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Firefox Privacy Hardening Guide

Transform Firefox into a privacy fortress with advanced configurations and essential extensions

Current Extension Versions

uBlock Origin 1.66.4

Wide-spectrum content blocker

Latest: Fixed infinite loop issues, improved replace functionality

Privacy Badger 2025.9.2

Heuristic tracker blocker

Latest: Global Privacy Control, enhanced tracking detection

Why Firefox for Privacy?

Firefox is the only major browser that prioritizes user privacy over corporate surveillance. Unlike Chrome, it doesn't feed data to advertising giants, and unlike Safari, it's truly cross-platform and customizable.

Open Source

Auditable code, no hidden tracking

Extension Support

Full WebExtensions API, no limitations

Customizable

Deep configuration options

Essential Privacy Extensions Setup

uBlock Origin Installation & Configuration

1Download & Install uBlock Origin

Always install from the official Mozilla Add-ons store to ensure you get the authentic extension:

  1. 1.Navigate to addons.mozilla.org
  2. 2.Search for "uBlock Origin"
  3. 3.Click "Add to Firefox"
  4. 4.Confirm installation in popup

Screenshot Placeholder:
uBlock Origin on Mozilla Add-ons Store

2Enable Advanced User Mode

Advanced mode unlocks powerful filtering capabilities:

  1. 1.Click the uBlock Origin icon in toolbar
  2. 2.Click the settings/dashboard button
  3. 3.Go to "Settings" tab
  4. 4.Check "I am an advanced user"

Screenshot Placeholder:
uBlock Origin Settings Panel

3Configure Filter Lists

Recommended Filter Lists:

✓ Essential (Auto-enabled):

  • • uBlock filters
  • • EasyList
  • • EasyPrivacy
  • • Malware Domains

✓ Additional Recommended:

  • • AdGuard Base filters
  • • Fanboy's Enhanced Tracking List
  • • Regional filters (if applicable)
  • • Anti-Facebook (optional)

Access filter lists via Dashboard → Filter lists tab. Enable additional lists based on your needs, but avoid overloading as it may impact performance.

4Dynamic Filtering (Advanced)

Dynamic filtering allows real-time blocking of specific domains and resources:

  • Block third-party scripts globally
  • Control image loading per site
  • Manage domain connections
  • Block inline scripts and frames

Screenshot Placeholder:
uBlock Dynamic Filtering Interface

Privacy Badger Installation & Setup

1Install Privacy Badger

Privacy Badger automatically learns to block trackers based on their behavior:

  1. 1.Go to addons.mozilla.org
  2. 2.Search for "Privacy Badger"
  3. 3.Install the EFF Privacy Badger
  4. 4.Pin to toolbar for easy access

Screenshot Placeholder:
Privacy Badger Installation Page

2Configure Global Privacy Control

Essential Settings:
  1. 1.Click the Privacy Badger icon in toolbar
  2. 2.Click the gear icon for settings
  3. 3.Enable "Send Global Privacy Control signal"
  4. 4.Enable "Replace social media widgets"
  5. 5.Keep "Learn to block new trackers" enabled

3Understanding Privacy Badger's Interface

Red (Blocked)

Tracker completely blocked

Yellow (Restricted)

Third-party cookies blocked

Green (Allowed)

Not tracking, allowed to load

Screenshot Placeholder:
Privacy Badger Popup Interface

Firefox Configuration Hardening

1Accessing Advanced Configuration

Firefox's about:config interface provides access to hundreds of privacy and security settings:

  1. 1.Type "about:config" in the address bar
  2. 2.Click "Accept the Risk and Continue"
  3. 3.Use the search box to find specific settings
  4. 4.Double-click to toggle boolean values

Screenshot Placeholder:
Firefox about:config Interface

2Essential Privacy Configurations

Disable Telemetry & Data Collection:

# Disable all Firefox telemetry
toolkit.telemetry.enabled → false
datareporting.healthreport.uploadEnabled → false
app.shield.optoutstudies.enabled → false
browser.crashReports.unsubmittedCheck.autoSubmit2 → false

Enhanced Tracking Protection:

# Strict tracking protection
privacy.trackingprotection.enabled → true
privacy.trackingprotection.cryptomining.enabled → true
privacy.trackingprotection.fingerprinting.enabled → true
privacy.donottrackheader.enabled → true

3Anti-Fingerprinting Configuration

WebGL & Canvas Protection:

webgl.disabled → true
privacy.resistFingerprinting → true
privacy.resistFingerprinting.letterboxing → true

Media & Hardware:

media.navigator.enabled → false
media.peerconnection.enabled → false
dom.battery.enabled → false

4DNS over HTTPS & Network Security

Enable DNS over HTTPS:

# Enable DoH
network.trr.mode → 2
network.trr.uri → https://mozilla.cloudflare-dns.com/dns-query

Alternative DoH Providers:

  • • Cloudflare: https://1.1.1.1/dns-query
  • • Quad9: https://dns.quad9.net/dns-query
  • • NextDNS: https://dns.nextdns.io/[ID]

⚠ Important Notes:

  • • These settings may break some websites - test thoroughly
  • • Create a backup profile before making extensive changes
  • • Some settings require Firefox restart to take effect
  • • Use Firefox's "Troubleshoot Mode" to test if sites break

user.js Automation Setup

1Understanding user.js Files

What is user.js?

A user.js file contains Firefox preferences that are automatically applied when Firefox starts. Unlike manually changing settings in about:config, user.js ensures settings persist through updates and profile resets.

user.js location: ~/.mozilla/firefox/[profile]/user.js
Advantages:
  • • Consistent settings across profiles
  • • Survives Firefox updates
  • • Version control friendly
  • • Easy backup and sharing
  • • Community-maintained templates
Considerations:
  • • Overrides manual about:config changes
  • • Can break websites if too strict
  • • Requires understanding of preferences
  • • May need custom overrides

2Arkenfox user.js Implementation

Download and Install Arkenfox:

# Find your Firefox profile directory
about:support → Profile Directory
# Download Arkenfox user.js
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arkenfox/user.js/master/user.js
# Place in profile directory
mv user.js ~/.mozilla/firefox/[your-profile]/
# Restart Firefox to apply

Arkenfox Features:

• Enhanced Tracking Protection: Blocks fingerprinting
• Privacy Enhancements: Disables telemetry
• Security Improvements: Hardens TLS settings
• Fingerprint Resistance: Reduces browser uniqueness
• Cookie Management: Strict cookie policies
• Network Isolation: Prevents cross-origin leaks
• Media Restrictions: Blocks autoplay and WebRTC
• Extension Security: Restricts addon permissions

3Custom Overrides for Usability

Create user-overrides.js:

// Common usability overrides
user_pref("privacy.resistFingerprinting.letterboxing", false);
user_pref("webgl.disabled", false);
user_pref("media.peerconnection.enabled", false);
// Enable DRM for streaming services
user_pref("media.eme.enabled", true);
// Allow some WebAPI for functionality
user_pref("dom.webnotifications.enabled", true);
Common Overrides:
• Enable DRM for Netflix/streaming
• Allow WebGL for maps/games
• Enable notifications for important sites
• Reduce letterboxing for normal browsing
Security Balance:
• Only override what you need
• Understand privacy trade-offs
• Test thoroughly after changes
• Document your overrides

4Profile Management & Maintenance

Update Process:

# Create update script
#!/bin/bash
cd ~/.mozilla/firefox/[profile]
cp user.js user.js.backup
wget -O user.js.new https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arkenfox/user.js/master/user.js
mv user.js.new user.js
# Apply overrides
cat user-overrides.js >> user.js
Backup Strategy:
• Backup entire profile regularly
• Version control your overrides
• Test new versions before applying
• Keep working configuration copies
Multiple Profiles:
• Hardened profile for privacy
• Standard profile for daily use
• Work profile with relaxed settings
• Testing profile for experiments

Verification & Testing:

• Check about:config: Verify settings are applied correctly
• Test key sites: Ensure important functionality works
• Privacy tests: Use https://browserleaks.com and https://coveryourtracks.eff.org
• Monitor console: Watch for errors or blocked content

Container Tabs & Isolation

1Install Multi-Account Containers

Container tabs isolate your browsing activity into separate contexts, preventing cross-site tracking:

  1. 1.Visit addons.mozilla.org
  2. 2.Search for "Firefox Multi-Account Containers"
  3. 3.Click "Add to Firefox"
  4. 4.Pin the container icon to toolbar

Screenshot Placeholder:
Multi-Account Containers Extension

2Creating Purpose-Specific Containers

Recommended Container Strategy:

🏢 Work Container
  • • Email and office applications
  • • Company resources and intranet
  • • Professional social media
🛒 Shopping Container
  • • E-commerce sites
  • • Payment and banking
  • • Price comparison sites
🎮 Personal Container
  • • Social media and entertainment
  • • Gaming and streaming
  • • Personal interests
🔒 Sensitive Container
  • • Banking and financial
  • • Medical and legal
  • • Government services

3Automatic Container Assignment

Set up automatic rules so sites always open in their designated containers:

  1. 1.Click the container icon in the toolbar
  2. 2.Select "Manage Containers"
  3. 3.Click "Always open in..." for each site
  4. 4.Choose the appropriate container

Common Auto-Assignments:

facebook.com→ Social Container
amazon.com→ Shopping Container
gmail.com→ Work Container
bankofamerica.com→ Banking Container

4Facebook Container Integration

Enhanced Facebook Isolation:

Facebook Container (by Mozilla) provides additional protection specifically for Facebook properties:

  • • Automatic Facebook isolation
  • • Blocks Facebook tracking on other sites
  • • Includes Instagram and WhatsApp
  • • Prevents cross-site data sharing
⚠ Important Notes:
  • • May break Facebook login on other sites
  • • Social media buttons won't work outside container
  • • Some legitimate integrations will be blocked
  • • Can be disabled for specific sites if needed

Pro Tip: Use containers to separate different aspects of your digital life. This prevents websites from building comprehensive profiles across your various online activities.

Private Search Configuration

Anonymous Search Engines

Configure privacy-focused search engines and remove tracking

This section will cover:

  • • DuckDuckGo configuration and features
  • • Startpage setup and Google proxy
  • • Searx self-hosted instances
  • • Removing Google and Bing defaults
  • • Custom search engine parameters

DNS & Network Security

Secure DNS Configuration

Prevent DNS leaks and enable encrypted DNS resolution

This section will cover:

  • • DNS over HTTPS (DoH) setup
  • • Cloudflare, Quad9, and NextDNS options
  • • DNS leak testing and prevention
  • • Custom DNS providers configuration
  • • Network isolation and proxy settings

Balancing Privacy & Usability

Finding the Right Balance

Optimizing privacy settings without breaking essential functionality

This section will cover:

  • • Essential vs optional privacy features
  • • Site-specific permission management
  • • Temporary exception handling
  • • Profile creation for different use cases
  • • Troubleshooting broken websites

Testing Your Setup

Privacy Verification Tools

Testing tools and techniques to verify your privacy configuration

This section will cover:

  • • Browser fingerprinting tests
  • • DNS leak detection tools
  • • WebRTC leak testing
  • • Extension effectiveness validation
  • • Privacy scoring and assessment tools

Extension Effectiveness 2025

uBlock Origin Advantages

  • Wide-spectrum content blocking
  • Advanced dynamic filtering
  • Memory and CPU efficient
  • Comprehensive filter lists

Privacy Badger Benefits

  • Heuristic tracker detection
  • Global Privacy Control
  • Widget replacement system
  • Complementary to uBlock Origin

Resources & Downloads

Essential Extensions

Configuration Resources