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Judy is an author at XDA with over a decade of experience writing about digital media. She’s written for some of the largest names such as MakeUseOf, Android Central, Android Police. She always has an Windows computer handy and is always looking into upgrading. When she’s not writing about tech, she’s watching Return of the Jedi or playing with her Yorkie.

Whenever I’m online, I tend to open tabs for work and personal reasons. I promise myself that I’ll close the personal ones as soon as I’m done, but after a while, they’re still there. Sooner or later, my tabs are a mess, and I have to waste time closing the ones I don’t need and saving the ones I do. I came across Firefox Multi-Account Containers while searching for a completely different extension and decided to try it because it can keep my personal and work browsing separate.

When I investigated a little more about the extension, I discovered that it also keeps those spaces in isolated, color-coded tabs within Firefox. The extension sounded even more appealing when I saw that it also prevented sites from tracking me across different contexts. The extension is free and is an easy way to divide your personal and work browsing, so I gave it a try.

Firefox containers keep my work and personal tabs organized

Color-coded tabs make mix-ups obvious before I click the wrong thing

The Firefox Multi-Account Containers extension assigns each tab its own color cue so I can tell work and personal tabs apart. That quick visual split saves me time because I can scan my tab bar and see mix-ups beforehand. You can change the color if you don’t like it. But when creating containers, it’s best to keep them simple at first and use ones you’ll use, such as Work and Personal. I can leave the tabs where they are, or click the extension icon on the top-right and select “Sort tabs by container.” That option groups tabs from the same container together.

The other day, when I had several work tabs and a few personal ones open, I could tell which category each tab was thanks to the colors. I only had to be careful that the colors for each container weren’t the same as the Firefox theme I was using. For example, I was using a blue theme, and one of the containers had a blue indicator. Using the same color would make them harder to differentiate, so I switched the container to a different color.

Related

Containers make switching between Google accounts less annoying

One container holds one login, so I split it into separate containers

I have a Google account for work and another for personal stuff. However, when I’m working, I need to log into my personal account briefly, and the whole switching process is annoying and time-consuming. Firefox Multi-Account Containers lets me sign in to my personal account in one container and my work account in another, and I can keep them side by side when arranging my tabs that way. If I know I’ll be signing on to both frequently, I can just keep them open.

The setup was simple. Firefox already had the Work and Personal containers created when I started using it. All I had to do was open a tab in the Work container, go to Google, and sign in to my account. I did the same thing with my personal account. They weren’t beside each other at first, so I put them next to each other. After that, I can use either account without constantly re-checking which one I’m in.

You can create as many containers as you actually need

Work and personal containers were a must to start with. But when I created additional containers for other specific topics, that’s when things really felt organized. My day isn’t just two containers. I’ll be in the middle of work research, then I’ll remember I need to briefly look into something unrelated before something else comes up. Since shopping and banking are always something that come up, I decided to give them their own container.

I can customize them by giving them their own color and icon. If I ever get bored with my choices, I can go back and change them at any time. Firefox Multi-Account Containers also lets me tweak this setup whenever I need to. The extension can also prompt me when I open a site in the wrong container, with a message that suggests where it should be opened. It even shows you a button you can click to switch.

Containers won’t fix chaos if your tabs are already out of control

Containers help, but they don’t replace tab cleanup

Containers won’t help you if the damage is already done. If you’ve already opened too many tabs on too many topics, you have no choice but to close them or move the important ones into their respective containers. You’ll waste time doing that cleanup, so containers may not feel like much help at that moment.

Firefox Multi-Account Containers isn’t a magic cleanup button. When you’re in a hurry, sorting out which sites belong in which container can slow you down.

Firefox containers work best after cleanup

A simple setup keeps my tabs in the right lane

Firefox Multi-Account Containers doesn’t have a button to organize all misplaced tabs. Even so, it’s still a feature I use because it places the sites I come across in the container I assign them to. The extension is free, and there is no steep learning curve to navigate.

Once I assign a site to the right container, it becomes harder for my tabs to drift into the wrong container. That’s the part that makes it feel worth it after a tab tidy-up. It’s not a cleanup tool, but it’s a good way to keep order once everything has its designated container, so finding the right tab later feels way faster and less frustrating.

One reset, then it stays separated

I still open too many tabs, but containers keep them from blending. Work is work, personal is personal, and banking stays separate. That way, I spend less time untangling my browser.

Firefox

Firefox is a free, open-source web browser backed by Mozilla. It’s fast and lightweight with privacy protections designed to safeguard your data and web activity across devices.