The Mozilla Firefox browser offers to save and autofill your login details. Depending on the kind of account a user is using, these passwords and login credentials are encrypted and stored either in user-profile directories or in sync servers.
The Firefox password manager has better security than the Google password manager – it even recommends that you encrypt your passwords with a primary password similar to a master password used to access credentials stored in a third-party password management solution. Here’s how to view your passwords saved in Firefox.
Steps to View Passwords Saved in Mozilla Firefox Password Manager
The steps of viewing passwords saved in the Firefox browser-based password manager have changed over time. The following are the steps you need to go through to view and copy your logins and passwords saved on Firefox.
Step 1: Launch the Mozilla Firefox browser and click the Open application menu button. It’s the three-line icon towards the top right corner.
Step 2: Go to Settings and click Privacy & Security under General. You will find it towards the left sidebar.
Step 3: Scroll down a bit to find Logins and Passwords. Under this section, you will find the options to
- Ask to save logins and passwords for websites
- Autofill logins and passwords
- Suggest and generate strong passwords
- Suggest Firefox Relay email masks to protect your email address
- Show alerts about passwords for breached websites
Adjacent to these options, you will find a button that says Saved Logins…
Step 4: Click Saved Logins and you’ll be redirected to a logins and passwords page. This page has two parts. On the left, you’ll see a list of all the accounts for which Mozilla Firefox has saved the passwords. In the middle, you will see the username and the password (masked by dots) for the account from the left panel that is selected.
So, you can select any account and the login and password will appear in the middle. You can use the Eye icon to view the passwords and the copy button to copy it to your clipboard without revealing the password in plaintext.
Depending on your security settings, you may have to provide a device password or a primary password for Firefox to allow you to view or copy the password.
Step 5: Use the Search bar towards the top left of the logins and passwords page to search for the credentials for a specific account. Right below the search feature, you get the sort feature, which allows you to sort the passwords alphabetically based on the account’s name, the username, or when a password was modified for the last time.
You can edit or delete a password by using the Edit or the Remove button.
Alternative way of viewing passwords saved in Firefox
- Click the Open application menu button.
- Click Passwords from the dropdown
This will land you directly on the logins and passwords page. Follow Steps 4 and 5 from the previous path.
Can you view passwords saved in Firefox from your mobile phone?
Yes. Firefox offers a sync feature that allows you to sync the information stored with your browser across devices, including your mobile phone. You can open the Mozilla Firefox application on your mobile phone and follow the above steps to view your logins and passwords, provided you are using the sync feature.
How to export passwords from the Firefox Password Manager
When you are on the logins and passwords page, you will see the three horizontal dots icon towards the right, below the URL bar. It’s the menu button. Click on it.
You’ll find the Export logins option in the dropdown menu. Click on it.
A dialogue box will open with the warning that your passwords will be exported as readable text. Click on the Export button. Depending on the security settings, you might have to provide your primary password to complete the action.
Make sure you delete the exported file after you have imported all the login details to a secure third-party password manager.
After you have exported the passwords, you can disable your Firefox Password Manager.
Is it safe to save passwords in Firefox?
The Firefox password manager is a decent improvement over trying to remember passwords or creating weak passwords. g
- It allows you to generate strong passwords and encrypt them
- You can protect your passwords with a primary password on a shared device
- It sends an alert if one of your passwords has been stolen in a data breach
While the Firefox password manager brings these features, it is not a suitable password management solution for businesses. It doesn’t allow you to share passwords securely or reset them periodically.
Why you should move your credentials to a more secure password manager?
- Secure password-sharing would be one of the main reasons to upgrade to an enterprise-grade password manager.
- Password managers like Uniqkey do not even store the hashed version of the master passwords since they use zero-knowledge proof for authentication.
- With features like automated employee login, password managers make the authentication process hassle-free and less prone to human error.
- A good password manager eliminates the possibility of a phishing scam.
So, for strictly personal usage, the Firefox password manager may actually suffice. With its primary password feature and the single sign-on for Windows 10 and 11 accounts, It is quite a convenient option. But as soon as it comes to business passwords, one must move to a more secure and more convenient identity and password management solution.
