Firefox Will Soon Let You Lock Private Browsing Windows

Mozilla is developing a new Firefox feature that will let desktop users lock private browsing windows and require authentication before reopening their sessions.

According to a Mozilla Bugzilla report, the feature remains in early development, and Mozilla has not announced a release date.

Firefox will automatically lock private browsing sessions

The new feature will automatically lock private browsing windows when a computer enters sleep mode, activates its screensaver, or the user logs out.

To regain access, users will need to authenticate through their operating system. Depending on the device, supported methods could include Touch ID, Face ID, PINs, or passwords.

This additional security measure will prevent other people from accessing private tabs left open on shared or unattended computers.

Firefox’s existing private browsing mode prevents the browser from saving browsing history after a session ends, but it does not protect open private windows from someone who can access the computer.

Firefox follows Safari with locked private browsing

Mozilla already offers similar protection in Firefox for Android, where users can lock private tabs using biometric authentication or a PIN.

Safari on macOS also supports locked private browsing, requiring authentication before users can access private tabs.

Bringing this functionality to desktop Firefox would extend the same protection to Windows users, where native private browsing locks remain uncommon among major browsers.

Mozilla has not confirmed when the feature will reach Firefox’s public release or whether users will be able to enable it manually.

The development comes as Mozilla continues expanding Firefox’s features, including on-premises management for Firefox Enterprise and an experimental Smart Window AI tab for website summaries.

Via Neowin