https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js
plus
rm /usr/lib/firefox/browser/features/*.xpi
takes care of pretty much all of the firefox bloat for me
In Google Chromium, sans integration with Googlearkenfox
user.js
JavaScript2018–2026
arkenfox / user.js
user.js
Firefox privacy, security and anti-tracking: a comprehensive user.js template for configuration and hardening
78Distinct people
110Mentions
5Explicit recommenders
13KGitHub stars
What to know before exploring
What it is
Firefox privacy, security and anti-tracking: a comprehensive user.js template for configuration and hardening
GitHub
Where it is used
No documented product use was verified in the last source check.
What people are saying
For extensions, I recommend people follow the recommendations[1] in the arkenfox repo and either harden their firefox or use librewolf. Umatrix is unmaintained since 2019. [1]…
bmikaili used a recommendation phrase. 5 indexed comments match. This is a phrase match, not a verdict.
No classified warning is attached to this page. Read the discussions before treating silence as approval.
Also in these discussions
- pyllyukko/user.js · linked in 3 of the same discussions
- yokoffing/betterfox · linked in 3 of the same discussions
Mentioned in the same Hacker News threads. That is not proof they are substitutes.
This week on Hacker News
Nov 8–Nov 15 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/15/2026, 10:02:05 AM UTC.
No direct repository links were found in the indexed HN discussions over the past seven days. Older discussions are available below.
Mentions over time
HN mentions by year110 dated mentions
Observed mentions: 2018-09-14 13:37:15 UTC to 2026-03-07 01:03:43 UTC.
* An incomplete calendar period is marked with an outlined bar. Its count is not directly comparable with a full period.
Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.
View mention counts and date ranges
| Period | Start (UTC) | End (exclusive, UTC) | Mentions | Submissions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2019 | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 13 | 1 | 12 |
| 2020 | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 2021 | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 11 | 1 | 10 |
| 2022 | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 25 | 1 | 24 |
| 2023 | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| 2024 | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 10 | 1 | 9 |
| 2025 | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 20 | 0 | 20 |
| 2026 (partial) | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2027-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
From the project README
An excerpt from the repository, fetched Nov 13, 2026.
Read the project’s introduction
This repo and the interactive webpage linked below are the only official sources - do not trust any other sites claiming to be Arkenfox
🟪 user.js
A user.js is a configuration file that can control Firefox settings - for a more technical breakdown and explanation, you can read more in the wiki
🟩 the arkenfox user.js
The arkenfox user.js is a template which aims to provide as much privacy and enhanced security as possible, and to reduce tracking and fingerprinting as much as possible - while minimizing any loss of functionality and breakage (but it will happen).
Firefox's built-in profile feature (enabled since FF150) can copy some preferences across profiles, including data-reporting and Health Reports preferences set by this template. Do not assume these settings are independent per profile; review Permissions and data > Firefox data collection and use in Firefox Settings and verify the shared behavior. The exact shared-preference list is Firefox-version-dependent. See 1933264 and permanentSharedPrefs.
Everyone, experts included, should at least read the wiki, as it contains important information regarding a few user.js settings. There is also an interactive current release, thanks to icpantsparti2.
Note that we do not recommend connecting over Tor on Firefox. Use the Tor Browser if your threat model calls for it, or for accessing hidden services.
Also be aware that the arkenfox user.js is made specifically for desktop Firefox. Using it as-is in other Gecko-based browsers can be counterproductive, especially in the Tor Browser.
🟧 sitemap
releases
changelogs
wiki
stickies
diffs
common questions and answers
🟥 acknowledgments
Literally thousands of sources, references and suggestions. Many thanks, and much appreciated.
Read the full README on GitHubWhat Hacker News says
11 sources>Are you implying that Firefox is "surveillance malware"?
>Telemetry isn't surveillance.
(honest question) Why is this necessary then: https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js
In LibreWolf – A fork of Firefox, focused on privacy, security and freedomhttps://github.com/arkenfox/user.js There are hundreds of settings that can be configured to harden Firefox. A lot were upstreamed from the Tor Browser via the Tor Uplift project. The afforementioned user.js is well documented and the most well maintained that I'm aware of.
This is one of the leading reasons why I think Firefox is a better browser than competitors because they don't allow this level of customization without hacking on the source code, like say Brave does. However not even Brave or Ungoogled Chromium is hardened as much as Firefox is with this user.js.
In Feds order Google to track people searching certain names or detailsI recommend arkenfox's user.js[0] which uses (mostly) sane defaults oriented toward privacy and security. If nothing else, their user.js file is annotated so a quick Ctrl+F can help you find the exact settings you want to change.
[0] https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js
In Ask HN: Can Firefox be revived?That list would be very long :D
If you have some time you can look through:
- all the .enabled entrys in
- all the .disabled entrys
- https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js
In Vivaldi 4.0Those addons are very basic, just what I'd have done in 2010 --- before Snowden!
Since you have Firefox, you could sync with a community-developed user.js like Arkenfox (previously GHacks) [1], which seems to go much farther and still not break much! At least the settings privacy.resistFingerprinting and privacy.firstparty.isolate looked indispensable as soon as I learned what they do.
And without FPI (first party isolation), not getting LocalCDN [2] (Decentraleyes successor) and Temporary Containers [3] seems like a gross oversight. They have a great discussion on add-ons at the Arkenfox wiki [4].
[1] https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js
[2] https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/localcdn-fork...
[3] https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/temporary-con...
[4] https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/wiki/4.1-Extensions
In ClearURLs – automatically remove tracking elements from URLsfirefox: user.js repos (eg. https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/ or https://github.com/ghacksuserjs/ghacks-user.js/)
chrome: ungoogled-chromium
In Sponsored Top SitesFirefox’s default anti-fingerprinting is just a blacklist of common fingerprinting scripts.
It is incredibly difficult to make a browser fingerprint non-unique. Only the Tor browser has strict enough settings with a large enough user base to overcome fingerprinting.
If you don’t want to use Tor, try these:
- uBlock Origin (which has a larger blacklist of fingerprinting scripts)
- Enable the privacy.resistFingerprinting setting in about:config to make your browser more similar to other users with that setting enabled (but not entirely non-unique)
- The nuclear option: arkenfox user.js [1]. It’s github repo also contains a lot of further information about fingerprinting.
[1] https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js
In Firefox 85 cracks down on supercookiesThere still appears to be some confusion but, from what I read, FPI is a superset of this partitioning stuff: https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/issues/930
In Firefox 85 cracks down on supercookiesUser.js: Firefox privacy, security and anti-fingerprinting
2 points · Open discussion