This document explains all of the settings available in Mozilla Firefox for controlling pop-ups.
Table of Contents
Learn how to allow and block pop-ups in the Firefox web browser for Mac OS X. Steps to manage pop-up ads from websites when using the Firefox browser.
- 3Pop-ups not being blocked
Pop-up windows, or pop-ups, are windows that appear automatically without your permission. They vary in size but usually don't cover the whole screen. Some pop-ups open on top of the current Firefox window, while others appear underneath Firefox (pop-unders).
Firefox allows you to control both pop-ups and pop-unders in Firefox OptionsPreferences. Pop-up blocking is turned on by default, so you don't have to worry about enabling it to prevent pop-ups from appearing in Firefox.
When blocking a pop-up, Firefox displays an information bar (if it hasn’t been previously dismissed – see below), as well as an icon in the address bar.
When you click either the button in the info bar or the icon in the address bar, a menu is displayed with the following choices:
- Allow/Block pop-ups for this site
- Edit Pop-up Blocker OptionsPreferences…
- Don't show this message when pop-ups are blocked
- (show the blocked pop-up)
Blocking pop-ups may interfere with some websites: Some websites, including some banking sites, use pop-ups for important features. Blocking all pop-ups disables such features. To allow specific websites to use pop-ups, while still blocking all others, you can add those specific websites to the list of allowed sites.
Blocking pop-ups doesn't always work: Although Firefox blocks most pop-ups, some websites may show pop-ups using uncovered methods, even when they are blocked.
To access the pop-up blocker settings:
- Click the menu button and choose ..
- Select the ContentPrivacy & Security panel.
- Under the Pop-upsPermissions section, uncheck the box next to Block pop-up windows to disable the pop-up blocker altogether.
- A click on opens a dialog box with a list of sites that you want to allow to display pop-ups.
- The dialog box offers you the following choices:
- Allow: Click this to add a website to the exceptions list.
- Remove Site: Click this to remove a website from the exceptions list.
- Remove All Sites: Click this to remove all of the websites in the exceptions list.
Note: Blocking pop-ups may not always work and may interfere with some websites. For more information, see the What are Pop-ups? section above.
Is the pop-up coming from Firefox?
The pop-up may not actually be coming from Firefox. You can determine where the pop-up is coming from by the appearance of the window.
- If you see the location bar with the Site Info button in the pop-up window, the pop-up is coming from Firefox.
- If you don't see the button, you may have malware on your computer that causes the pop-ups. For help, see Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware.
Is the pop-up blocker on and enabled for this site?
- Click the menu button and choose ..
- Select the Content panelPrivacy & Security panel and go to the Permissions section.
- Make sure the Block pop-up windows checkbox is checked.
- To the right of Block pop-up windows, click the button. A dialog box will open and lists all the sites that are allowed to show pop-ups.
- If the site that's opening pop-ups is listed here, select it and press .
- Click on to update your changes.
- Close the about:preferences page. Any changes you've made will automatically be saved.
Is the pop-up shown after a mouse click or a key press?
Certain events, such as clicking or pressing a key, can spawn pop-ups regardless of if the pop-up blocker is on. This is intentional, so that Firefox doesn't block pop-ups that websites need to work.
Is it a true pop-up window?
Sometimes ads are designed to look like windows, but really aren't. Firefox's pop-up blocker can't stop these ads.
Mozilla surveys
When you visit a Mozilla website, sometimes you'll see a pop-up asking you to participate in a survey. The only third-party that Mozilla ever uses for surveys is SurveyGizmo, which has been vetted by our legal and privacy teams. The Firefox pop-up blocker doesn't block these pop-ups.