How to Set up Gmail as Your Default Email in Firefox

It's easy to change your Firefox default email

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.
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Updated on June 5, 2022

What to Know

  • macOS: Menu > Preferences > General > Applications. Click the Mailto drop-down and select Use Gmail.
  • Windows: Go to Menu > Options. In the Content Type column, select mailto.
  • Next, in the Action column, select Use Gmail.

This article explains how to set Gmail as the default mail program for your Firefox browser by modifying browser settings. Instructions cover the Firefox web browser on Windows and macOS computers.

Set up Gmail as Your Default Email in Firefox for macOS

Change the settings in Firefox to make Gmail the default for mailto: links.

  1. In the upper-right corner of browser, select menu (three lines).

    Firefox with the More menu highlighted

  2. Select Preferences.

    You can also enter about:preferences in the Firefox address bar instead of clicking this menu item.

    Firefox with the Preferences option highlighted

  3. Go to the General tab.

    The Firefox settings with the General heading highlighted

  4. In the Applications section, select the Mailto drop-down menu, and choose Use Gmail.

    The Firefox Applications settings with Use Gmail highlighted

  5. Close the Preferences tab to return to your browsing session. Gmail is now your default email client in Firefox.

Set up Gmail as Your Default Email in Firefox for Windows

Setting Gmail to your default in Windows differs slightly.

  1. Select the menu (three lines).

    Firefox with the More menu highlighted

  2. Select Options.

    You can also enter about:preferences in the Firefox address bar instead of clicking this menu item.

    Options in Firefox for Windows

  3. In the General Preferences, scroll down to the Applications section, and select the mailto option in the Content Type column to highlight its corresponding row.

    The mailto item in Firefox settings

  4. Select the drop-down menu in the Action column. Choose Use Gmail from the list of options.

    The Use Gmail option

  5. Close the Preferences tab to return to your browsing session. Gmail is now your default email client in Firefox.

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