Most of these extensions/add-ons are useless and actually makes your fingerprint more unique.
https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/wiki/4.1-Extensions#-don...
In Canvas Fingerprintingarkenfox
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
10 sourcesYou can disable most of these things in user.js. See https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js (née ghacks.net user.js) for an example.
The next problem is FF generates random profile names by default ( ~/.mozilla/firefox/<random>/user.js ) which makes it hard to deploy a user.js via automation. But you can also drop in a ~/.mozilla/firefox/profiles.ini with a fixed profile name of your choice, so then you can use dotfiles or any other mechanism to deploy those two files.
That said, as the original tweet says, they did this particular one by adding new user.js options, so you wouldn't be *automatically* protected from them. You could try to find someone who publishes the exact user.js you want to use to some git repo / URL and set up automation to sync that file to your devices periodically. Unfortunately most user.js have some common elements
Read the rest
but also some personal unique elements (because you may want to not change some settings because they break websites you care about), so you may not find such a person.
Strange, apparently the setting (dom.private-attribution.submission.enabled) still hasn't been added to Arkenfox user.js ?
I see it's mentioned and committed, but not in the latest release yet.
https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js
In Make Firefox Private AgainBasically, you need to create a `user.js` file in the root folder of your profile, you can find/open the profile folder using about:profiles or about:support (default path is `~/.mozilla/firefox/${profile-name}/user.js`).
You can sync it however you like, e.g. upload it to your dotfiles repo and symlink with stow, etc.
The syntax is:
user_pref("dom.private-attribution.submission.enabled", false); // Disable Privacy-Preserving Attribution
You can find a lot of examples and "documentation" on https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js
In For advertising, Firefox now collects user data by defaultIt has been the consensus of the privacy community for quite a few years now not to use Privacy Badger. As few exentions as possible to cover everything is the current view. Arkenfox lists extension features that aren't covered by FireFox inbuilt or uBlock Origin: https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/wiki/4.1-Extensions
In We built the extension that blocks ads, trackers and third-party cookiesArkenfox/user.js: Firefox privacy, security and anti-tracking
2 points · Open discussionThis might interest you... (if you know how to set it up):
"Firefox privacy, security and anti-tracking: a comprehensive user.js template for configuration and hardening "
https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js
In Firefox search updateStuff like this makes me wonder why I still cling to Firefox instead of switching to one of the actually privacy-focused Chromium forks.
I've been using Arkenfox to turn off all the telemetry/etc but it increasingly feels like a game of whackamole.
https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js
In Firefox search updateRe: firefox and privacy, if you want to use firefox for privacy, consider using https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js . There is a case to be made that Firefox (with arkenfox's user.js) is one of the best privacy-respecting but still fairly usable browsers.
In It’s getting hard to use and recommend FirefoxWith something like https://github.com/arkenfox/user.js/ for starters.
Or in German https://www.privacy-handbuch.de/ especially Surfen...,DNS...
And not doing it by downloading the 'normal' way, instead using https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/firefox/releases/ , otherwise you've got the unique 'dltoken', be it randomized, or not.
Or use the source, Luke...
In Show HN: Quetta – A privacy-first web browser with enhanced ad blocker inside