To secure your browsing session, you can manually configure Mozilla Firefox to block intrusive tracking, encrypt web queries, and limit telemetry data. While Firefox has excellent privacy-centric features by default, the baseline “Standard” setup still allows various background data collections.
Follow this organized guide to harden your browser security. Core Settings (The Quick Fixes)
Access these options by clicking the Menu button (three horizontal lines) →right arrow Settings →right arrow Privacy & Security.
Strict Tracking Protection: Scroll to Enhanced Tracking Protection and change the toggle from Standard to Strict. This blocks cross-site cookies, cryptominers, fingerprinters, and tracking ads.
Global Privacy Control (GPC): Find Website Privacy Preferences and check “Tell websites not to sell or share my data”. This sends a legally binding signal to participating sites to opt out of data sharing.
Disable Telemetry: Scroll to Firefox Data Collection and Use and uncheck all boxes. This stops the browser from sending interaction data, technical metrics, and back-end “privacy-preserving ad measurements” (PPA) to Mozilla.
HTTPS-Only Mode: Scroll down to the bottom of the page and enable “Enable HTTPS-Only Mode in all windows”. This forces secure, encrypted connections and warns you before opening unencrypted HTTP sites.
Private Search Engine: Click Search in the left sidebar and change your default search engine from Google to a privacy-focused alternative like DuckDuckGo. Advanced Connection & History Tweaks Privacy and security | Firefox Help – Mozilla Support
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