[Tip] Enable Hidden Secret HTTPS Only Mode for Websites in Mozilla Firefox

Now-a-days most of the websites use HTTPS secure protocol to improve the connection security. You may have seen HTTP:// and HTTPS:// in the beginning of website URLs which specifies whether a website is using HTTP (old unsafe protocol) or HTTPS (secure protocol) for the connection to the server.

It’s always advised to check for the HTTPS protocol if you are opening banking or other organization websites as the HTTPS connections are encrypted and provide better security.

Still there are some websites which are not using the secure connection protocol and they still use old HTTP protocol for the connection. To overcome this issue, there are many 3rd party extensions available such as HTTPS Everywhere which automatically and forcefully enable HTTPS encryption for websites.

Now newer versions of Mozilla Firefox (version 76.0 and later) come with a hidden secret built-in feature known as “HTTPS Only Mode” which works similar to these extensions.

“HTTPS Only Mode” forces Firefox to open websites using the secure HTTPS protocol even if a website was designed to use old HTTP protocol. If the website supports HTTPS protocol, it’ll be upgraded to open using HTTPS protocol. If a website doesn’t support HTTPS protocol, the website will not load and you’ll receive error message.

This new feature is very useful for users who regularly do online transactions and other similar activities.

“HTTPS Only Mode” is disabled by default and interested users need to manually activate and enable it using a hidden preference/flag.

If you also want to enable HTTPS only mode in Mozilla Firefox web browser, following steps will help you:

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

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

The preference value is set to false by default, which means the HTTPS Only Mode is deactivated and disabled in Firefox.

3. To manually activate and enable HTTPS only mode feature, double-click on dom.security.https_only_mode preference and set it to true. Alternatively, you can click on the Toggle icon given next to the preference name.

That’s it. Now try to open any known website which was using HTTP protocol for the connection, now it’ll be upgraded to HTTPS protocol automatically.

Also Check:

[Firefox Tip] Restore Green Padlock Icon for Secure HTTPS Websites in Address bar

[Fix] HTTPS Errors and Warning Messages on Secure Websites in Mozilla Firefox