This site will have limited functionality while we undergo maintenance to improve your experience. If an article doesn't solve your issue and you want to ask a question, we have our support community waiting to help you at @FirefoxSupport on Twitter and/r/firefox on Reddit.

Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

How do I turn off (and on) Private Browsing in Version 28?

  • 2 replies
  • 6 have this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by xenon2000

more options

How do I turn off (and on) Private Browsing in Version 28? Seems to be permanently set to Private Browsing mode. I would like to be able to choose which mode on the fly without addons. All the help I have seen so far, is for older versions of Firefox. I am using Version 28. Which seems to be the latest version as of right now.

How do I turn off (and on) Private Browsing in Version 28? Seems to be permanently set to Private Browsing mode. I would like to be able to choose which mode on the fly without addons. All the help I have seen so far, is for older versions of Firefox. I am using Version 28. Which seems to be the latest version as of right now.

Chosen solution

You can check that you aren't running Firefox in permanent Private Browsing mode (Never remember history)?

  • Tools > Options > Privacy > Firefox will: "Use custom settings for history"
  • Deselect: [ ] "Always use private browsing mode"

You can check the target line in the Firefox desktop shortcut (right-click: Properties) to make sure that nothing is appended after the path to the Firefox program.

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).

  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window.
Read this answer in context 👍 2

All Replies (2)

more options

Chosen Solution

You can check that you aren't running Firefox in permanent Private Browsing mode (Never remember history)?

  • Tools > Options > Privacy > Firefox will: "Use custom settings for history"
  • Deselect: [ ] "Always use private browsing mode"

You can check the target line in the Firefox desktop shortcut (right-click: Properties) to make sure that nothing is appended after the path to the Firefox program.

Start Firefox in Safe Mode to check if one of the extensions (Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Extensions) or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance).

  • Do NOT click the Reset button on the Safe Mode start window.
more options

Thanks for the quick reply. Talk about hidden. I kept looking everywhere and did not suspect to see it under the history settings. Thanks again.