Join the AMA (Ask Me Anything) with the Firefox leadership team to celebrate Firefox 20th anniversary and discuss Firefox’s future on Mozilla Connect. Mark your calendar on Thursday, November 14, 18:00 - 20:00 UTC!

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

the "delete recent history" option in Firefox menu bar does not highlight when I click on it so I can't use it.

more options

Only the "view history sidebar" button is highlighted in the menu when I click on "HISTORY" in the three-line menu in Firefox. Why can't I activate the "clear recent history" option when I click on it? My Operating System is Windows 8.1.

Only the "view history sidebar" button is highlighted in the menu when I click on "HISTORY" in the three-line menu in Firefox. Why can't I activate the "clear recent history" option when I click on it? My Operating System is Windows 8.1.

Chosen solution

Is the text "Clear Recent History" gray instead of black? (or faded compared with the normal menu color if you have a different color scheme)

If it's not grayed/faded, does the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Delete work to call it up?


If no methods of access work, could you check whether you are using automatic private browsing mode? Usually you can see that on the Options page, Privacy panel:

"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options

In the left column, click Privacy. On the right side, if you have either of these, then you are using automatic private browsing:

  • "Firefox will: Never remember history"
  • "Firefox will: Use custom settings for history" + there's a checkmark in the box for "Always use private browsing mode"

Some history-related functions are not available in private mode.

Ler a resposta no contexto 👍 0

All Replies (1)

more options

Chosen Solution

Is the text "Clear Recent History" gray instead of black? (or faded compared with the normal menu color if you have a different color scheme)

If it's not grayed/faded, does the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Delete work to call it up?


If no methods of access work, could you check whether you are using automatic private browsing mode? Usually you can see that on the Options page, Privacy panel:

"3-bar" menu button (or Tools menu) > Options

In the left column, click Privacy. On the right side, if you have either of these, then you are using automatic private browsing:

  • "Firefox will: Never remember history"
  • "Firefox will: Use custom settings for history" + there's a checkmark in the box for "Always use private browsing mode"

Some history-related functions are not available in private mode.