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Hardening Firefox – a checklist for improved browser privacy

(andrewmarder.net)
263 points amarder | 5 comments | 30 Aug 25 11:26 UTC | HN request time: 1.273s | source
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olivergregory ◴[30 Aug 25 18:06 UTC] No.45076771[source]▶
Set the browser.ml.chat.enabled and browser.ml.enabled to false as they intensively use the processor and drain the battery. All that to just find the best name for your tab groups. I prefer to have my laptop last one more hour instead.
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st3fan ◴[30 Aug 25 20:35 UTC] No.45077792[source]▶
Wasn't that a bug that was fixed weeks ago? Like early August? If you are not averse to this feature then it is better to simply make sure you are running the latest version.
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1. olivergregory ◴[30 Aug 25 20:52 UTC] No.45077904[source]▶
I litterally gained one hour off my charged battery when I switched these two settings off, just a week ago, and I keep my browser up to date. So not for me.
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2. privatelypublic ◴[30 Aug 25 21:56 UTC] No.45078330[source]▶
On an 80wh battery, say you go from 7hrs to 8hrs, so- 10wh saved over 8hrs. Thats a 1.125watt difference.

I propose the below as various factors that can be larger:

Slower fan speed because of lower ambient temperature.

Different dark/light ratio and/or adaptive screen brightness.

Wifi spectrum congestion, variable power levels to maintain proper SNR.

Wifi/ethernet- broadcast packets.

The list goes on. Most of these are below a watt, but demonstrate the point that you've got a lot more variables than just one setting in a browser.

replies(1): >>45078536 #
3. craftkiller ◴[30 Aug 25 22:26 UTC] No.45078536[source]▶
You sound like 1.125 watts is insignificant to a laptop, but my laptop idles around 6 watts and it is currently using 8 watts since I've got some stuff running. Shaving off 1.125 watts is a 14-19% improvement.
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4. Nab443 ◴[30 Aug 25 22:45 UTC] No.45078636{3}[source]▶
The point is that the shaving might not be due to the firefox variable changes, but rather to other environmental differences.
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5. privatelypublic ◴[31 Aug 25 00:31 UTC] No.45079263{4}[source]▶
Exactly. And honestly- the screen is way way more than 1watt. According to RAPL power, a USB-PD power analyzer- changing the brightness on my 15" 4k OLED laptop screen can reduce power usage by 15-20W. The nature of OLED makes it hard to get a clear picture.