Primary password is the single password that protects all the other saved passwords in Mozilla Firefox browser. If you have set the primary password in Firefox, the browser will ask for the primary password before you can use the saved passwords or any other saved login information. If you have saved many logins for various websites in your Firefox browser, you should always set or add the primary password so that nobody can just open your Firefox browser and can view all the usernames and passwords saved inside the user profile of the browser.
Here is how you can add or set the primary password for Mozilla Firefox:
- Launch Mozilla Firefox browser, click on the menu icon and select Options from the menu.
- Select Privacy and Security from the Firefox options screen.
- Under the Logins and Passwords section, select the checkbox labeled Use a Primary Password.
- A new window will open where you have to enter the new primary password two times. It will display password quality/strength in the meter. You should remember or write down this password because without it, you won’t be able to access saved logins in the future. Click OK to continue.
- A confirmation message will appear informing you that you have successfully changed the password.
As we have stated previously, you must not forget the primary password because there is no way to access your saved passwords without it. Perhaps, you should save your primary password in other password managers like KeePass and keep it somewhere on a cloud storage so that in the eventuality of your forgetting the primary password, you can still access your passwords.
Primary password was called master password in the older versions of Firefox. Starting with the version 81, Mozilla has switched to the term Primary Password. According to the Mozilla developers, they decided to change the term because the older term is derogatory in general.