Firefox Usage Best Practices

First, take simple, common-sense steps to be mindful of Firefox’s resources. For example, close tabs you don’t need open, and if you’re using Firefox on a Windows PC, update your graphics drivers. Firefox’s built-in Task Manager lets you see which tabs or extensions are using a lot of memory or energy, so it’s a great way to monitor how much memory the browser is using. Make sure you’re running the latest version of Firefox, and close other resource-intensive applications when you’re using the browser.

How to Update Firefox

Updating Firefox is always a good idea. You’ll install new security patches and take advantage of any performance enhancements. If there were a bug causing memory leaks, updating Firefox could eliminate the issue.

Check for Resource-Hogging Extensions and Themes

If you’re using any extensions or themes, see if they’re causing performance issues. This process requires loading Firefox in Safe Mode.

How to Disable Firefox Extensions

Disable all extensions to see if the memory issue clears. If it does, re-enable each extension one at a time to determine the offending, memory-gulping addition.

How to Disable Firefox Themes

If an extension isn’t your memory-hogging issue, a downloaded theme could be the problem. Revert to the default theme and see if system performance improves.

How to Toggle off Hardware Acceleration

Hardware acceleration means Firefox dumps page rendering and other tasks onto your PC’s hardware for faster performance. But hardware acceleration may cause problems, depending on your configuration. Turn off hardware acceleration and see if this improves system performance.

Use the Built-in Memory Tool

Firefox provides a built-in tool to show memory reports and save logs. It allows you to clear memory and minimize memory usage.

How to Install the Auto Tab Discard Firefox Extension

While too many extensions can lead to memory issues, the Auto Tab Discard extension is designed to ease memory troubles. This extension suspends inactive tabs after a specific period of time. Here’s how to install Auto Tab Discard.

Reduce Firefox Session History

One possible memory hog is your Firefox session history. Click and hold on the browser’s back and forward buttons and you’ll see a history of the sites you’ve visited. The maximum per-session history limit is 50, meaning Firefox stores 50 webpage addresses in memory. Since you’re unlikely to rewind and fast-forward through this lengthy list, decrease that number to reduce Firefox’s memory footprint.

Delete the content-prefs.sqlite File

The file storing individual website data may be corrupt. Delete the content-prefs.sqlite file and Firefox will create another once it restarts. This may solve your memory issues.

Refresh Firefox

If nothing else seems to be solving the problem of Firefox using too many memory resources, try resetting Firefox to its original settings.