Background & Problem: Imagine you're logged into your banking portal through a VPN. Your VPN drops silently, and your next action — like checking your balance — happens over your real IP. Your session might get flagged, logged, or even locked. Many users rely on VPNs for privacy, security, or to bypass censorship. However, when a VPN connection drops unexpectedly, the user's real IP address becomes exposed. If the user has sensitive tabs open (e.g. email, banking, or region-locked services), and those tabs attempt to send or refresh data after the VPN disconnects, serious privacy or security risks can arise — without the user realizing it.
Current browser protections don’t account for this scenario, especially not in a granular, tab-specific way.
Proposed Feature: Intelligent, Tab-Specific IP Monitoring & Kill Switch
A new feature in Firefox that allows users to enable IP protection (Kill Switch) for specific tabs.
Once enabled, Firefox stores the IP address associated with that tab at the moment of activation.
Every time that tab attempts to make a new network request (such as refreshing content, sending a form, background polling, or fetching an API), Firefox compares the current IP with the stored IP.
If the IP has changed, Firefox pauses the request and alerts the user before proceeding.
User Experience:
Users can right-click a tab and select: Enable VPN/IP Kill Switch for this Tab
If an IP change is detected later, the tab is paused and a warning message is displayed:
"Your IP address has changed, likely due to VPN disconnection. This tab has been paused to protect your privacy. Choose how to proceed:"
Continue with new IP (not recommended)
Retry after reconnecting VPN
Close tab
Learn more
Benefits:
Privacy & Security: Prevents unintended IP leaks from active tabs without the need for full-system kill switches.
Granularity: Users can apply this feature only where it matters, avoiding unnecessary overhead on all tabs.
Efficiency: Unlike global IP monitoring, this method only checks IP changes when requests are about to be made — saving resources.
Simplicity: No dependency on VPN providers or OS-level APIs — fully implemented within Firefox's own networking stack.
Technical Feasibility:
Firefox already manages request interception (e.g., for extensions, developer tools).
Storing the original IP at activation and comparing it before a request is straightforward.
Optional: Allow extensions to access/augment this feature for custom workflows or advanced VPN setups.
Conclusion:
This feature aligns perfectly with Firefox's commitment to user privacy and control. It's lightweight, practical, and fills a real-world gap for millions of VPN users. I believe this addition could be an innovative step in making Firefox even more privacy-respecting and VPN-friendly.
I’d be glad to collaborate or provide more technical considerations if needed.
Thank you for considering this idea!
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