This is determined by the checkbox here:

Preferences / Settings page > Privacy & Security panel > Cookies and Site Data section

Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed

• Unchecked => Allow permission (default)
• Checked => Allow for Session permission

It might help connect the dots to know that in the old days, this option was labeled differently:

"Keep until: they expire" vs. "Keep until: I close Firefox"

Or maybe that wasn't any clearer...

I have Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed, are you saying permission are changed to what was last set? How would I set the permission back to default?

Hmm, what do you actually want Firefox to do with cookies, keep them forever or delete them when you close Firefox. Keep them forever = Allow. Delete them when you close Firefox = Allow for Session.

If I want to the default permissions for all sites to block cookies how can I change the value so it is maintained? Currently it is allow fro session.

If you want the default to be to block ALL cookies, you would set that using Custom mode Tracking Protection. Of course, this will cause site breakage.

What is custom mode? how is it set up?

What is custom mode? how is it set up?

You can change your Tracking Protection setting between Standard, Strict, and Custom on the Settings/Preferences page. Custom lets you set your own cookie blocking policy. See: Enhanced Tracking Protection in Firefox for desktop.

I am looking to change any permission such as access your location, send notification, share the screen, etc. so the default is different. Tracking protection does not have realate to items like share the screen where I might want the option to always block.

I am looking to change any permission such as access your location, send notification, share the screen, etc. so the default is different. Tracking protection does not have realate to items like share the screen where I might want the option to always block.

Most permissions have "Always Ask" as the default, meaning, you will get a prompt.

If you never ever want to give a location permission, scroll down to the Permissions section on the Settings page, click the Settings button for Location, and check the box for "Block new requests asking to access your location". You'll see that the default permission in the Page Info dialog switches to Block.

A similar checkbox is available for Camera, Microphone, Notifications, and Virtual Reality.

For screen sharing, I haven't figured out a place to block this, but it's extremely uncommon that you have to decline -- I've never had to -- so hopefully it's not too urgent.

I am not sure why the difference in options between settings permissions and tools, page info. For example set cookies is set to allow session if I want it blocked for everything can that be set ?

For example set cookies is set to allow session if I want it blocked for everything can that be set ?

I thought you already found the setting to block all cookies:

Under Enhanced Tracking Protection, click Custom.

Change the Cookies selector to "All cookies (will cause websites to break)"

I know where the settings is but I cannot make it permanent. Can FF allow this change?

You cannot make it permanent? There is a "back door" way to modify the setting if the selector is stuck for some reason:

(1) In a new tab, type or paste about:config in the address bar and press Enter/Return. Click the button promising to be careful or accepting the risk.

(2) In the search box above the list, type or paste cookieb and pause while the list is filtered

(3) Double-click the network.cookie.cookieBehavior preference to open an editing field where you can enter the number corresponding to your preferred setting for what to block, then after making the edit, click the blue checkmark button or press Enter/Return to save the change

• Cross-site Tracking cookies => 4 (default value for Standard ETP)
• Cross-site cookies => 5 (default value for Strict ETP) (dFPI/Total Cookie Protection)
• Cookies from unvisited websites => 3 (emulates an old Safari feature)
• All third-party cookies => 1
• All cookies => 2
• [Clear, nothing blocked] => 0

If the setting has a lock icon -- you cannot edit it -- then an Autoconfig file (usually) is locking it.

It seems to make sense to change the default permissions permanatly so FF starts up with the permissions the user expects. I can change permissions for a web site and FF remembers the setting for that site but I cant say cookies block leave the setting and when ever I start FF it always block cookies?

It seems to make sense to change the default permissions permanatly so FF starts up with the permissions the user expects. I can change permissions for a web site and FF remembers the setting for that site but I cant say cookies block leave the setting and when ever I start FF it always block cookies?

Your Firefox cookie block setting should not change just because you quit and restart. What is it changing "from" and "to"?

The default set cookies, changed from allow to allow for session. I do not know how it changed. It now comes up continuously in that mode.

The default set cookies, changed from allow to allow for session. I do not know how it changed. It now comes up continuously in that mode.

I think we went over this before you said you want the default to be Block.

If you are not blocking cookies, "Allow" vs. "Allow for Session" is determined by the checkbox here:

Preferences / Settings page > Privacy & Security panel > Cookies and Site Data section

Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed

• Unchecked => Allow permission (default)
• Checked => Allow for Session permission

I am not talking about the default permissions found in tools, page info. the value there use to be allow for cookies it is now allow session. How was it changed. you said the default permissions cannot be changed.

The delete cookie option you described doesn't have any affect on the default permissions for cookies.

The delete cookie option you described doesn't have any affect on the default permissions for cookies.

'The entire point of the checkbox here:

Preferences / Settings page > Privacy & Security panel > Cookies and Site Data section

Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed

is to switch all new cookies to session only cookies so they expire naturally when you exit/quit Firefox.

Before the wording was changed on the Settings/Preferences/Options page, the wording of this option was:

• Keep until: they expire
• Keep until: I close Firefox

Why do you disagree with me on this? Who is your source?

It appears that the answer is simple I cannot change the default settings in tools, page info to what I would like.This not only includes cookies but other values like share screen or use camera. If this is correct then I have my answer to setting default settings and I will disregard the set cookies permission change as it is not under user control.