Add an option to disable this new "Drag to Pin/Unpin Tab" feature

[TheNickm2]

Since this feature hit my browser after an update a while ago, I'm constantly annoyed by it. I've been dragging tabs all the way to the left to rearrange them practically forever, and now suddenly doing this is pinning tabs that I don't want to pin - I'm just trying to rearrange my tabs.

Perhaps I'm in the minority here, and that's fine - this feature can be enabled by default; however, an option to disable it altogether (via settings or even an about:config option) would go a long way. This feature greatly disrupts my workflows and has proven to slow me down when I'm in my flow state while developing websites. I need this feature to be toggle-able to continue using Firefox as my daily driver browser.

Update 2025-09-29: This feature can now be (mostly) disabled via an about:config option (as of v143.0.3). Setting "browser.tabs.dragDrop.pinInteractionCue.delayMS" to any relatively high value should effectively disable the option. The value is the number of milliseconds before the pin tab option triggers. I set mine to 2000, requiring a full 2s before the feature triggers, which has generally solved the issue for me. I encourage you to adjust this config option to your liking once your browser is updated to at least 143.0.3

[Pingouin]

@Agentvirtuel Actually, if I close Firefox and open it again, the pinned tab is gone, so helps a bit short term but definitely not a long term viable solution.

[Martin89]

Yeah, I really need to disable it as well. Some about:config option at least would be great.

[asafko]

Hi folks, 

Appreciate you all raising the issue. As @Agentvirtuel already noted, we have introduced a preference browser.tabs.dragDrop.pinInteractionCue.delayMS that you can adjust once you update to 143.0.3 that will go live on September 30th. Changing the value of this pref to 1200-1500 is equivalent to turning off the feature. 

You may find some background in the bugzilla ticket, discussing the issue, but the tl;dr is that:

1. We have investigated how the sensitivity for pinning can be adjusted to avoid accidental triggers and yet satisfy people who do want it; however, we found that if the delay is high enough to avoid accidents, it becomes frustrating for people who do want to use drag-to-pin. 

2. Adding an about:preferences setting is a more involved process, as it implies adding the setting, introducing it into various tests, and committing to supporting it in perpetuity. We usually do it if we see a string negative signal (in this case that would be, for instance, significant number of pins end up being unpinned within a minute after being pinned) or, when, in a situation like this, following negative qualitative feedback, we see a significant number of adjustments to the relevant pref (browser.tabs.dragDrop.pinInteractionCue.delayMS adjusted frequently). 

We'll keep track of how the new pref is being adjusted (since we don't see other negative signals at scale), and will consider a more discoverable setting. 

[TheNickm2]

Hi @asafko! Thank you so much for the info.

This is wonderful news - I set the delay all the way up to 2000ms and it no longer gets in my way and allows me to once again use my browser the way I like, without pinned tabs getting in my way (since I prefer not to use them under any circumstances).

It makes sense that adding a setting to about:preferences is more involved and not necessarily feasible at this time. I personally have no issues with the about:config option which allows me to increase the delay to such a drastic value that it simply doesn't trigger during my normal usage.

I appreciate y'all for working hard on new features, but even more than that, I appreciate the option to configure those new features to my liking (or disable them if I prefer)! Thank you for this update!

[Anonymous]

I'm just going to switch browsers until you actually give an option to disable this. So annoying. 

[Zalera]

Please add an option to disable this behavior entirely. I don't mind if it's an about:config entry.

The suggested workaround of adjusting the delay time for the behavior to trigger does not function. I've tested the option across different ms durations and across Windows, Linux, MacOS; no change in behavior across restarts. The delay option does not work. It feels like a slap in the face to be told "we don't let you turn it off, but we will let you slow it down" - only for even that to not work.

I now have to use a css adjustment and keep a tab pinned in each browser window just to stop this unwanted behavior. This clunky workaround sends you - using your phrasing from earlier - a positive feedback signal that I'm using pinned tabs now that you've introduced this behavior. I'm forced to tell you that I want this feature when I do not. I hope it's clear how ridiculous that is.

I never used pinned tabs prior to this - they're just not useful in my workflow - and now I have to just to get around an unwanted behavior. I've spent three hours of my morning figuring out how to get my browser to stop fighting with me.

Please add an option to disable this, and please stop fighting your users. Thanks.