How to Recover Deleted Firefox Browsing History

Can You Recover Deleted Browser History on Firefox?

Have you ever accidentally deleted your Firefox browsing history and then realized you needed it? We've all been there. Whether you're trying to find that article you stumbled across last week or you need to keep a record of your online activities for work, losing your browsing history can be a real headache.

But don't worry, you've come to the right place. In this guide, we'll show you 3 efficient ways to recover deleted Firefox browsing history. You can restore your Firefox history from a backup copy of a file called index.dat. Or, you can try to recover your deleted Firefox history using the DNS cache and data recovery software. So, let's get started getting Firefox browsing history back!

How to Recover Your Deleted Firefox Browsing History (3 Ways)

How to recover deleted history on Firefox? You can recover deleted Firefox history using backup copies, DNS cache, and data recovery software like MyRecover, which can recover deleted browser history like Firefox, Google Chrome, and other browsers. Stay tuned with us to learn more.

Way 1. Restore Firefox History Using Backup Copies

Backup copies of deleted Firefox history are stored in hidden files called index.dat files. If you’ve accidentally deleted Firefox history, you can recover it by locating the index.dat file.

Step 1. Click Start and choose File Explorer.  Click View and choose Show hidden files and folders. Uncheck the box Hide extensions for known file types and Hide protected operating system files (Recommended).

Step 2. In Search, choose All Files and Folders in the C Drive. Type index.dat in the search bar and then proceed to Search.

Note:✎...

If you don't have an index.dat file reader, download and install one on your PC.

Step 3. Open the index.dat file with the reader. Find and select the file and click on Restore to recover deleted Firefox browsing history.

Step 4. Open the Firefox browser on your PC, and you can see all of the deleted history again.

Way 2. Recover Firefox History Using DNS Cache

The DNS cache is a compact database managed by your computer that stores browsing history (such as recent website visits). DNS cache can help retrieve deleted Firefox browsing history files.

However, since the DNS cache tends to store cached data for all Internet-connected applications, relying on the DNS cache for this purpose is not reliable. In addition, the cache is cleared after you restart your computer. Another limitation is that it only shows visited domains, not exact URLs.

Step 1. Press Win + R, type cmd, and click OK. Or type cmd in the Windows search bar.

Step 2. In the Command Prompt window, type ipconfig /displaydns, and press Enter. You'll see the recently visited websites.

Step 3. View, copy, and paste the important websites into Firefox, then save them as bookmarks.

Way 3. Recover Deleted Firefox Browsing History with MyRecover

Normally, your Firefox browser history files are stored on your computer as local backups. The Firebox browser's history files are stored on your computer at: Mozilla Firefox: C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles

If you delete or clean the Firefox browser, the history files stored on your PC will also be deleted. Fortunately, MyRecover can easily recover lost or deleted history files within 3 steps, no matter what the reason for the loss.

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• Support 200+ file formats, such as TXT, DOCX, XLSX/CSV, JPG/JPEG, PNG, PDF, PPT, TIF/TIFF, MP4, MOV, AVI/NAVI, CDA, WAV, 7Z, ZIP, and so on.
• Advanced scanning method: It can automatically run Quick & Deep Scan to find and recover deleted files quickly and comprehensively with a high success rate. You can filter, preview, and recover files during the scanning process.
• Support various data recovery scenarios: Whether the data is lost due to accidental deletion, formatted disks, virus infection, computer crashed recovery, etc. you can recover them
• Wide compatibility: Support Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, or Server PC and 4 file systems (NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS).

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MyRecover offers a free version that allows you to recover deleted Firefox browsing history and other lost files up to 500MB at no cost. You can download and try it first. Here are the steps on how to recover deleted history on Firefox.

Step 1. Run MyRecover and choose the drive

Open MyRecover and hover over the drive saved deleted Firefox history files before and click Scan to fully scan the selected drive.

Step 2. Scan the drive for deleted files

It will scan for all deleted or lost data on the specific drive. You can search for a folder/file name to locate the browser history file quickly.

Step 3. Recover and save the file

Select the needed file and click Recover X Files to get the index.dat file back. It's crucial to save these Firefox history data to a different location to prevent accidental overwriting.

Summary

Losing your Firefox browsing history can be frustrating, but as you’ve seen, there are 3 ways to recover deleted Firefox browsing history. Whether you’re using backup copies, DNS cache, and data recovery software like MyRecover, you have options.

MyRecover is an excellent recovery tool that can help you recover your Firefox browser history, as well as Google history, and any type of files, in no time. Download it and use it for free!

And remember, the best defense against data loss is prevention. Make a file backup regularly and cautious browsing can save you a lot of headaches in the future.

FAQs About Firefox History

1. Does Firefox delete browsing history?

In the Clear History Settings window, you can select items to automatically clear each time you exit Firefox. After selecting the history items to clear, click Save Changes to close the window.

2. Does Firefox backup history?

Yes, Firefox can back up your history. With backup enabled, your bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, and open tabs are safely saved. This means that whenever you switch to a new device, you can install Firefox and keep all your data.

3. How far back does Firefox keep history?

Current versions of Firefox keep a maximum number of visited pages and do not impose a time limit on how long history is stored.

4. Where is Firefox history stored?

Firefox stores your history along with your bookmarks in a database file called places.sqlite that is located in your profile folder. You could check this location to restore Firefox bookmarks.

5. Where are Firefox extensions stored?

Firefox extensions are stored in the extensions folder within your profile folder.