How To Block Large Image Files From Loading In Firefox
The average internet speed a user could expect some twenty years ago would make browsing a modern web page impossible. Generally speaking, both technology and connection speeds have improved exponentially in the past. It’s what makes services like Netflix and Hulu possible. The average user can watch a video with little to no buffering. File size is less of a concern now but that doesn’t mean it’s not a problem at times. Heavy files delay a web page from loading fully. Additionally, as these files load, they push the web page down making it difficult to read. ImageBlocker is a Firefox add-on that lets you block large image files from loading if they exceed a certain size.
Block Large Image Files From Loading
Install ImageBlocker and click the add-on icon in the tool bar. The add-on is built to block large image files from loading but it doesn’t apply a blanket ban. Instead, you can choose which files to block by their extension. For example, if you want to block BMP files, or GIFs, you can specify their respective extensions in the add-on’s settings.
Likewise, you choose how big a file is too big. You can specify the size of a file in KBs and if a file exceeds that size, Firefox will not load it. The size is specified on a per-file type basis. So, if you want to block BMP files that are bigger than 200KB, but allow GIFs that are under 500KB, you can do just that.
To set limits, enter the file extension and then the upper file size limit in the box next to it. Click Save. You can add multiple exceptions, and you can always delete or edit the ones you’ve added.
Limitations
The add-on is kind of buggy. It isn’t always able to stop images from loading and we’re not sure what the reason is. The add-on is built to block images but based on how it’s built it could in theory block any type of file if it exceeds a certain size. We’d have tested that premise but like we said, the add-on is flaky even when it comes to blocking images.
There’s nothing left wanting in this add-on except it needs to work more reliably. For users on a Windows tablet, this add-on has the potential to be very useful. Here’s hoping the developer gives it a little more attention and irons out the kinks.
