How to Disable Geo IP in Firefox

Stop Firefox from sharing your IP address

By
Bradley Mitchell
Bradley Mitchell
Writer
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • University of Illinois
An MIT graduate who brings years of technical experience to articles on SEO, computers, and wireless networking.
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Updated on November 9, 2021

What to Know

  • Enter about:config into the address bar. Select Show All, then double-click geo.enabled to change the value to false.
  • To enable Geo IP, double-click geo.enabled to change the value back to true.

This article explains how to disable Geo IP in Firefox. Some services that require a location to function (for example, online payment-processing systems) may fail to operate unless they have access to your Geo IP data.

How to Disable Geo IP in Firefox

Follow these steps in Firefox to turn off Geo IP.

Changes you make in this menu may affect how Firefox works.

  1. Open Firefox. Type about:config into the address bar.

    Typing about:config into the Firefox address bar

  2. Click the I accept the risk button if necessary to continue.

    The "I accept the risk" button in Firefox

  3. Select Show All, then look for geo.enabled or search for it in the search bar. Double-click on it when you find it.

    The geo.enabled setting

  4. Geo IP is off when the Value column says false. Double-click geo.enabled again to change the value back to true when you want to re-enable Geo IP.

    Disabling Geo IP

  5. Continue browsing as usual.

What is Geo IP in Firefox?

The Firefox browser includes a feature called Geo IP, which shares your geographic location with websites. Geo IP sends your public IP address when you visit websites. It's a useful feature for some people, as web servers can customize results they send back (such as local information and advertisements) according to your location. However, some people prefer to keep their data hidden.

Considerations

Firefox, by default, asks whether you wish to supply geolocated data to a website. Disabling the Geo IP setting changes the default to "always deny" when a website asks for this kind of information. Firefox does not provide location data to websites without a user's explicit consent using a notification requesting permission.

The Geo IP setting controls Firefox's ability to pass geolocated data to websites, including your device's IP address, which it confirms against nearby cellular towers with Google Location Services. Although disabling the Geo IP control means that the browser can't pass data, a website can still employ other techniques to triangulate your location.

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