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Tag: firefox

  • How To Stop Specific Website From Getting Saved in Browsing History

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    • Using incognito mode might not be feasible, as you would have to log in each time you visit a website where you have a profile.
    • In Mozilla Firefox, in the History settings, you can search for a particular website and delete all data for that domain, including history, cookies, and cache.
    • Once this extension is active, you will be able to access the settings whenever you open the history in your browser.

    It is a basic function of web browsers to record and save your browsing data. This also includes the history of all the websites and domains that you have visited. However, there must have been times when you would have felt that if there is any way that a particular website does not get saved in the browsing history. Maybe you don’t want a record of a website in history, but you visit it often. Or maybe you don’t want clutter in your history-based search suggestions from a website you open repeatedly. While there is no direct way to blacklist websites in a browser, there are still some workarounds.

    Stop A Website From Getting Saved in Browsing History

    This is a universal problems as most popular browsers are based on Chromium. However, there are also some non-Chromium browsers like Mozilla Firefox that sometimes face the same issue. We will explore methods to fix this in both Chromium and non-Chromium browsers.

    For Chromium-Based Browsers

    For chromium-based browsers like Google Chrome, Brave, Microsoft Edge, and others, you can simply use a web extension called Better History available on the Chrome Web Store.

    1. Click on the blue button on the right-hand side that says “Add to Chrome,” which might differ depending on the browser you are using. You might get a pop-up asking for confirmation. Click on “Add Extension”.

      add to chrome through chrome web store

      2. You will be redirected to a webpage. Click “Open BetterHistory” there to open the history settings. Once this extension is active, you will be able to access the settings whenever you open the history in your browser.

      click open betterhistory on redirected page

      3. On the sidebar, you will find the ‘Blacklist Domain’ tab. Click that.

      blacklist domain tab

      4. Here, enter the domain you want to blacklist, then click ‘Add’.

      add domain you want to blacklist

      5. Under the same tab, you will be able to see all the blacklisted domains, and you can also delete or edit them.

      view blacklisted domains

      For Non-Chromium Browsers

      For non-Chromium-based browsers, there is no such extension as of now that can directly block a website from being saved in the history. But don’t worry as you can take simple measures like deleting the history for a specific website. In Mozilla Firefox, in the History settings, you can search for a particular website and delete all data for that domain, including history, cookies, and cache.

      1. Open the history settings using the shortcut, “Ctrl + Shift + H”, and search for the particular website if you cannot see it in the recent history.

        search the website

        2. Right-click on the domain and click on ‘Forget about this site’.

        forget about this site

        3. A confirmation pop-up will open. Click ‘Clear data’.

        clear data

        For other browsers that do not have this feature, you can use the private or incognito mode for browsing that particular website. Once you close the tab, the history for that site visit will not be saved.

        FAQs

        Q. Can I stop a website from appearing in the search bar suggestions?

        Yes, if you delete your history and clear the cookies and cache for that website, it will stop appearing in the search bar suggestions.

        Q. Will disabling browser sync stop history from being saved?

        No, disabling browser sync will only prevent history from being saved across devices. The website’s history will still be saved on the device you accessed it from.

        Wrapping Up

        Sometimes you don’t want particular websites saved in your browsing history. Using incognito mode might not be feasible, as you would have to log in each time you visit a website where you have a profile. Since all Chromium-based browsers function similarly at the backend, a single method works for all of them. However, each non-chromium-based browser functions differently, so there is no single workaround for all of them.

        You may also like to read:

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    Mitash Arora

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  • Mozilla will add an ‘AI window’ to Firefox

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    Mozilla is working on a new tool for Firefox called AI Window. This will be an opt-in space for chatting with an AI assistant and getting help from it while browsing. The goal with this project appears to be giving users more control over when and how they choose to interact with AI. AI Window will be another option for users alongside the standard Firefox window and the Private Window, which will continue to offer more privacy protections. The feature is still in development, so interested users can sign up in Mozilla’s blog post to be among the first users and provide feedback.

    AI built into browsers is one of the current hot issues among tech companies. Every browser provider and AI operation appears to be engaged in an arms race to offer the best integrated solution. Mozilla isn’t immune to that push; it also introduced an iOS tool for Firefox earlier this year where you can shake your phone to get an AI-generated summary of a web page.

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  • How to Disable AI Features in Firefox Browser

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    • Like most people, if I want to talk to an AI agent, I opt for Gemini or ChatGPT separately.
    • No, in fact, if you disable all the AI features, then the browser can actually perform better and will give you better performance and memory usage.
    • You can turn off all the AI features if you want, or you can only turn off the ones you do not like.

    Mozilla recently launched thier own AI features across Firefox, and it did not go well. The new update is not well-received amongst the Mozilla fanatics and long-time users. They have expressed thier frustration and dislikes very harshly on social media. The most upsetting and common part in all these complaints was the fact that these features are enabled by default. This hampers the user’s experience and also feels like a breach of thier privacy. So in this article, I will share with you how you can turn these features off.

    Why did Firefox face such backlash with AI?

    According to Mozilla, they wanted to give their users a more premium experience and make browsing ‘smarter.’ They wanted users to have instant summaries, chat assistance, intelligent tab grouping, and much more. However, to embed these features, they move away from thier minimalist approach and privacy-first policy. This is what set off the users and upset them to this extent.

    Personally, I found the new AI pop-up menus intrusive, and the sidebar chatbot unnecessary. Like most people, if I want to talk to an AI agent, I opt for Gemini or ChatGPT separately.

    How to Disable Firefox’s AI Features

    You can turn off all the AI features if you want, or you can only turn off the ones you do not like. Refer to the steps mentioned below.

    1. Type about.config in your address bar and hit Enter.

    About Config

    2. When the warning message pops up, click on Accept the Risk and Continue.

    Accept risk and countinue

    3. Then, in the search bar, enter  ‘browser.ml.enable.’

    True Browser enable

    4. Once you do this, there will be a True and False option. Choose False to disable all the AI features.

    Change

    5. If not, then choose True and disable each feature with its own command.

    True Browser enable

    Each AI feature has its own command, which can be entered in the search bar and then toggled to False to disable it. I have mentioned all the commands below.

    Setttings Description

    browser.ml.enable

    		 Master switch for Firefox’s built-in machine-learning platform. Turn this off to disable everything.
    browser.ml.chat.enabled Enables the built-in AI chatbot integration.
    browser.ml.chat.sidebar Displays the AI chat panel in the sidebar.
    browser.ml.chat.shortcuts Allows triggering chat from selected text or shortcuts.
    browser.ml.chat.page Powers the on-page AI chat menu when highlighting text.
    browser.ml.chat.page.footerBadge Shows the floating badge at the bottom of web pages.
    browser.ml.chat.page.menuBadge Adds the “Ask AI” badge in the page menu.
    browser.ml.chat.menu Adds “Chat about this” to right-click menus.
    browser.ml.linkPreview.enabled Generates AI-based link previews and suggestions.
    extensions.ml.enabled Allows browser extensions to access Firefox’s ML API.
    browser.ml.pageAssist.enabled Runs the AI “page assist” summarizer or assistant.
    browser.tabs.groups.smart.enabled. Uses AI to automatically group and label tabs.
    browser.tabs.groups.smart.userEnable Lets users manually enable or disable smart tab groups.

    FAQs

    Q. Will my Firefox browser face issues if I disable all the AI features?

    No, in fact, if you disable all the AI features, then the browser can actually perform better and will give you better performance and memory usage.

    Q. Can we turn all the features off or only specific features?

    You can do either. If you are someone who rarely uses AI features while they are browsing, then you can disable them entirely. In case you do use AI features, you can simply toggle specific features one by one.

    Wrapping Up

    This article discusses how you can disable the AI features of Mozilla Firefox. The process is fairly simple; you only have to enter a chain of commands that will disable all the AI features. You can also choose to keep some features on if you use them.

    You may also like to read:

    Have any questions related to our how-to guides, or anything in the world of technology? Check out our new GadgetsToUse AI Chatbot for free, powered by ChatGPT.

    You can also follow us for instant tech news at Google News or for tips and tricks, smartphones & gadgets reviews, join the GadgetsToUse Telegram Group, or subscribe to the GadgetsToUse Youtube Channel for the latest review videos.

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    Dev Chaudhary

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  • Here’s What Your Browser is Telling Everyone About You

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    The problem with browser fingerprinting is that it’s probabilistic in nature. It looks at a treasure trove of data to track you online, not any individual piece of information. A VPN, for instance, can hide your IP address and make you appear in a different location. If enough of the other data in your fingerprint is consistent, however, it can still be used to track you. Your IP address may be different, but just about everything else about your browsing is not.

    There may be practical use cases for fingerprinting, but you really don’t have much say in the matter. Even with protections like the GDPR, the moment you load a website, there are likely a few dozen (if not more) trackers copying the information your browser shares for their own purposes. Services like Fingerprint leverage that information to create an identifier, but make no mistake, the data is always there.

    How to Get Around Browser Fingerprinting

    You can’t get around browser fingerprinting, at least not without significant compromises to your browsing experience (more on that later). Even if you were to spoof or obfuscate every piece of data your browser sends along, that’d probably work against you. The goal with avoiding fingerprinting is to become a Jane Doe online; you want to disappear in the crowd, so every piece of data that makes you stand out sends up a red flag.

    The best way to fight back against fingerprinting is to hide or rotate enough information so that it’s more difficult to track you, not impossible. And that starts with a VPN, though it doesn’t make you fully anonymous. The clearest online fingerprint you leave is your IP address and physical location, and VPNs hide both. More importantly, many of the best VPNs today include additional tools to combat fingerprinting.

    ProtonVPN, which is what I use myself, includes NetShield to block trackers, ads, and malware. It doesn’t prevent fingerprinting, but NetShield can at least capture and block requests from well-known trackers to make you a bit more private online. NordVPN has a similar feature, as does Surfshark.

    The most robust version of this type of blocker comes from Windscribe. Through its browser extension, you can do things like rotate your browser’s user agent to make it appear as if you’re using a different browser, as well as spoof your language, time zone, and GPS information to match the VPN server you’re connected to. Again, this will not make you fully anonymous online. But an extension like the one Windscribe offers makes tracking your fingerprint more difficult.

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    Jacob Roach

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  • How to Clear Your Browser’s Cache, and Why You Should

    How to Clear Your Browser’s Cache, and Why You Should

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    Every web browser has what’s called a cache: A temporary storage space for web pages that syncs online content to your computer or mobile device. This syncing is designed to help websites load up faster, and put less of a strain on your internet bandwidth.

    It’s a good idea and it works well most of the time, which is why every browser does it. However, it can cause problems. By its very nature, cached content can fall out of date: Browsers will try to ensure this doesn’t happen, but it can, and that might mean you’re looking at information, links, and images that are no longer accurate or relevant.

    What’s more, discrepancies between cached content and what’s actually on the internet can also cause all kinds of weird bugs, like pages not loading properly or web apps not functioning.

    Cached content can also represent a security vulnerability. Data stored on your computer about the websites you’ve visited can tell a story of your online activity—and while it would require physical access to your computer and a skilled hacker to find it, it’s a possibility.

    For all these reasons, you might want to regularly clear out cached pages. Clearing the cache effectively resets the browser’s relationship to the webpage, and can often fix problems with a site.

    Note that cached files are different than cookies. Cookies are bits of information saved by websites that tell them details about who you are and where you’re located—so you don’t have to log in every time you visit Gmail, for example. The cache holds different information, like images and page furniture.

    There are reasons to clear your browser’s cookies too, but we’re going to focus on the cache here. This is how to do the job no matter what browser you’re using.

    Google Chrome

    Clearing the cache in Google Chrome.

    Courtesy of David Nield

    In Chrome on the desktop, click the three dots (top right), then Settings. Open up the Privacy and security tap, click Clear browsing data, and then select Cached images and files under the Basic tab.

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    David Nield

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