Firefox is giving you a reason to switch from Chrome: no more notification pop-ups

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By Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson
published

Notification deactivation

Firefox
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Firefox 72 will block push notification request popups by default. This means you'll no longer see messages asking 'Will you allow xyz.com to send notifications?'

Mozilla ran an experiment to determine how people interacted with such popups, find that 97% of users either dismissed them, or opted to block future notifications. ZDNet learned from a Mozilla engineer that the plan is to roll the block-by-default option to all users.

This will be welcome news to anyone who prefers browsing uninterrupted, and is frustrated by having to dismiss popups every time they visit a new site.

How it'll work

While there are many legitimate reasons for sites wanting to display notifications to people – such as letting them know about new content or changes to their accounts or keep them abreast of breaking news – it is also something that is open to abuse, hence the move by Mozilla.

The change doesn't mean an end to site notifications, though. From version 72 onward, instead of the current popup that is displayed, the browser will instead show an icon in the address bar, which will show the notification request if clicked.

The stable version of Firefox 72 is due for release in January 2020, but the feature can already be found in Firefox Nightly.

Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson
Sofia Elizabella Wyciślik-Wilson
Freelance writer

Sofia is a tech journalist who's been writing about software, hardware and the web for nearly 25 years – but still looks as youthful as ever! After years writing for magazines, her life moved online and remains fueled by technology, music and nature.


Having written for websites and magazines since 2000, producing a wide range of reviews, guides, tutorials, brochures, newsletters and more, she continues to write for diverse audiences, from computing newbies to advanced users and business clients. Always willing to try something new, she loves sharing new discoveries with others.


Sofia lives and breathes Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and just about anything with a power button, but her particular areas of interest include security, tweaking and privacy. Her other loves include walking, music, her two Malamutes and, of course, her wife and daughter.


You can find her on Twitter and Mastodon.