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How to Delete or Disable an Add-On in Firefox

Disable an extension to keep it installed but inactive, or remove it to uninstall it. Here are the desktop, Android, theme, and troubleshooting steps.
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To temporarily turn off a Firefox extension, open Extensions and Themes → Extensions and switch its toggle off. To uninstall it, open the extension’s three-dot menu and choose Remove. Disabling preserves the installation so you can turn it back on; removing uninstalls it.

Disable or remove: which should you choose?

Action What happens Best for
Disable The extension stays installed but is turned off. Switch it back on to use it again. Temporarily stopping an extension or checking whether it is causing a problem.
Remove The extension is uninstalled from Firefox. Getting rid of an extension you no longer want.

Mozilla uses “add-on” as the umbrella term and “extension” for this feature. The steps below are for extensions unless noted otherwise.

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On desktop: disable an extension

  1. Open the Firefox menu and choose Extensions and Themes, then Extensions.
  2. Find the extension and switch its blue toggle off.
  3. To use it again, return to the same screen and switch the toggle on.

On desktop: uninstall an extension

  1. Open the Firefox menu and go to Extensions and Themes → Extensions.
  2. Find the extension and open its three-dot menu.
  3. Choose Remove and confirm if Firefox asks.

You can also open the puzzle-piece extensions button in the toolbar, open the extension’s menu, and choose Remove Extension. Choose Manage extensions in that panel to open the full manager. A pinned extension may also be managed from its toolbar context menu. Mozilla’s toolbar instructions describe these controls.

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Change or remove a theme

Themes are managed separately from extensions. Open Extensions and Themes → Themes. For an added theme that is currently active, choose Disable to return to the System theme. To uninstall a user-added theme, open its three-dot menu and choose Remove. Removing the active added theme also enables the System theme.

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Firefox’s built-in System, Colorways, Light, Dark, and Alpenglow themes cannot be removed. Mozilla’s add-on instructions cover the theme controls.

On Firefox for Android

  1. Tap the three-dot menu.
  2. Tap Add-ons or Extensions. Depending on the interface, the Extensions Manager may appear at the end of the extension list.
  3. Select the extension.
  4. Turn off the Enabled slider to deactivate it temporarily, or tap Remove to uninstall it.

These steps are for Android; the available guidance here does not establish an equivalent procedure for Firefox on iOS. See Mozilla’s Android extension instructions.

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If Firefox will not let you remove an extension

  • Try Troubleshoot Mode. If the Add-ons Manager is unavailable or Remove is disabled, Mozilla recommends starting Firefox in Troubleshoot Mode, trying removal again, and then restarting Firefox.
  • Check whether another program installed it. An extension installed by other software may need to be removed through that program’s settings or uninstaller.
  • Use manual file removal only as an advanced fallback. Mozilla documents how to find an extension ID in Firefox’s troubleshooting information and delete the matching extension file after quitting Firefox. Some global installations may be outside the profile. Follow Mozilla’s platform-specific directions rather than guessing which file to delete.

For the detailed recovery steps, see Mozilla’s guidance for add-ons that cannot be removed. Menu names can vary by Firefox version; if yours differs, find the Extensions or Add-ons manager and use the extension’s toggle or menu.

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Disable extensions to troubleshoot a Firefox problem

Unexpected changes to your default search or home page, browser settings, redirects, or webpage behavior can be signs of an add-on problem. Mozilla’s suggested approach is to restart Firefox with add-ons disabled. If the issue stops, restart with add-ons enabled and selectively disable extensions until you identify the one associated with the problem; then leave it disabled or remove it. Follow Mozilla’s add-on troubleshooting instructions for the restart and diagnosis steps.

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