Upgraded Notifications

Firefox can deliver on-screen notifications even when that site is not loaded. Using the Push API, aW3C standard, Firefox receives a push message and can show notifications (if permitted by the user) at any time. Sites can also use Push to update data in the background, even without showing you a notification. If you already gave permission to a site to send notifications, the site will also be able to use the Push API. You can choose whether or not to give permission for a specific website by following these instructions:

1. Click the padlock in the address bar.
2. Click the arrow in theSite Information drop-down panel.
3. ClickMore information in the next panel to bring up thePage Info window.
4. Click thePermissions tab.
5. UnderSend Notifications, choose a notification option:Always Ask,Allow orBlock. If your choices are grayed out, deselect theUse Default checkbox.

Alternatively, you can:

1. In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, clickFirefox and selectSettings (orPreferences, in some cases).Click the menu button and selectSettings.
2. ClickPrivacy & Security from the left panel.
3. Scroll to thePermissions section.
4. Click theSettings… button to the right ofNotifications.
5. SelectAllow orBlock from theStatus drop-down for any of the websites.
6. Click theSave Changes button.

What is Web Push?

Web Push is an optional feature that allows websites to send you messages even when the site is not loaded. Sites can use this feature to provide you with notifications or update data in the background.

For example, you can subscribe to notifications from your favorite shopping websites that can notify you of new promotions or offers. You can subscribe to notifications from different websites. A concert site may offer you notifications for shows of your favorite band. You decide to allow that site to notify you, and a week later you get a notification that your band is on tour.

You will only receive messages from sites that you have granted permission.

How does it work?

Websites can install aService Worker, a background web page with a limited set of functionality, that can subscribe to the push service. The website can then send a push message through Mozilla’s Web Push service to your browser, which can process that message and display a notification on your screen.

Clicking the notification can open a website or switch to that site’s tab if loaded.

What information do I share with a website?

A website that has been granted permissions can send you push messages when the site is not loaded. A quota limits the number of push messages without an on-screen notification that websites can send you. Websites that exceed the quota will have its push messaging disabled and the user must revisit the website again to resubscribe. Web Push does not directly allow websites to determine your IP address.

What information does Firefox use to provide Web Push?

Firefox maintains an active connection to a push service in order to receive push messages as long as it is open. The connection ends when Firefox is closed. We store a randomized identifier (User Agent IDentifier or UAID) on our server for your browser, along with a random client-generated identifier for each push subscription. When you have any subscriptions, the UAID is required to allow our push service to route incoming messages to Firefox. If you don't have any active push notification subscriptions, Firefox rotates the UAID on each new connection.

On Firefox for desktop, the push service is operated by Mozilla. Firefox for Android uses a combination of the Mozilla Web Push service and Google’s Cloud Messaging platform to deliver notifications to Firefox for Android. Only Mozilla's applications are enabled to use WebPush on iOS (third-parties are prohibited from using WebPush to send notifications to iOS per the iOS usage agreement).

In all three cases, push messages are encrypted per theIETF spec, and only your copy of Firefox can decipher them. The encrypted messages are stored on the server until they are delivered or expired.

We store your IP address for 90 days as part of this service. The stored information is invalidated when either the IP Address or UAID is changed. We donot store information about:

• the servers and/or services that have sent messages
• when a particular user agent was online/active

How do I revoke Web Push permissions for a specific site?

Web Push is always opt-in in Firefox. A site cannot send you push messages without your permission. To stop a specific site from sending you push messages:

1. In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, clickFirefox and selectSettings (orPreferences, in some cases).Click the menu button and selectSettings.
2. ClickPrivacy & Security from the left panel.
3. Scroll to thePermissions section.
4. Click theSettings… button next toNotifications.
5. Select the website.
6. Click theRemove Website button.

To stop all sites from sending you push messages, follow the steps above but instead of selecting a specific site, click theRemove All Websites button. Websites will not be able to send you messages and will need to ask your permission to send them in the future.

To stop notifications on a specific webpage (requires a page reload): Click the Permissions icon to bring up theSite Permissions panel for the website, find theSend Notifications permission and click the✕ next toAllowed to remove the permission.

How do I add Web Push to my website?

ThePush API specification explains how to create a Service Worker and send push messages.

How do I stop Firefox asking me to allow notifications?

If a site indicates to Firefox that it wants to show notifications, by default, Firefox asks whether you want to grant permission. You can set Firefox to automatically deny permission without asking. Even after the change, you can make exceptions for sitesyou want to show notifications or use push features.

1. In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, clickFirefox and selectSettings (orPreferences, in some cases).Click the menu button and selectSettings.
2. ClickPrivacy & Security from the left panel.
3. Scroll to thePermissions section.
4. Click theSettings… button to the right ofNotifications.

   

5. Select theBlock new requests asking to allow notifications checkbox.
6. Click theSave Changes button.

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