Firefox Community Forum

I've used Firefox for 20 years through the various iterations of Windows, and have been using it trouble free on Windows 11 since November 2024. Two days ago, however, When I tried to open the Guardian site (www.theguardian.com) it would open very slowly and not load and of the pictures. This gradually got worse, the site taking for ever to open at all, and always with the little dot in the tab at the top left going from side to side showing it was still loading. I have tried everything I can think of. Opened in troubleshoot mode, changed DNS settings, uninstalled and reinstalled Firefox twice (one time to see if it would work normally if I didn't actually sign in to my account). All to no avail. In fact now things are worse, in that the GOV.Uk website is now giving me similar problems - and a few other sites have become slightly slow and reluctant to open as well. My internet connection seems fine, and all these sites open without any trouble on Microsoft Edge. I am NOT very good at tech, and I am now tearing my heair out as to what I can try next.

Any help wopuld be gratefully received!

Jim Luetchford

When I encounter an embedded video on a website that plays, an icon to toggle picture in picture pops up in the URL bar (see attached image). I don't use picture in picture, and for some websites which have an "endless scrolling" experience with videos, such as reddit or facebook, it is slightly annoying that while I am focusing the middle of the screen, something changes in the top right, making me think a tab has an update and changed title. I have the picture in picture controls turned off in settings (one with the id=pictureInPictureToggleEnabled in general, my Firefox is not English), I thought it would also make said button go away but it does not.

Is there anyplace that shows how to use what the new release says on the 146.0. I got the message below when viewing new options in 146.0, but going to settings, sync just wants me to sign in and do a cloud backup.

Doesn't sound like what is in message below that I got after updating to 146.0. From what I found looking around, you are suppose to go to setting, sync, click on backup and choose location. There is no option backup, just an option to sign on. Below is message I got when checking what is in update 146.0:

Windows 10 users can now automatically protect their passwords, bookmarks, and more by turning on backup in Firefox. Your browsing data is saved daily on your device and can be encrypted with a password When you set up a fresh install of Firefox on any operating system for a new device or your current one, you can restore from this backup and pick up right where you left off. This feature is currently available on Windows devices and will be coming to other operating systems soon.

I opened FF this afternoon and it op0end like a new first time install- asking about setting up some damn profiles and showing news, AI, weather and crap I do not want or use..

I can not seem to restore it. All bookmarks, PW, menu bars and links are now gone.

I am just burned out with Firefox and not sure why I should continue to use it instead of some fork or Chromium-based browser.

It seems like every update brings some new GenAI/LLM component that is auto-enabled and difficult to disable. I do not want GenAI/LLMs in my web browser. I have dropped nearly every other application or software that has forced it on me and included it in their product. I feel like I'm trying manage a Windows system having to follow blogs to debloat, restore privacy, and restore security. GenAI/LLMs shouldn't be in my web browser. And, they should be opt-in, not opt-out in some confusing mix of GUI and about:config madness. If GenAI/LLM is so great, then make it an extension or a fork then let those folks use it from there. Don't bake it into the web browser.

I continue to use Firefox for uBlock Origin but I guess that would be possible with a Firefox-fork. However, I am just tired of having to continuously manage my Firefox browser and battle websites that only support Chromium-based browsers. If Firefox actually seemed intent on improving security and privacy then I could find the motivation but this GenAI/LLM nonsense seems the point of no return.

On my Android phone, I've switched to a Chromium-based browser given the poor state of security and hardening for the vanilla Firefox. I keep IronFox on hand but it is just easier to surf the web with a Chromium-based browser due to many websites just working better. Why should I deal with the pain and frustration of limited Firefox support when Firefox isn't even keeping up with security hardening?

As for desktop, the Firefox browser just doesn't seem as snappy or stable as I would expect. Firefox for Linux is still not supported for Slack Huddles. How is it 2026 and Mozilla/Firefox are still not fully functional with one of the major business chat platforms? Yes, I know this primarily a Slack and AWS-Chime-SDK problem but it is also a Firefox problem because there isn't much that a user can do. I've tried to prod Slack and the AWS teams numerous times to support Firefox but they've just done nothing. I also see nothing being done by the Firefox team, too.

Another example is the EdgeSuite CDN. Nearly always they block my traffic when I use Firefox. Switch to a Chromium-based browser and EdgeSuite is much less likely to block me. This is fairly consistent for the retail and financial institutions I use.

As far as I am aware, many of the security concerns brought up by Madaidan in 2022 still hold true for Firefox today, especially for Android and Linux. If this is no longer true, then it might be good for the Firefox team to post a rebuttal or update clarifying the current state of Firefox. The average users such as myself only see the Madaidan blog post and have to take it at face value. https://madaidans-insecurities.github.io/firefox-chromium.html

Anyway, I don't see a way ahead for me and Firefox but maybe you can convince me. It just seems like Firefox and Mozilla have lost their way. They no longer seem focused on security and privacy. Instead they're forcing privacy, security, and system resource disasters onto their userbases, just like Microsoft, Google, and every one of the major tech firms. I just don't see why I should use, promote, and even support Firefox going into 2026.

All my Tabs Group have disappeared from the Tab Bar. I can see the Closed Tab Groups in the drop down but i can't find a way to re-open Closed Tab Groups. Any clues welcome. Running 146.0 and on the beta update channel.

I want to avoid any 'ai assist' searches because I do not find their summaries accurate or valuable enough to be worth the environmental impact they consume. I know my web browser searches are not under the control of firefox, but for privacy and security I kill cookies when I end browsing sessions. So I am not staying logged in to search engines when I finish my sessions, and setting my preferences to 'no ai assist' on DDG doesn't last session to session because the search engine defaults to 'ai assist' searches now, as does google.

Are there any search engines that do not use ai?

Has anyone written an extension/add-on to FF that would add 'minus ai' to all my searches no matter what browser I use? Or otherwise indicate to search engines that I do not want ai-assisted summaries period?

We've got various privacy options built into FF--this is why it is my preference always--and it would be LOVELY to have a 'no ai' option too.

I keep finding names in my account list with the name hakeem attached. I don't know who this hakeem is or how this name and the associated links became attached to my account. I have 3 firewalls and several antivirus/spam/etc blockers activated. Help.

Firefox crashes whenever my computer goes to sleep. I am running windows 11 and have been for years. This problem showed up a few months ago. The crash then screws up other apps and I have to restart my computer to fix it.

Good morning One and All Why is the 'customise' facility, bottom right of tab, not available if the tab is blank? I have downloaded a personal photograph as my background but it is ruined by the Google search bar and the Firefox logo above it. Why can't these 2 items be moved either to the side, below or above?

I received an email from breach-alerts@mozilla.com informing me that Mozilla Monitor⁩ discovered a data breach that includes my personal information: Unfortunately, I don't know if this is a legitimate email from Mozilla. Can anyone confirm if it is or is not?

Thanks

im having issues with my tabs as there are now two sets of tabs one that is empty basically and seems to be treated as the main one and the other that is all my other tabs... but when i try to switch to them it switches my screen so other apps like games or messaging apps no longer are visible yet the still appear to exist

Hello, I just updated to Firefox version 146, and now the bookmarks and history in the sidebar are no longer visible because the background is yellow-green and the text is white...so, invisible!

I hope you will fix this quickly with a new update, as it's a real problem.

Thank you in advance. Sincerely,

Hi. I've downloaded dictionaries and languages, the check spelling option is enabled in the browser settings. However, browser doesn't want to do it automatically. I have to manually enable it with RMB context menu (and re-select languages) for each website individually. Moreover, when the page refreshes, spell checking turning itself off again in RMB menu (but stays enabled in browser options).

  Is this really how it's supposed to work?

When browsing on IMDb (see image attached) when I click on the "See All" button just above "Soundtrack" at the bottom of the image nothing happens. This should expand the list above it, in the case an actor's credits. I have NoScript 13.5.2 installed but all scripts are allowed here. I get this on all the IMDb pages.