Enable Firefox Enhanced Tracking Protection in Strict Mode – Step‑by‑Step Guide

Desired outcome

Turn on Firefox’s Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) in Strict mode so that known trackers, cryptominers and fingerprinters are blocked for all browsing sessions, improving privacy without needing additional extensions.

Prerequisites

• Firefox version 69 or later (ETP Strict mode was introduced in Firefox 69).
• Administrative rights are not required; the change is per‑user.
• Close any private‑browsing windows if you want the setting to apply to regular windows as well (private windows inherit the same setting).

Procedure

1. Launch Firefox.
2. Click the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the upper‑right corner of the window.
3. Select Settings (on macOS this appears as Preferences).
4. In the left sidebar, choose Privacy & Security.
5. Scroll to the Enhanced Tracking Protection section.
6. Select the Strict radio button. A brief description appears, listing what Strict blocks: trackers, cryptominers and fingerprinters.
7. Close the Settings tab. The change takes effect immediately for new tabs; existing tabs may need a reload to apply the new policy.

Expected checks

• Open a new tab and visit about:protections. The page should show a summary indicating Strict mode is active and display a count of blocked trackers for the current session.
• Look at the address bar: the shield icon should display a purple badge, confirming that Enhanced Tracking Protection is enabled.
• To test, navigate to a page that contains a known tracker (e.g., a Facebook Like button). Right‑click the button and choose Inspect Element; in the HTML you should see the element either removed or styled with display:none.

Recovery options (if a site breaks)

1. When a site fails to load correctly, click the shield icon in the address bar.
2. In the popup, choose Disable protection for this site. Firefox will reload the page with ETP temporarily turned off for that domain.
3. If you decide the site is trustworthy and want to keep it exempt permanently, go back to Settings → Privacy & Security → Enhanced Tracking Protection → Manage Exceptions.
4. Click Add Exception, enter the site’s URL, and save. The site will now load with full functionality while Strict mode remains active for all other sites.
5. To re‑enable protection for a previously exempted site, return to the Manage Exceptions list, select the site, and click Remove Website.