Firefox Containers Preview: Native Privacy and Context Separation Arrives
We are thrilled to announce the Firefox Containers Preview in version 153, bringing the power of the Multi-Account Containers extension directly into the browser. This native feature lets you keep work, shopping, and personal accounts separate while isolating cookies and ad tracking. You can now organize your digital space without hunting for add-ons, ensuring your browsing activity in one container remains invisible to others.
No longer will you search for a new hat to wear to a party, only to be inundated with ads for hats at every twist and turn on the internet for weeks to come.
- pentagrama
I’ve been using Firefox Containers for years through Mozilla’s Multi-Account Containers extension.[1] Now that container management is available directly in Firefox, I’d prefer to use the native implementation if possible.
Mozilla notes that the extension still adds some functionality:
> “Installing the Multi-Account Containers extension developed by Mozilla provides a few benefits on top of the native container functionality like site-specific container assignments, syncing across devices, and integration with Mozilla VPN or your own proxy.”[2]
I don’t currently need any of those additional features, so the native version would probably be enough for me. What I haven’t been able to figure out is how to switch without losing my existing setup. Are the containers created by the extension already shared with Firefox’s native container manager, or is there some migration process? Can I safely uninstall the extension and keep my existing containers, names, colors, icons, cookies, and active sessions?
[1] https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/multi-account...
[2] https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-use-firefox-contain...
- SwiftyBug
Multi-account containers is the main reason why I stick to Firefox. Safari and Chrome also have container features (more like profiles, really), but they don't work the same: you open tabs in a separate profile and you can't have tabs, each in a different container, side by side.
- jillesvangurp
Good that they are integrating that into the main browser.
For me the big use case is having different Google accounts active in one window. Work and private. And when I was doing freelance projects, I sometimes had 3 or 4 different Google accounts active. Plus assorted stuff tied to those accounts. Using different colors for each makes it easy to tell apart the tabs.
Another use case is if you are testing the same app for different customers with different credentials. I do this a lot and I have dedicated containers for each customer so I can easily switch with out having to log out and in a lot.
And of course some companies that can't be trusted with cookies, like Facebook, get isolated. I open that container less and less these days. But I still check every few months. I also keep my bank's website in its own container just on principle.