Disable automatic downloading of files without confirmation
Firefox starts downloading files immediately before confirming download dialog. In other words when you trigger a download firefox automatically starts the download process even if you do not select open or save from the pop-up dialog window. This behavior can be observed within Developer tools > network, or through system network statistics, or when you actually start the download it starts from a nonzero file size value.
Is it possible to disable this 'auto download in background' feature? Considering my connection speed & data cap I would rather prefer not to have this feature because it uses so much junk data for things I decided not to download. I tried searching about:config page but could not find a relevant parameter and did not want to break the browser by messing around.
If this has been discussed before could somebody point me to right direction? I am using version 61 by the way.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Chosen solution
That is how downloading works in Firefox and I'm not aware of a way to prevent this. When you click a download button or otherwise save a file then Firefox will start the download immediately in the background and saves the file to the temp folder and doesn't wait until you choose a destination file name and folder. If you cancel the download then the temp file will be removed, otherwise Firefox will copy the file to the destination folder at some point
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So what is your Privacy preferences setup like?
Hi, Firefox should pop-up a message saying going to be downloading this or that and is so many bytes and to Save or Cancel.
You can change Copy/Paste about:preferences to the Address Bar and Enter Go Down to Downloads and change to Always Ask.
I have no other suggestions as no idea. Really do not want you to do a Refresh if the above works.
As no information was supplied about your setup and Extensions please check if one of those my be the issue along with any security software you are running . What security software is it please ?
Try Firefox Safe Mode to TEST & see if the problem goes away. Firefox Safe Mode is a troubleshooting mode that temporarily turns off hardware acceleration, resets some settings, and disables add-ons (extensions and themes).
If Firefox is open, you can restart in Firefox Safe Mode from the Help menu:
- Click the menu button
, click Help 
and select Restart with Add-ons Disabled.
If Firefox is not running, you can start Firefox in Safe Mode as follows:
- On Windows: Hold the Shift key when you open the Firefox desktop or Start menu shortcut.
- On Mac: Hold the option key while starting Firefox.
- On Linux: Quit Firefox, go to your Terminal and run firefox -safe-mode
(you may need to specify the Firefox installation path e.g. /usr/lib/firefox)
When the Firefox Safe Mode window appears, select "Start in Safe Mode".
If the issue is not present in Firefox Safe Mode, your problem is probably caused by an extension, theme, or hardware acceleration. Please follow the steps in the Troubleshoot extensions, themes and hardware acceleration issues to solve common Firefox problems article to find the cause.
To exit Firefox Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.
When you figure out what's causing your issues, please let us know. It might help others with the same problem.
Chosen Solution
That is how downloading works in Firefox and I'm not aware of a way to prevent this. When you click a download button or otherwise save a file then Firefox will start the download immediately in the background and saves the file to the temp folder and doesn't wait until you choose a destination file name and folder. If you cancel the download then the temp file will be removed, otherwise Firefox will copy the file to the destination folder at some point