How to Use a VPN for Firefox
Before you begin using a VPN on Firefox, you’ll have to decide whether you’re going to opt for a paid subscription or use a free service.
Free Firefox extensions are almost always proxies that mask your IP and allow you to access blocked content, however they won’t encrypt your web traffic, so the owner of the server you connect to will still be able to view your browsing history. Most of them are also subject to very restrictive data caps (around 500MB) so you’ll be very limited to what you can actually do online. If you pay for a subscription you’ll be able to use it on other apps as well as Firefox, and also won’t have to put up with running out of data at any point.
Once you’ve chosen your provider, installing the Firefox extension onto your browser is simple and takes just minutes to set up – for detailed instructions take a look at our guide on How to Install a VPN on Firefox. After that, using a VPN on Firefox is pretty much the same as using it on any other platform. All you have to do is choose a location and you’ll appear to be connecting out from that location – this means that anyone trying to track you won’t be able to see where you really are.
For the quickest possible speeds, you’ll want to choose a server as close as you can to your physical location. Most providers have an automatic setting that’ll do this for you, but if not, just choose one that’s in the same country and you shouldn’t have any issues.
Once you’re connected to the VPN, simply carry on using Firefox as you normally would. It’s important to remember that if you’re just using the Firefox extension and no other form of VPN app (i.e. desktop or mobile) you’re only masking the IP of your browser traffic. This means that any apps you use outside of your browser (such as Spotify) aren’t protected and are visible to your ISP and potentially other third parties. In most cases, we’d suggest using the extension on top of the desktop app for the highest level of privacy.
