If you would like monitor your children's browsing habits, it is better to use a system level monitoring program (such as net nanny) or even better, a hardware level one (such as installing OpenDNS on your router). Even if you disabled private browsing, there are a multitude of ways you can work around it.

Examples:

• Use a different browser (every browser has private browsing)
• Delete their history
• Create a new profile, browse, then delete it
• create a new user account, browse, then delete it
• Run Firefox in Safe Mode, which would re-enable Private Browsing
• any other of 100s of ways to bypass your block

It's better to use a mix of system-level and network level-blocking, and education and trust. And remember, you can never block everything.

yeah, I see this is your standard answer and I appreciate your attempt to get around my question. I do not need you to tell me how to best parent, I need you to tell me my this feature, which should be very easy to turn off an on, is no longer modifiable. What is the logic behind this?

No, it's not getting around your question. it is not possible to disable private browsing because getting around it would be so easy as to make it pointless. I'm giving you other ways to accomplish the same goal

This is not helpful. I want a feature that existed before now back. We have all sorts of choices and options related to a wide array of features. Whether they are useful or desirable in your opinion is of no interest to me. I want to know why this feature no longer exists and I want to advocate for it to be reinstated.

Hello, you can input your feedback here: https://qsurvey.mozilla.com/s3/FirefoxInput/#sad

That feature never existed. You may have installed an add-on that blocked private browsing, but that add-on could easily have been disabled with safe mode or any number of other ways, so it was providing a false sense of security. This feature as you ask for it was never part of Firefox (or any browser, remember they all have private browsing mode) and would be pointless anyway.

I gave you some alternative tools do to what you want

It did exist. I was able to move it from view in the last browser and that was sufficient. I cannot even remove it from the toolbar at this point. That is weird and somewhat coercive. Is there a way to remove it from view?

no. You were probably using an add-on, which again, doesn't actually prevent anyone who wants to use private browsing from doing so. You need a system or network level blocker to actually monitor and block access in normal and private browsing.

I was able to simply customize the tool bar to dictate what was and was not viewed. When I moved the private browser tab out of view, it existed still but was not easily accessible b/c it was not visible. That is minimal, but enough since the very fact of its presence invites exploration my family does not want to encourage. This is not too much to ask and I am perplexed about why this simple feature, one which enhances customization (and you all are all about that, right?), is now gone.

Mkll said

Hello, you can input your feedback here: https://qsurvey.mozilla.com/s3/FirefoxInput/#sad

Thank you.

Hi

Another solution you may wish to investigate is having a chat with your Internet Service Provider. It may be the case that they can enact filtering or parental controls at their end.

Yeah, good luck with that one. I called a few years ago. There are no spigot level options for keeping things like porn out of one's house. Shocking, right? Ha! Internet service providers like big browser companies, like Firefox, have lots of reasons, including financial motives, to make access to adult content very, very easy. No wonder we have such a messed up society.

The Private Browsing feature didn't provide any protection against porn being viewed in Firefox.

And contrary to a parent being able to "see" which webpages that their children had viewed - Private Browsing mode doesn't save browsing history beyond the session. History isn't saved to disk, it's held in temporarily and clears when Firefox is closed.

Here is the support article about what Private Browsing does and doesn't do: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/private-browsing-use-firefox-without-history

As Tyler has mentioned, there is true Parental Control / Monitoring software available for coverage at the Operating System level that would be far more effective than anything a web browser could provide.

Six years I did some beta testing and provided suggestions for an extension developer who had created the Disable Private Browsing extension for his employer and then wanted to have it made available for all Firefox users on the Mozilla Addons website. He had contacted me via PM here and asked it I would test it and provide feedback about it. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/disable-private-browsing/ He ran into a number of issues that he needed to change to meet Mozilla standards; many of which he fixed, but not enough to get it further than the "Experimental" classification.

That developer ended up having one version for his employer, where the company owned all the PC's and they could control them to their specifications and not worry about legal "privacy" issues; Mozilla on the other hand had / has great concern over privacy and as a result that developer had to change his extension to suit Mozilla requirements to have it available thru the Mozilla Addon website. IMO, it was a "watered down" version - where it's existence couldn't be hidden and using the SafeMode wouldn't keep it enabled. But the rules are the rules and are applied equally to all extensions.

Sigh, I am not sure what to say to so much vigorous defense of the need for a non-hideable private browsing button on firefox. I simply do not want it to be viewable. I have many reasons for this and cannot fathom why it elicits such robust pushback. I guess you all really, really, want to be sure that everyone know that they can switch into and out of private browsing at any time. I am going to assume that this concretized design element is a reflection of a particular psychology that "must have private viewing available at all times for everyone everywhere no matter what." It is childish and stupid, since I will now stop using firefox. Enjoy all of your privacy while I and other women and parents get to work on changing the world.

Hello, all other browsers have Private Browsing as well. This feature does not only exist in Firefox. Thank you for your concern.

maybe, but I am hoping that another browser will permit hiding it from view as firefox used to. if not, I will deal, but I will stop using FF.

You can still hide the icon by dragging it off the toolbar.

Did this really work on Mac to remove/hide menu entries via an extension? On Mac the main menu bar is under control of the Mac OS and can't be controlled by an extension.

To hide the New Private Window toolbar button you can add code to the userChrome.css file below the default @namespace line.

• http://kb.mozillazine.org/userChrome.css

@namespace url("http://www.mozilla.org/keymaster/gatekeeper/there.is.only.xul"); /* only needed once */

#privatebrowsing-button {display:none!important;}