View Site Info and Set Site Settings in Firefox on the Computer

You are about to type a password or a card number, and you want to know the site in front of you is really the site it claims to be. You also want the camera, location and notification permissions on that site set the way you like them.

Firefox keeps all of it in the site information panel next to the address bar. Open that panel to read the connection status and certificate, change permissions for one site, and clear that site's stored data when a change will not stick.

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View Site Information and Connection Security in Firefox

You are about to type a password or a card number, and you want to know the site in front of you is really the site it claims to be. Firefox keeps that answer, along with every permission the site has been given, in one panel next to the address bar.

Current Firefox releases put a shield in the identity box, where older builds showed a padlock . Both open the same panel, so screenshots taken a few years ago can look unfamiliar even though the settings behind them have not moved.

1. Open Mozilla Firefox on your computer and load the page you want to check.
2. Click the site information icon at the left of the address bar.
3. Read the first line of the panel. It shows Connection secure for a site served over HTTPS with a valid certificate, and Connection not secure when the page is not encrypted or the certificate has a problem.
   
4. Click More information… to open the Page Information window for the site.
5. Switch to the Security tab and click View Certificate to read the certificate details.
   

A site you can trust shows Connection secure and a certificate issued to that domain, with no warning bar above the page. If Firefox warns of a potential security risk instead, the certificate is expired, self-signed or issued for a different name. Stop there before you enter payment details.

Mozilla explains every element of the panel in its Permissions and site information panel support article.

Set Permissions for the Current Site

You want one site to keep using your camera, or you want a site that already has your location to lose it. Per-site permissions live in the same panel as the connection details, and they apply to that one site alone.

1. Open the site in Firefox and click the site information icon at the left of the address bar.
2. Click More information… to open the Page Information window.
3. Select the Permissions tab.
   
4. Find the row you want to change, such as Location, Camera, Microphone, Notifications or Pop-ups.
5. Clear the Use default checkbox on that row, which hands control of the permission to you.
6. Choose Allow or Block for that permission.
7. Close the Page Information window and reload the tab with F5.

Open the panel again after the reload and the icon beside the site name shows the state you picked. The site stops prompting you as well.

Notification prompts have their own block list, so read Configure Site Notification Settings in Firefox on the Computer when a site keeps asking for them.

Firefox on Android hides the same controls in a different place. If that is the device in front of you, see how to open site information and settings on Firefox for Android.

Allow Images for a Specific Site in Firefox

Images go missing in a Firefox private window because Firefox blocks them there by default. The fix is a permission on that one site, not a change to every website you visit.

1. Open the page where images are missing and click the lock icon (or page-info icon) on the left side of the address bar.
2. Click "Connection secure" or "View site information" to open the Site Information panel.
3. Click "More information" to open the full Page Info window.
4. Switch to the Permissions tab.
5. Find the Load Images row, uncheck "Use default" if it is checked, and tick Allow.
6. Close the Page Info window and reload the page with F5 or Ctrl+R.

You’ll know it worked when the page reloads with its images in place. Switch the same row back to Block if you only needed images on that one page.

Turn Off Enhanced Tracking Protection for One Site

A site that refuses to load its scripts, videos or login form is often being blocked by strict tracking protection. Turning it off for that one trusted site leaves the protection you rely on everywhere else in place.

1. Open the website that fails to load in Firefox.
2. Click the shield icon to the left of the address bar.
3. Toggle the switch labeled "Enhanced Tracking Protection is ON for this site" so it moves to OFF.
4. Wait for Firefox to reload the tab automatically, then try the page again.

You’ll know it worked when Firefox reloads the tab on its own and the page starts working. Turn the switch back on if the site starts behaving strangely.

Clear Permissions and Data for a Site

When a permission change will not stick, or a site keeps acting as if it still has access you took away, clear the stored permissions and data for that site. This walkthrough uses Facebook as the example site.

1. Open facebook.com in Firefox.
2. Click the padlock or icon to the left of the address bar.
3. Click Clear permissions and data for this site at the bottom of the panel, then confirm the dialog.
4. Reload facebook.com and sign in again.

You’ll know it worked when the site reloads with a clean permission state and asks you to sign in again.

Change the Default Permissions for Every Site

Per-site settings suit one website. A few defaults are worth setting once for everything else you visit, so you are not answering the same prompt on every new page.

1. Click the menu at the top right of the Firefox window and choose Settings.
2. Select Privacy & Security in the left sidebar.
3. Scroll down to the Permissions section.
4. Set the default for Location, Camera, Microphone, Notifications and Pop-ups to Ask, Allow or Block.
5. Click Manage Exceptions… beside a permission to allow or block one particular site without touching the default.

These defaults only apply where a site has no setting of its own. Your broader privacy and security settings within the Firefox browser cover the rest, including tracking protection and cookie rules.

RELATED: Configure Site Notification Settings in Firefox on Android