Mozilla Firefox is well-known as a flexible browser that can be customized quite easily. Even so, some recent UI decisions such as the pin icon for the New Tab have been on the short list of things that users dislike. If you are one among many users who want to get back the system without the new unnecessary visual noises, this detailed guide gives you a clear answer on how to fully remove the pin icon from Firefox shortcuts without installing extra software, no scripts, just a built-in trick.
⚙️ Turn Off The Pin Icon In Firefox Shortcuts With About:Config
There is not a GUI switch in Firefox that allows you to change the status of the pin icon. On the bright side, a secret setting about:config is there to help you completely get rid of this feature. Below are the steps to do this:
Step-By-Step Guide
- Launch Firefox.
- Type about:config into the address bar.
- Hit Enter. If a warning appears, choose “Accept the Risk and Continue“.
- Search for
browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.newtabShortcuts.refresh at the top. - Find browser.newtabpage.activity-stream.newtabShortcuts.refresh flag.
- Double-click the item (or click the toggle icon) to change the value from true to false.
- Restart Firefox.
When you have done it, the pin icon will not be shown on the New tab page shortcuts and the original simple design will come back.
📌 The Reason Firefox Gave The Pin Icon (And Why It Might Be A Problem For You)
Mozilla’s intention behind introducing the pin icon was to facilitate users with faster access while they were locking their favorite shortcuts. The resulting feature, however, gave a single round icon that not only caused a contrast problem with favicons but also violated the principles of clean layout designing, hence the visuals were unappealing and the default setting did not allow users to remove it from their desktops.
🔍 Where This Change Affects You
The pin symbol is located in the “Shortcuts” area on the New Tab (Homepage) in Firefox, which also has the most frequently visited and user-added websites. After the new design is enabled, even icons for custom shortcuts gain the pin overlay unless the configuration tweak above is applied.
✅ Verification – Has the Pin Icon Been Removed?
After restarting Firefox, navigate to a New Tab. The pin icon should no longer appear on any shortcut tiles. If the icon still persists:
- Re-check the flag value in
about:config - Ensure you’re using the latest stable version of Firefox
- Clear cached thumbnails by going to:
about:preferences#privacy → Clear Data → Cached Web Content
🛠 Advanced Option: Completely Revert to Classic New Tab Layout (Optional)
However, if you also do not like some of the recent things such as over use of border radius or tile design, then you can go beyond the surface and change Firefox’s whole UI through userChrome.css.
Enable Legacy User Profile Customization
- In about:config, set:
toolkit.legacyUserProfileCustomizations.stylesheets → true - Navigate to your Firefox profile directory:
about:support → Profile Folder → Open Folder - Inside the folder, create a chrome directory (if not already present).
- Inside chrome, create a file named userChrome.css.
Sample CSS to Remove Rounded Tiles
/* Remove border radius from shortcut tiles */
.topsites-list .tile {
border-radius: 0px !important;
}
🔄 Restart Firefox after saving to apply UI changes.
🧠 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
❓ Why does Firefox show a pin icon on website shortcuts?
The pin icon was created as a feature to ensure that a user’s choice is not changed without the user’s knowledge. Accordingly, the user may lock specific websites in the shortcut tiles so that these are not replaced based on the user’s browsing habits.
❓ Is there a way to turn off all UI changes and revert to classic Firefox?
Of course, power users have the possibility to adjust the graphic user interface (GUI) extensively by means of userChrome.css and userContent.css. In addition, they can control various aspects of the visual changes using the respective about:config flags.
❓ Will this method work on Firefox for Android or iOS?
Definitely not. Only desktop versions (Windows, macOS, Linux) of Firefox can avail themselves of this solution. Mobile versions of Firefox have various restrictions, including limited access to about:config compared to desktops.
❓ Is modifying about:config safe?
Definitely, if you only alter the settings that are familiar and clearly described. The setting employed in this case is an offil Firefox feature toggle, not a hack.
🔚 Final Thoughts
The pin icon in Firefox shortcuts has become a huge burden for many. Fortunately, the Mozilla community is still supported with some kind of backend controls through about:config. Users can change one flag and thus restore a simpler and cleaner New Tab interface without any distractions. No matter if you are a minimalist or a power user, this solution guarantees that your browsing experience will still efficient and not messy.