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Simple ways to stop awful popups from ruining your internet experience
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This wikiHow teaches you how to prevent pop-up ads from appearing in your Firefox browser on both desktop and mobile platforms. While it is impossible to eliminate 100 percent of pop-ups in Firefox or any other browser, you can decrease the number of pop-ups to virtually none by using Firefox's built-in pop-up blocker. You can also use a Firefox extension called Adblock Plus to block more obtrusive ads on desktop, while mobile users can download the free Firefox Focus app to browse ad-free.
Quick Steps to Block Firefox Pop-Ups on Desktop
- Open Firefox.
- Click the three-line menu in the upper-right corner.
- Click Settings .
- Click on Privacy & Security .
- Scroll down to Permissions .
- Check the Block pop-up windows box.
Steps
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Open Firefox. Its app icon resembles an orange fox wrapped around a blue globe.
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2Click ☰ . It's in the top-right corner of the page. A pop-out window will appear. [1] X Research sourceAdvertisement
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3Click Settings . You'll find this in the pop-out window.
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4Click Privacy & Security . It's a tab on the far-left side of the page.
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5Scroll down to the "Permissions" section. This section is near the bottom of the page.
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6Check the "Block pop-up windows" box. It's near the bottom of the "Permissions" section. Doing so ensures that Firefox will prevent pop-up windows, including ads, from appearing.
- If this box is checked, Firefox is already blocking pop-up windows.
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Open Firefox. Tap the Firefox app icon, which resembles an orange fox wrapped around a blue globe.
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Tap ☰ . This is in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Tapping it prompts a pop-up window.
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Tap Settings . It's at the bottom of the pop-up window. Doing so opens the Settings window.
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Tap the white "Block Pop-up Windows" switch . The switch will turn blue, signifying that pop-ups are now blocked in Firefox on your iPhone.
- If the switch is blue, pop-ups are already being blocked.
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Open Firefox. Tap the Firefox app icon, which resembles an orange fox wrapped around a blue globe.
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Tap the address bar. It's at the top of the screen.
- You may first have to scroll up to cause the address bar to appear.
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Go to the system settings page. Type about:config into the address bar and tap the "Search" key.
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Tap the search bar. It's in the top-right corner of the screen.
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Search for the pop-up blocker option. Type in dom.disable_open_during_load and press the "Search" key.
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Make sure this option says "false" below it. If you see "true" written below the dom.disable_open_during_load text, Firefox is already blocking pop-ups.
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Turn on the pop-up blocker. Tap dom.disable_open_during_load , then tap Toggle .
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Restart Firefox. Close the Firefox app, then re-open it. Firefox will now block ads, including pop-ups.
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Open Firefox on a computer. Its app icon resembles an orange fox wrapped around a blue globe.
- Unfortunately, you cannot install Adblock Plus for use with Firefox on an iPhone or Android.
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Click + Add to Firefox . It's a blue button in the middle of the page.
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Click Add when prompted. You'll see this appear at the top of the window. Doing so installs Adblock Plus on Firefox.
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Click the Adblock Plus icon. It's a stop sign-shaped icon with a white "ABP" written across it in the upper-right side of the Firefox window. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.
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Click Options . This option is at the bottom of the drop-down menu. The Adblock Plus Options page will open.
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Uncheck the "Allow Acceptable Ads" box. It's in the "ACCEPTABLE ADS" section of the page.
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Browse pop-up free. Now that Adblock Plus is installed, you should be able to avoid the bulk of ads—pop-up or otherwise—in your Firefox desktop browser.
- You may occasionally still see ads, and some websites will require you to disable your adblocker in order to view their content.
- To disable Adblock Plus, click its icon (you may first have to click ☰ in the top-right corner of the window to see the icon), then click Enabled on this site .
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Understand how to use Firefox Focus. Firefox Focus is a free version of Firefox for iPhone and Android smartphones; it has a built-in ad blocker which will prevent most pop-ups and other egregious forms of advertising from appearing.
- Firefox Focus is not available on Windows or Mac computers.
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Install the Firefox Focus app. To install it, open the App Store (iPhone) or Play Store (Android), then do the following:
- iPhone — Tap Search , tap the search bar, type in firefox focus , tap Search , tap GET to the right of the Firefox Focus icon, and enter your Touch ID or Apple ID when prompted.
- Android — Tap the search bar, type in firefox focus , tap the "Search" icon, and tap INSTALL under the Firefox Focus heading.
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Open Firefox Focus. Once it finishes downloading, tap OPEN in your app store, or tap the purple-and-white Firefox Focus app icon.
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Tap Skip . It's in the upper-left corner of the screen.
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Browse normally. Since Firefox Focus both includes and activates by default an aggressive ad blocker, you'll be able to browse without having to worry about pop-ups.
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Tips
- In addition to having a built-in pop-up blocker, Firefox Focus has several security features which make it a safer browser than vanilla Firefox.Thanks
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Warnings
- Even with ad blockers and the proper settings, you'll still occasionally encounter pop-ups.Thanks
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References
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 49,088 times.
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