November 5, 2024

Maintain Privacy During Online Browsing By Using Containers For Different Websites In Firefox

Firefox Multi-Account Containers is a useful Firefox add-on that preserves privacy by separating various tabs into different containers.

Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on page

This is useful when you need to sign in to different accounts for the same online services (like Gmail for work and personal use), or to categorize different web browsing activities like online shopping, personal browsing, banking and so on. So with this add-on, there is no need to logout from one account and log in with another as it keeps all of them separated

This add-on also is handy in keeping social media activities away from regular online browsing. (There is already a Facebook container add-on by Mozilla that does that  but this add-on is way more useful.)

Firefox Multi-Account Containers works by restricting cookies for different websites only to their specific container. So say if you’d like to browse YouTube without signing in to your Google account and also would like to check Gmail account in Firefox, you can do this without using a different browser. Simply open both of them in two different containers. They will then be isolated.

Download and install the add-on from here. After installing, it will then show up as an icon next to the address bar.

Enable it to run in Private Windows too.

enable Firefox Multi-Account Containers to run in private window

During first run, there is a brief tour on how this works. It’s a good idea to get familiar with the add-on through this.

guided tour of Firefox Multi-Account Containers

Click on Get Started to start the tour which briefly explains all it’s features. Then click Next on subsequent windows to complete the tour.

various features of Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

Firefox Multi-Account Containers welcome tour

role of containers in surfing using Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

Finally, click Done to complete the tour and start using the add-on.

welcome tour complete for Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

Using Firefox Multi-Account Containers :

After the add-on is installed, you can directly use the shortcut key Ctrl +  . (Ctrl and period key) to bring up the containers list.

List of default containers in Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

There are already some default containers available like Personal, Work, Banking and Shopping.

To open a website in a container, click on the container name. This will open a new tab which is color-coded as per the category.

Work container for work related websites using Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

Then browse the websites in that tab.

Surfing container for accessing websites using Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

The color code is also visible under the tab heading as a line which makes it easier to identify the category.

color coded tabs when using Firefox Multi-Account Containers

To permanently assign sites to different containers, first open them in the specific containers as needed. Then right click on the add-on icon and choose Always Open in This Container.

making a website always open in a specific container using Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

Next time, when the website is directly accessed without a container, Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on will ask about whether to open it in it’s assigned container or to load it directly. Click on Remember my decision to avoid this prompt and always directly open it in it’s chosen container.

remembering website to load in it's own container every time using Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

Also, if you have existing open tabs with websites or bookmarks, right click on the tab and choose to Reopen in Container.

reload existing tabs and bookmarks in different containers

This will then reload them in their chosen containers.

To add a new container, click on the + sign from the containers list.

adding a custom container using Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

Name the new container, select a color and set a relevant icon as needed.

Naming a new container using Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

 

 

Also containers with active tabs and websites in them will have a > symbol next to them.

Containers with active websites or tabs in them in Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

You can then hide these open tabs by clicking on the > icon and select Choose Hide this container option. (This can also be done by right clicking on the add-on icon once the website is open in it’s container and choosing Hide This Container).

hiding a container in Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

To make them visible again, click on Show this container.

showing hidden containers in Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

To delete or rename containers, click on the Edit Containers option.

editing existing containers using Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

Then click the edit icon to rename or the delete icon to remove them.

editing and deleting containers using Firefox Multi-Account Containers add-on

Sites assigned permanently to different containers can also be deleted from here.

editing containers and deleting assigned sites from within them

This is a very useful add-on to maintain privacy during online activities, or use different accounts simultaneously for the same online services without having to use different browsers to separate them.

Do try it out.

Happy browsing.

By admin

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