[Tip] Enable or Disable Search Terms Display in Firefox Address bar

In newer versions of Mozilla Firefox web browser (version 113 and later), a new feature called “Search Terms” has been added which keeps displaying the search word or phrase typed by the user in the address bar even after launching the search results page. This article will help you in enabling or disabling the new Search Terms display feature in Firefox address bar.

Search Terms Keep Displaying in Firefox Address Bar

Firefox allows users to search for any term using the address bar also known as URL bar. Users can just type any text and press Enter key to search for the text using the default search engine such as Google, Bing, etc.

When you search for a word or text string using Firefox address bar, Firefox now continues displaying the typed search term in the address bar instead of showing the search results webpage URL. This new functionality has been added so that the user can modify or refine the search term while viewing the search results.

In older versions of Firefox, the browser used to remove the typed search term from the address bar as soon as the user pressed Enter key.

Following image shows the new and old behavior of Firefox address bar:

Currently the Search Terms display feature is being rolled out in phases, so some Firefox users have already received the feature and some are waiting for it.

If you don’t want to wait and want to activate and enable the Search Terms feature right now, this tutorial will help you in enabling the feature.

Similarly, if you have received the feature but don’t like it and want to deactivate and disable the feature, this tutorial will also help you in getting rid of these search terms display in Firefox address bar.

Mozilla team has provided a hidden secret preference/flag to turn on or off the new search terms display feature in Firefox address bar.

Following methods will help you in enabling or disabling search terms feature in Firefox address bar:

Search Terms in Address Bar Only Show If Search Box Not Enabled

This is an important point to keep in mind! The new search terms feature only works if the Firefox user is only using the address bar and not added the search box to the toolbar.

Actually Firefox allows users to enable the classic search box on the toolbar using Settings page. If you enable and add the search box on Firefox toolbar, the new search terms feature will not work.

So if you want to use new search terms feature, make sure to disable or remove the search box from the toolbar. On the other hand, if you don’t want to use search terms feature, you can add the search box on Firefox toolbar.

To add or remove search box in Firefox toolbar, do as following:

1. Open Firefox Settings (about:preferences) page.

2. Click on “Search” section in left-side pane.

3. In right-side pane, you’ll see Search Bar option. Now you can select “Use the address bar for search and navigation” or “Add search bar in toolbar” option to turn off or on the search box on Firefox toolbar.

You can also directly enable or disable new search terms feature in Firefox address bar by modifying a hidden secret preference/flag as mentioned in following method:

Turn On or Off Search Terms Display in Address Bar in Firefox

If you don’t want to change address bar and search box option, you can simply change a secret preference mentioned below to enable or disable search terms feature in Firefox.

1. Open Mozilla Firefox and type about:config in the address bar 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 searchterms in Search filter box and look for following preferences in the window:

3. To deactivate and disable the new search terms display feature, set both preferences to False. Similarly, if you want to activate and enable the new search terms display feature, set both preferences to True. To change the preference value, double-click on the preference and it’ll toggle the preference value.

That’s it. It’ll immediately enable or disable Search Terms display feature in your Firefox browser.

Also Check:

[Tip] Show “Go” Button in Mozilla Firefox Address bar

[Tip] Disable or Remove “Firefox View” Tab Icon from Toolbar

[Tip] Remove Tabs Search (Arrow Button) from Firefox Title Bar