When you first visit most websites or install certain apps, they'll usually request permission to access your camera or microphone, among others.
This is because these permissions are usually turned off by default on your device or browser, and there's a good reason for that. For instance, it can prevent hackers from remotely hijacking your camera and mic.
Your camera and microphone permissions in Firefox allow you to control which apps and websites get to access your camera and microphone when browsing. In this article, you'll learn how to control your camera and microphone permissions in Firefox.
How to Set Your Camera and Microphone Permissions in Firefox
There are different ways to manage your camera and microphone permissions in Firefox. You can do this using:
- Site prompts.
- The permissions icon.
- Firefox menu settings.
- Device settings.
Let's now go over each of these methods.
How to Manage Camera and Microphone Permissions in Firefox Using Site Prompts
- Open Firefox and go to a website that will require permission to access your camera or microphone, e.g., Google Meet.
- For this example, we'll demonstrate how to allow or block a microphone permission request. If you do not see an automatic permission prompt, sign in to your Meet account and try to start a meeting.
- On the permission prompt, click Allow to allow the website to use your microphone. Your microphone icon will turn red.
- Click Block to deny the site access to your microphone. This will gray out the microphone icon.
- Check the Remember this decision checkbox to remember your permission setting for that particular site in the future.
- Follow this same process to manage your camera permissions in Firefox using site prompts.
- Managing your camera and microphone permissions in Firefox using site prompts is site-specific and will not apply to every other site.
- Blocking camera and site permissions will also prevent you from using video and call functions on the affected sites or apps.
How to Clear Camera and Microphone Permissions in Firefox Using Permissions Icon
You can also use the permissions icon near the address bar to clear your camera or microphone permissions for any specific site. Here's how:
- Open Firefox and go to the site for which you want to adjust site permissions.
- Click on the permissions icon between the notification and padlock icons near the address bar.
- The permissions panel will display your current permission settings for the site. In our example, Meets is temporarily allowed to use the microphone.
- Click the X next to the Allowed Temporarily button to clear microphone permission for the site.
- You can do the same to clear your camera and microphone permissions whether it is currently set to Allowed, Allowed Temporarily, Blocked, or Blocked Temporarily.
If you do this, Firefox will erase your current permission setting and ask you for permission to use your camera or microphone when next you visit.
How to Manage Camera and Microphone Permissions in Firefox via Firefox Menu
Using your Firefox menu settings, you can allow or block camera and microphone access for specific sites as well as for all sites.
- Launch Firefox and click on the hamburger menu in the top-right corner.
- Scroll down and click on Settings.
- Click on Privacy & Security and scroll down to the Permissions section.
- Click on Settings for the Camera or Microphone option as needed. For this example, we select microphone. We'll see a list of sites that have been allowed or blocked from accessing this device's camera and microphone.
- Select the particular site you want to set permissions for if multiple sites are listed.
- Use the corresponding Allow/Block selector to your right to specify whether you want to allow or block access to your camera or microphone.
- If you don't want any site asking for permission to access your camera or microphone ever again, simply click Block new requests asking to access your microphone, or camera, as the case may be.
- Click Save Changes when done.
The process is exactly the same whether you're changing camera or microphone permissions. You can also change these settings at any time by repeating this same process.
How to Control Your Camera and Microphone Permissions in Firefox (Android)
- Launch your Firefox app, tap on the More button (three dots) in the top-right corner, then scroll down the menu options and tap on Settings.
- Scroll down to the Privacy and Security section, tap on Site permissions, then tapCamera.
- By default, your camera permission is set to Ask to allow. To change this, simply select Blocked. Note that this will prevent all sites from accessing your camera when using Firefox.
- To change this, tap onAsk to allow. This way, Firefox will ask for your permission to grant or block access to your camera.
To manage your microphone permissions in Firefox for Android:
- Open Firefox, tap on the three dots button, then scroll down and tap Settings.
- Scroll to the Privacy and Security section and tap on Site permissions.
- Next, tap on Microphone.
- Tap on Blocked to change your default microphone permission settings from Ask to allow.
- If your microphone is blocked by Android, tap Go to Settings > App permissions > Microphone.
- Select any one of Allow only while using this app, Ask every time, or Deny.
How to Manage Camera and Microphone Access via Device Settings
You can also control camera and microphone permissions on your Android or iOS devices. The process is essentially similar but may differ slightly based on the phone model and platform.
On most Android phones, go to your Settings > Privacy protection > Microphone. You should see which apps are Allowed all the time, Allowed only when in use, and Denied.
Locate and tap on Firefox. Under the Microphone access for this app section, select from Allow only while using this app, Ask every time, or Deny.
To adjust your camera permissions, go to Settings > Privacy protection > All permissions > Camera > Firefox. Then select your preferred camera access settings for Firefox.
For iPhone, use the Settings > Privacy menu.
Enjoy Some More Privacy
Privacy and security go hand-in-hand. You can enjoy both while using Firefox simply by adjusting your camera and microphone permissions.
To strike a balance between performance and privacy, you can allow trusted sites to access your camera and microphone per time, for instance, during a video interview.
Once done, you can block access to your camera and microphone once again. It will only take you a couple of minutes, but in the end, you'll be safer. This is one of the many ways to stay safe online.
