Mozilla continues to work on Firefox feature 'Tab Unloading'

silversurfer

Level 85
Thread author
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Malware Hunter
Well-known
Aug 17, 2014
10,057
Firefox 93 on Windows to unload tabs when it detects the system is running on low memory. Mozilla believes the feature reduces Firefox memory usage and out-of-memory crashes. Users need to click on the unloaded tab to reload.
Mozilla is bringing the feature back to Firefox with Firefox 93 on Windows and with the following release aimed at Linux and Mac.
browser.tabs.unloadOnLowMemory

This was set to True for me in Firefox 93 Nightly. Toggling its value to false in about:config disables it.
 

silversurfer

Level 85
Thread author
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Malware Hunter
Well-known
Aug 17, 2014
10,057

Firefox 94 adds about:unloads for Tab Unloading​

Recently we reported Mozilla is reviving the automatic Tab unloading feature with Firefox 93. The feature unloads tabs when system memory is low. It aims to improve Firefox memory usage and fix out memory crashes. We also told you, the organization is planning to prepare chrome://discards equivalent for Firefox tab unloading, well, about:unloads page is now ready in Firefox 94.
Firefox about:unloads page

about:unloads page when visited in the Firefox address bar, gives a basic idea of how Firefox prioritizes tabs and which tab gets unloaded if tab unloading becomes active.

about:unloads Firefox tab unloading page


The page also offers unload button to discard a tab.

Note: The highest priority tab will be backgrounded first.

When a user clicks on a discarded tab, it will reload again.

The table contains 7 columns: Priority, Host, Last Accessed, Base weight, Second weight, Memory, and Process IDs.

When the feature triggers, tab(s) based on priority gets inactive, resources will be freed, thus system memory comes back to normal and Firefox becomes smooth and responsive again.

Process IDs will appear as bold when they are hosting in the tabs top frame, displayed as italic when the process is shared between different tabs.
 

About us

  • MalwareTips is a community-driven platform providing the latest information and resources on malware and cyber threats. Our team of experienced professionals and passionate volunteers work to keep the internet safe and secure. We provide accurate, up-to-date information and strive to build a strong and supportive community dedicated to cybersecurity.

User Menu

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to know first about the latest cybersecurity incidents and malware threats.

Top