Thirty minutes to put your browser in order

Before changing anything: five activities to preserve

Keep five services handy for the final check: your email, bank, video-call app, a shop and a government website, for example. Loading a home page is not enough: camera access or a sign-in form might stop working after a protection setting changes.

Keep an accessible session for important accounts and make sure you have their sign-in methods. This guide does not require clearing all data or resetting the browser. Menus vary by browser, system and version; use settings search and official help to locate an option.

Allow about thirty minutes for a first pass. If one issue resists investigation, record it and continue with independent checks. An extension mystery should not stop you removing an obviously unnecessary notification permission.

Minutes 0 to 5: a version you can maintain

Open the browser’s version page and check for an update. Save your work before any required restart. Also check that the operating system still receives the updates the browser needs.

Record the version and date in your review note. If an employer or someone else manages the device, respect that arrangement: a locked setting may implement an intentional policy. Ask the administrator rather than trying to bypass it.

Minutes 5 to 12: every extension needs a purpose

Open the full extension list, including disabled entries. A familiar name is not enough: check the publisher, use and permissions. Start with tools installed for a one-off task, such as a screenshot or translation function you no longer use.

Broad access may be necessary for a legitimate feature, but it increases what you entrust to the extension. Ask whether the current benefit justifies that access. Before removing an extension that stores data, examine recovery or export options.

Minutes 12 to 18: revisit forgotten permissions

Review camera, microphone, location and notifications. Find a current purpose for each permanent permission. Access granted to a platform for a single interview can be removed and granted again when needed.

A permission should match what you are doing on the site. A map may need your approximate location. You can read an article without allowing notifications. Revoking a forgotten permission means the site will have to ask again if you need that feature.

Work site by site. Clearing everything can be convenient, but creates another series of requests later and makes it harder to identify which change caused a problem.

Minutes 18 to 24: one change, then a meaningful check

First read which protection level is already active. Firefox’s Strict mode adds blocking beyond Standard and may affect some websites. Choose a change whose purpose you understand, then work through your five-service list.

Try signing in, sending an ordinary message, opening a document and previewing your camera before a call. You can also fill in a form without submitting it. There is no need to place an order or start an official application just to check your browser.

If a service breaks, reverse the last change and observe the difference. If an exception is needed, keep it specific to that site and record the reason. You can review it later instead of disabling protection across all your browsing.

• Firefox: the settings worth your attention↗

Minutes 24 to 30: decide what to retain

Cookies, history, downloads and saved credentials are not one category of data. Read the selected categories and time range before clearing anything. Deleting site data may sign you out; prepare access methods first.

Move downloads you need into a chosen location, then tidy what has become unnecessary. Forgotten documents in Downloads are as much a device-organisation issue as a browser-settings issue.

If your main goal is separating two accounts, examine a profile or container instead of clearing everything whenever you change activities. The separation should correspond to a use you can name.

A review note for next time

Write down changes, retained exceptions and checks still to do. This can be brief and need not include credentials or personal information.

Repeat a review after changing computers, adding several extensions or noticing unusual behaviour. Between reviews, a new permission request simply deserves a few seconds of attention when it appears.

• Browser version checked; update applied or reason for a block identified.
• Extensions retained for current purposes; unusual permissions examined.
• Permanent permissions reviewed for important sites.
• Five everyday activities tried after the changes.
• Exceptions documented with reasons; another review planned after a significant change.