How to Disable JavaScript in Firefox

Protect yourself from harmful scripts, and make pages load faster

By
Scott Orgera
Scott Orgera
Scott Orgera
Writer
Scott Orgera is a former Lifewire writer covering tech since 2007. He has 25+ years' experience as a programmer and QA leader, and holds several Microsoft certifications including MCSE, MCP+I, and MOUS. He is also A+ certified.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on June 16, 2022

What to Know

  • Enter about:config into the search bar and select Accept the Risk and Continue.
  • Enter javascript.enabled into the search box at the top of the page.
  • Select the javascript.enabled toggle to change the value to false.

Occasionally, you might need to disable JavaScript for development or security purposes. Just as you can turn off JavaScript in Chrome and other browsers, you can also disable JavaScript in Firefox for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android.

How to Turn Off JavaScript in Firefox

Disabling JavaScript in Firefox should take only a few minutes, even if you're unfamiliar with using Firefox's settings. Before you begin, make sure you've updated Firefox to the latest version.

  1. Enter about:config into the URL bar in Firefox.

  2. Select the blue Accept the Risk and Continue button.

    Select Accept the Risk and Continue.

  3. Enter javascript.enabled into the search box at the top of the page.

  4. Select the toggle to the right of javascript.enabled to change its value to false.

    On Android, tap the entry, then tap the toggle to disable JavaScript in Firefox.

    The Javascript toggle

  5. JavaScript is now disabled in your Firefox browser. To re-enable it at any time, change the value of javascript.enabled to true.

Why Disable JavaScript in Firefox?

You might need to turn off JavaScript for performance reasons or as part of a troubleshooting guide. JavaScript can pose a security risk, so disabling it decreases your risks of downloading malware.

Sometimes, JavaScript malfunctions on a website, which prevents the page from loading. It can also cause the browser to crash. Disabling JavaScript might allow you to view a simplified version of a page that won't load properly.

When developing your website, you'll need to know how to disable JavaScript in Firefox for troubleshooting issues. For example, if you have a plugin that uses JavaScript, you might have to disable it to fix a problem.

It's also possible to disable JavaScript in Safari.

Was this page helpful?