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To better protect your privacy and security, Firefox includes permissions that help protect your privacy by controlling whether websites can access apps and services on your computer or devices on your local network. When a website requests this access, Firefox asks for your permission first.
Starting in Firefox 153, Local Network Access protections are enabled by default for all Firefox Desktop users. When a public website tries to access apps, services, or devices on your local network, Firefox asks for your permission before allowing the connection.
Table of Contents
Why is Firefox adding these permissions?
Some websites can try to communicate with apps running on your computer or with devices connected to your local network, such as printers, routers, or media servers. Malicious sites have used these capabilities to track you or scan for vulnerable devices.
To keep you safe and help you stay in control of your data and devices, Firefox now asks for your permission when a site tries to connect to your device or local network.
What to expect when a site requests access
When a public website tries to access apps running on your computer or devices on your local network, Firefox displays a permission prompt asking whether to allow the request.
You can choose to:
- access for that visit
- access for that visit
You can also choose to have Firefox remember your decision for all future visits. You can change it anytime in your Settings.
What is considered “device apps and services”?
“Device apps and services” are your personal computer and all the applications installed on it.
What is considered a “local network device”?
Local network devices are any hardware connected to the same local network as your device. This includes:
- Routers
- Printers
- File servers
- Smart TVs
- Media streamers
- IoT (Internet of Things) devices
Accessing these devices over the network could allow websites to interact with or retrieve data from them. A permission check helps prevent sites from doing so without your knowledge.
Manage access permissions to your device and local network
When a site tries to access other apps and services on your device or your local network, Firefox will show a permission prompt near the address bar, asking you to allow access.
For , the prompt looks like this:
For , the prompt looks like this:
Configure access permissions
- In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click and select (or , in some cases).Click the menu button
and select .
- Select Privacy & SecurityPermissions and data on the left.
- Go to the Permissions section.
- Find and click and click the entry.
- Here you’ll see a list of sites that have requested this permission.
- Use the dropdown menu next to each site to change access.
- Find , click and click the entry, and repeat steps 5-6.
For , the Settings dialog looks like this:
For , the Settings dialog looks like this:
Advanced Configuration (about:config)
For users who need more control over local network access behavior, Firefox provides advanced preferences accessible through about:config.
- Warning: These instructions are for experienced Firefox users. Changing settings in the Configuration Editor (about:config) can have serious effects on your browser’s stability, security and performance.
Only proceed if you are comfortable with advanced settings and understand the potential impacts.
To access these preferences
- Type about:config in the address bar and press EnterReturn.
A warning page may appear. Click to go to the about:config page. - Search for the preference name you want to modify.
- Double-click to change boolean values (true/false) or click the edit icon for other values.
Available preferences
network.lna.enabled (boolean)
- Default: true
- Controls whether local network access checks are enforced
- Setting to false disables all local network access restrictions
network.lna.blocking (boolean)
- Default: true
- Controls the blocking behavior for local network access
- Setting to false allows access without prompts when enabled
network.lna.block_trackers (boolean)
- Default: false
- Experimental feature that blocks third-party trackers from accessing localhost and local network resources
- Setting to true provides additional protection against tracking scripts
network.lna.skip-domains (string)
- Default: (empty)
- Comma-separated list of domains that should skip local network access checks
- Can include both source domains (websites making requests) and target domains (local resources being accessed)
- Supports wildcard patterns with *. prefix (for example *.company.com)
- Example: intranet.company.com,*.devices.local
Troubleshooting and monitoring
If you need to see detailed information about local network access attempts or diagnose issues:
- Press Ctrl + Shift + KCmd + Option + K to open the Web Console.
- Look for messages related to local network access.
- The console will show which requests were blocked or allowed, helping you understand what’s happening.
For enterprise environments, administrators can use the LocalNetworkAccess policy to manage these settings organization-wide. See the Firefox Enterprise Policy Documentation for more information.
Report issues
If you encounter unexpected prompts or believe a website is being incorrectly blocked or allowed:
- Open the Web Console to capture relevant error messages (usually starting with Local Network Access…).
- File a bug in Bugzilla under the Core :: Networking component.
- Include in your bug report:
- The website URL where you saw the unexpected prompt
- What you expected to happen vs. what actually happened
- Error messages from the Web Console
- Whether the site is trying to access a local device or local network resource
