topic Re: Clearing history should not empty the cookies exceptions list in Discussions

Clearing history should not empty the cookies exceptions list

topsycrets — Fri, 06 Nov 2026 17:25:32 GMT

When clearing the browser history, it wipes the whole exceptions list under History > Customise history > Choose what you want Firefox to remember > Manage Exceptions.

Why would it do that?
Why would an exceptions list be considered part of history?
And if so, for some reason, give it its own checkbox when choosing what to clear.

Putting together the exceptions list takes a while, and I don't want to repeat my work over and over, it should stay untouched. Thank you! 🦊✌️

Re: Clearing history should not empty the cookies exceptions list

dftf — Sun, 08 Nov 2026 10:12:45 GMT

@topsycrets : if you type about:preferences#history in the URL bar, then press ENTER (to save time having to browse through the settings to get there), do you have "Always use private browsing mode" enabled, and do you have "Clear history when Firefox closes" enabled?

If you have that last one enabled, what are you clearing on that screen? I suspect if you have "Site settings" checked, this is likely what will cause that list to get cleared.

(Also, on the about:preferences#privacy screen, do you have "Clear cookies and site data every time you close Firefox" ticked?)

Re: Clearing history should not empty the cookies exceptions list

topsycrets — Sun, 08 Nov 2026 15:25:17 GMT

Thanks for the reply!

I have Firefox set to clear cookies and data on close. I specify exceptions, so I stay logged in on those sites. This works fine, restarting Firefox is no problem. 👍

When I manually clear history (I do this every now and then) everything checked ☑️ and time span "Everything" 📅. Now it clears the exceptions list mention in the OP. 👎

Still - either way, not expected behavior, is it? The exceptions list should not be touched by anything else than a dedicated button to clear it.