would only work if Firefox is closed and no Firefox applications present in the Task Manager, otherwise try the "-private-window" switch.