How to Manage Extension Permissions in Firefox

Managing what your browser extensions can access is crucial for maintaining your online privacy and security. This article provides a straightforward guide on how to view, grant, and revoke optional permissions and website host permissions for any installed extension in the Mozilla Firefox web browser.

Accessing the Extensions Manager

To change the permissions of an installed extension, you first need to open the Firefox Add-ons Manager. You can do this in three ways:

  1. Enter about:addons into the Firefox address bar and press Enter.
  2. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + A (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + Shift + A (macOS).
  3. Click the Menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner of the browser and select Add-ons and themes.

Once the page opens, click on Extensions in the left-hand menu to view all your currently installed extensions.

Granting or Revoking Optional Permissions

Many extensions ask for optional permissions to enable extra features that are not strictly required for the extension's core functionality. To modify these:

  1. In the Extensions list, click directly on the name of the extension you wish to manage.
  2. Below the extension’s title and description, click on the Permissions tab.
  3. Scroll down to the Optional permissions for added functionality section. (Note: If this section does not appear, the extension does not utilize optional permissions).
  4. To grant a permission, click the toggle switch next to the specific permission so it turns blue.
  5. To revoke a permission, click the toggle switch so it turns gray.

Changes take effect immediately without needing to restart the browser.

Managing Host (Website) Permissions

Host permissions dictate which websites an extension is allowed to read and modify data on. With newer Firefox extensions (Manifest V3), you have direct control over these site permissions.

Method 1: Via the Add-ons Manager

  1. Navigate to the extension's Permissions tab using the steps outlined in the previous section.
  2. Locate the permissions labeled "Access your data for..." followed by specific website URLs or "all websites."
  3. Use the toggle switches to grant or revoke the extension's access to those specific hosts.

Method 2: Via the Browser Toolbar (For Active Websites) If you are currently visiting a website and want to change an extension's access to that specific domain:

  1. Navigate to the website you want to manage.
  2. Click the Extensions button (the puzzle piece icon) in the top-right toolbar.
  3. Locate the extension in the list. If the extension is requesting access to your current site, you will see a notification dot next to it.
  4. Click the Gear icon (or three dots) next to the extension's name.
  5. From the menu, you can choose to allow the extension to run only when clicked, or select Always Allow on [Website URL] to grant permanent host permission for that specific site.

To revoke this later, simply return to the same menu while on the website, or use the Add-ons Manager to toggle the host permission off.