Buzz
Firefox has a full-screen mode. This function operates normally and seems harmless, but there are exceptions. That's because when you enable full-screen mode to watch a video on this web browser, you'll receive a warning. The warning is there for a reason, but you can also escape it if you wish.
How to Disable Full Screen Alerts in Firefox
1. What is Full Screen Warning?
2. How to Turn Off Full Screen Warning in Firefox.
1. What is Full Screen Warning or Fullscreen Warning? Why is it important?
All modern web browsers utilize the Fullscreen API to display desired content such as videos, images, and online games by utilizing the entire screen (a type of user interface element). When activated, a small warning message briefly appears at the top of the page, notifying you that it has been triggered. This function is similar when you watch YouTube videos in full screen mode.
Although it can be quite annoying, understanding the purpose of full-screen warning and how it helps prevent phishing attacks is crucial before you disable it.
The sole real constraint for developers when using the API is to activate full-screen mode, which users need to initiate through a mouse click or a key combination. The reason for this condition's existence is to prevent 'careless' websites from automatically loading a scam into full-screen when you access a webpage.
Unfortunately, this feature is highly susceptible to a phishing attack. An attacker can use the API to display a counterfeit version of a website in full-screen mode, which looks exactly like the authentic version. All you need to do is click on a seemingly legitimate link, and the API loads full-screen mode with an interface resembling the active web browser.
In this scenario, when the phishing website enters full-screen mode, the browser will issue a warning alert that it has been activated. If you disregard this warning, you might assume it's a legitimate website.
After understanding the purpose and importance of this full-screen warning, if you still want to disable it, here's how to do it:
2. Disable Firefox's Full Screen Warning
To disable the full-screen warning notification, you'll need to access the Advanced Preferences page, similar to enabling flags in Chrome.
Note: Firefox retains all settings on this page, so you must be very cautious when tinkering here. Changing these settings can impact the stability and security of the browser. You should proceed only if you're confident and certain about what you're doing.
Type about:config into the address bar and press Enter. The webpage will load with a warning about the impact of changing these settings and its effects on Firefox. Click the Accept the Risk and Continue button.
In the search bar, enter full-screen-api.warning.timeout and click on the edit icon next to the result to modify the setting value.
The number you input represents the time duration in milliseconds from when the warning appears to when it disappears. Remember that a value below 500 will make the warning almost non-existent after you enable full-screen mode. For security reasons, if you want to be able to see the warning when entering full-screen mode, you should set the value to around 500 milliseconds. Otherwise, input 0. Click the checkmark when you're done.
After changing the value in the setting, you don't need to restart Firefox. The new waiting time will be applied the next time you watch a video in full-screen mode.
To revert to the default waiting time, go to the Advanced Preferences page and click on the reset arrow located to the right of the full-screen-api.warning.timeout setting.
As mentioned, there are security risks when completely disabling full-screen alerts because some fraudulent behaviors may exploit this vulnerability. Therefore, perhaps you should still keep the alerts to notify you when anything activates full-screen mode in the browser.
