[Tip] Disable Picture-In-Picture (PIP) Mode in Mozilla Firefox

Newer versions of Mozilla Firefox web browser come with Picture-In-Picture (PIP) mode or feature which allows users to open or pop-out a video playing on a web page in a separate floating window. You can drag and move the dedicated video window anywhere on your computer screen. This feature has been implemented so that users can watch their favorite video while working on other web pages or software programs.

When you open a web page playing a video and you hover your mouse cursor over the video, a blue colored icon will appear in the middle of right-side edge of the video player. If you hover mouse cursor over the icon, it’ll convert into a big blue icon showing “Picture-in-Picture” text as shown in following screenshot:

Click on the “Picture-in-Picture” icon and Firefox will launch or detach the video in a separate floating window which contains a big “Close” button. You’ll also get a pause button and an extra icon to restore or re-attach the floating video in the main Firefox window. The main video player in the web page will show “This video is playing in Picture-in-Picture mode” message.

Following screenshot shows a video playing in Picture-In-Picture mode in Mozilla Firefox web browser:

Some Firefox users may not like this new feature as the blue icon to launch currently playing video in Picture-In-Picture mode may appear randomly on screen as soon as they hover mouse cursor to play/pause video and it may start annoy them. Users may want to disable Picture-In-Picture feature completely in Firefox. Fortunately, Firefox comes with an option to turn off Picture-In-Picture mode permanently.

If you also want to disable or remove Picture-In-Picture (PIP) mode in Mozilla Firefox, following methods will help you:

METHOD 1: Using Firefox Options (About:Preferences) Page

1. Open Firefox and click on the Hamburger icon present at the right-side end of the toolbar to open the main menu. Now click on Options menu to open Firefox settings page.

Alternatively, you can direct option this page using about:preferences command in address bar.

2. Now under “General” tab, scroll down to bottom and go to “Browsing” section.

3. You’ll see “Enable picture-in-picture video controls” option.

The option is enabled by default i.e. Picture-In-Picture feature is activated in Firefox.

Uncheck the option to deactivate and disable Picture-In-Picture feature.

Now you’ll no longer see Picture-In-Picture icon while playing a video on any web page.

METHOD 2: Using About:Config Page

1. Open Mozilla Firefox and type about:config in the addressbar and press Enter. It’ll show you a warning message, click on “I accept the risk!” or “Accept the Risk and Continue” button. It’ll open Firefox’s hidden secret advanced configuration page i.e. about:config page.

2. Now type picture-in-picture in Search filter box and look for following preference in the window:

3. The preference value is set to true, it means the Picture-In-Picture feature is enabled in Firefox.

Double-click on media.videocontrols.picture-in-picture.video-toggle.enabled preference and set its value to false. Alternatively, you can click on the Toggle icon given next to the preference name.

That’s it. It’ll immediately deactivate and disable Picture-In-Picture mode in Firefox browser.

Also Check:

[Firefox Tip] Remove Recommended Extensions and Themes Sections from Add-ons Manager

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