In addition to cookies necessary for this site to function, we’d like your permission to set some additional Cookies to better understand your browsing needs and improve your experience. Rest assured — we value your privacy.

In addition to Cookies necessary for this site to function, we’d like your permission to set some additional Cookies to better understand your browsing needs and improve your experience. Rest assured — we value your privacy.

Another way to stop trackers from tracking is using private mode to browse. Any browser that claims to be private should offer browsing in private mode.

Browsing the Web Today

Nearly all major browsers have a private browsing setting. These exist to hide the browsing history from other users on the same computer. Many people think that private browsing or incognito mode will hide both their identity and browsing history from internet service providers, governments and advertisers. They don’t. These settings just clear the history on your system, which is helpful if you’re dealing with sensitive personal information on a shared or public computer. { -brand-name-firefox } goes beyond that.

There are also cookies that remember more detailed information about you. Perhaps your interests, your web browsing patterns, etc. This means that a site can provide you more targeted content – often in the form of ads. There are types of cookies, called <em>third-party</em> cookies, that come from sites you’re not even visiting at the time and can track you from site to site to gather information about you, which is sometimes sold to other companies. Sometimes you can block these kinds of cookies, though not all browsers allow you to.

Get to Private Browsing Mode with just one tap. And when you close Private Browsing Mode, your browsing history is automatically erased from your device.

Go from your phone to your laptop, tablet and back without skipping a beat. With { -brand-name-firefox } on all your devices, you can take your bookmarks, passwords, saved logins and browsing history wherever you go.

Got lots of open tabs? No problem, organize them into Collections to stay on task. Collections can also be shared across devices so you can continue browsing the same things no matter what device you’re using.

Looking for a streamlined, super fast mobile browser with next-level privacy features? { -brand-name-firefox-focus } automatically erases all your browsing history from the moment you open your browser to the second you close it.

Add { -brand-name-firefox } across your devices for secure, seamless browsing. Sync your devices to take your favorite bookmarks, saved logins, passwords and browsing history wherever you go. Plus, send open tabs between your phone and desktop to pick up where you left off.

If you want, you can easily select to go online and search in private browsing mode. And when you close private browsing mode, your browsing history and any cookies are automatically erased from your device.

Keep what’s personal private without sacrificing blazing fast speed. Plus, smart browsing features give you the power to take your privacy, passwords and bookmarks with you safely wherever you go, making your life online easier.

Your browsing history is history

The most widely used browser performance benchmark to measure web application responsiveness is called Speedometer. While other browser benchmarks exist, Speedometer 3 is the new standard for how we measure the speed of your browsing experience. The latest tests better reflect the web of today — working with visually rich charts, editing text, interacting with complicated and heavy web pages like news sites — and it measures a full picture of the browser’s performance.

The practice of fingerprinting allows you to be <a { $url_tracked }>tracked for months</a>, even when you clear your browser storage or use private browsing mode — disregarding clear indications from you that you don’t want to be tracked. Despite a near complete agreement between <a { $url_standards }>standards</a> <a { $url_bodies }>bodies</a> and <a { $url_browser }>browser</a> <a { $url_vendors }>vendors</a> that fingerprinting is <a { $url_harmful }>harmful</a>, its use on the web <a { $url_has }>has</a> <a { $url_steadily }>steadily</a> <a { $url_increased }>increased</a> over the past decade.

Private browsing mode

{ -brand-name-firefox } also protects your privacy with <a href="{ $url }">Enhanced Tracking Protection</a> to block trackers that follow you from site to site, collecting information about your browsing habits. It also includes protections against harmful scripts and malware.

Yes. { -brand-name-firefox } protects your privacy with features like <a href="{ $url }">Private Browsing</a>. It allows you to keep your browsing history and passwords private, even when using a device that you share with other people, such as a home computer or { -brand-name-ipad }.

A { -brand-name-firefox } browser window in private browsing mode.

Compare { -brand-name-firefox }’s private browsing with <a href="{ $chrome }">Chrome’s incognito mode</a>.

{ -brand-name-firefox } private browsing mode

If you share a computer with other people or if you want to limit how much data websites can collect about you, you can use private browsing mode in { -brand-name-firefox }. Private browsing erases the digital tracks you leave behind when you browse online — think of them like footprints through the woods.

Private browsing mode

Private browsing mode opens a new browser window. When you close it, your browsing history for that window and any tracking cookies from websites you visited will be erased. <strong>{ -brand-name-firefox } Pro Tip:</strong> Don’t forget to close the private browsing window when you’re done!

Private browsing mode opens a new browser window. When you close the last private browsing window, your browsing history and any tracking cookies from websites you visited will be erased. <strong>{ -brand-name-firefox } Pro Tip:</strong> Don’t forget to close all your private browsing windows when you’re done!

Private browsing mode will not delete any new bookmarks you make from a private browsing window, or protect you from malware or viruses. It also doesn’t prevent the websites you visit from seeing where you are physically located or stop your internet service provider from logging what you do. You’ll need a <a href="{ $vpn }">trustworthy VPN</a> for that.

What does private browsing do?

What private browsing doesn’t do

Private browsing mode

The Send Tab feature in { -brand-name-firefox } lets you send pages from { -brand-name-firefox } on one device to other devices (such as an iPhone, iPad or Android device). Did you find an article while browsing on your phone that you want to read when you get back to your desk? Or an important document from work that you want to save when you get home? Maybe you found a recipe on your laptop that you want to send to your tablet in the kitchen. Send that tab!

With { -brand-name-firefox }, you can pick up where you left off when you switch from your desktop computer to your mobile phone to your tablet. { -brand-name-firefox } lets you see your bookmarks, your browsing history, your saved passwords and more, no matter which device you’re using.

Leave no trace with <a href="{ $url }">Private Browsing mode</a>. When you close out, your history and cookies are deleted.

{ -brand-name-firefox } calls it private browsing, { -brand-name-chrome } calls it incognito mode. Both let you browse the web without saving your browsing history.

We’re obsessed with protecting your privacy. That’s why we’ve made { -brand-name-firefox } Private Browsing more powerful than the others.

Misinformation is annoying, distracting and expensive. { -brand-name-firefox } has some tips for avoiding false information – and seeing less of it when browsing the web.

Private Browsing mode

{ -brand-name-pocket } recommends high-quality, human-curated articles without collecting your browsing history or sharing your personal information with advertisers.

<strong>The art of saying no:</strong> Tell your web browser what to store and what not – for example, you might like it to save your passwords but not your browsing history. You can also choose if you want to share usage information with the browser maker and whether or not you allow cookies. BTW: When using { -brand-name-firefox }, you don’t need to worry about the latter. We already block a lot of third-party cookies by default and the privacy settings in { -brand-name-firefox } make it incredibly easy to choose between standard and rather strict preferences.

The easiest way to protect your privacy in all browsers is to stay below the radar of data collectors. If you’re using private/incognito mode, your browser won’t save a history of your activity on your device or cookies set during that browsing session.

Tracking cookies are supposed to tell website owners and advertisers about your browsing behavior and what you’re interested in. It is then used to personalize your web experience. Oftentimes that means that you see customized ads, matched to your interests. Ultimately, the cookies put together a lot of information about you and store it in a profile. That may sound convenient but, unfortunately, these profiles aren’t necessarily accurate. In the best case, that means that you get less relevant ads. In the worst case, the information you see on some websites doesn’t fit your needs and expectations. Also, be aware that your profile can influence, for example, the prices at which products and services are offered to you.

<strong>We love social media!</strong> However, these websites (and others) might not work properly when you’re browsing privately: They will not only track what you do while being logged in, but also your activities beyond the respective network that takes place in the same browser window. For them, your browsing information is particularly valuable because they’re able to connect it to your account and might ultimately get to know you better than some of your best friends. Worried? No need to, { -brand-name-firefox } is here to help: Get the { -brand-name-facebook-container } extension, which makes it harder for { -brand-name-facebook } to track you on the web outside of { -brand-name-facebook }.

Your email address doesn’t necessarily reveal a lot about you. However, if you use the same address for a number of services and websites, you leave a trace. Your email address may become the center of your online identity, connected to all types of (browsing or account) data. Maybe you want to think about getting more than one for different purposes?

The lock means that the website you’re using is encrypted, so that even if someone is watching your browsing on the network (like another person on a public WiFi hotspot), they won’t be able to see your password. { -brand-name-firefox } will try to warn you when you’re about to enter your password on an unencrypted site.

Sign up for a free account and sync all your passwords, browsing history, and preferences across your devices.

Sign up for a free { -brand-name-mozilla-account } and sync all your passwords, browsing history, and preferences across your devices.

Automatically clear your history and cookies with Private Browsing mode.

By 2002, <a href="{ $over90 }">well over 90% of internet users</a> were browsing with { -brand-name-ie }.

Not many people noticed at the time, but the first version of Phoenix (later renamed to { -brand-name-firefox }) was also released by { -brand-name-mozilla } community members that year with the goal of providing the <a href="{ $charter }">best possible browsing experience</a> to the widest possible set of people.

{ -brand-name-mozilla } doesn’t know as much as you’d expect about how people browse the web. As a browser maker, that’s actually a big challenge for us. That is why we’ve built opt-in tools, which allow interested users to give us insight into their web browsing. If you sync your browsing history across { -brand-name-firefox } installations, we don’t know what that history is — because it’s encrypted by your device.

Really, you don’t collect my browsing history?

Simply put, we don’t collect your personal browsing information. Here’s our <a { $privacy }>easy-to-read privacy policy</a>.

You don’t need to hide your IP address, but there are some times where you may want to. The most common reason is privacy. In the U.S., <a href="{ $congress }">Congress overruled</a> privacy regulations designed to protect the privacy of broadband users. Internet service providers can see your browsing habits, what you are using the internet for, and how long you spend on each page. This communication is not encrypted, so third-parties can see what website you’re visiting. One way to combat this is <a href="{ $doh }">DNS-over-HTTPS</a> (DoH). This encrypts your DNS (Domain Name System) traffic, making it harder for ISPs to see the websites you are trying to visit. For US <a href="{ $firefox }">{ -brand-name-firefox } users</a>, by default your DoH queries are directed to trusted DNS servers, making it harder to associate you with the websites you try to visit.

A proxy is useful when you’re browsing the web on a public WiFi. When a proxy is enabled, it will stop eavesdroppers on the same network from spying on your browsing activity or reading your transactions on unencrypted sites. It sounds harmless, but public WiFi networks can be like a backdoor for <a href="{ $url }">hackers</a>.

A secure web proxy works for tasks that you might do only in your browser. This can amount to a lot of activity like shopping, paying bills, logging into social media and reading emails. A secure web proxy serves as an intermediary between your browser and the internet. Your web browsing data will pass through a secure tunnel to the internet directly from your browser, masking your IP address, so the web server you are contacting doesn’t know exactly where you are in the world. And that makes you harder to track and target.

ISPs can use this information for their own ad targeting or for monetization opportunities that could include sharing your information with third parties interested in data mining, marketing and targeted advertising, which means less privacy and more tracking. Browsing in private mode doesn’t prevent ISPs from seeing where you go online. But sending your web traffic through a web proxy or VPN can make it much harder.

Because your internet traffic at home moves to and from your devices through your internet service provider — ISP for short — they can see where you go online. An ISP can see what sites you visit, how long you’re on them, your location and information about your devices. An ISP may not know the specifics of what you did on those sites (like what you bought, searched for or read) thanks to encryption, but they could make inferences about you based on the sites that you visited. That personal data can be used by ISPs to create detailed profiles about you. Browsing in private mode doesn’t prevent ISPs from seeing where you go online. But sending your web traffic through a VPN can make it much harder.

<strong>Enhancing your browsing experience:</strong> { -brand-name-mozilla-vpn } offers fast and reliable connections that can improve your browsing speed and performance. You can also use { -brand-name-mozilla-vpn } to block ads and trackers that can slow down your device and compromise your privacy.

If you own an iPad, you probably use it for a lot of things: browsing the web, watching videos, playing games, reading books, and more. But whether you’re at home or on the go, your internet connection can expose your personal data and location to hackers, advertisers, and other third parties who can use cookies and your IP to track you.

{ -brand-name-mozilla-vpn } prevents hackers and spies from seeing your IP address and obscures your location online. With advanced encryption and no bandwidth restrictions, it makes streaming and browsing on your smartphone or tablet ultra-fast and reliably secure. For a small monthly fee, you can protect up to { $devices } devices and connect to dozens of servers worldwide.

Browsing History