How to disable auto-dismiss for notifications on Firefox
Browsers can integrate with the notifications system of an operating system. Websites can send users notifications via browsers and browsers in turn are able to show them on the desktop by making use of the operating system’s notification system. As such, browsers are normally restricted by the notification settings that a user has set for their desktop. For example, if a user has set notification to be dismissed after 5 seconds, they will be. If you want to disable auto-dismiss for notifications on Firefox, you can do so by modifying one preference.
Disable auto-dismiss for notifications
Open Firefox and in the URL bar, enter about:config and tap enter. You will see a warning telling you that modifying the contents of the about:config page will void your warranty. Accept the warning and proceed to the preferences page.
Use the search bar to look for a preference called;
dom.webnotifications.requireinteraction.enabled
Double-click it and its value will be changed from False to True. For the change to be applied, you have to restart Firefox.
Now when a notification appears on your screen, it will remain visible for at least 20 seconds. In some cases, it will not dismiss until you dismiss it yourself.
Limitations
This preference can’t just work on its own. It’s one part of a more complicated process and there are other factors involved in showing a persistent notification via Firefox. The first is that you must allow your operating system to show you persistent notifications. If your operating system has an option to auto-dismiss notifications after a certain amount of time, you should either set it to the maximum time allowed or switch over to persistent notifications if they’re supported.
The second major requirement is for the websites that are sending the notification to also support the feature.
As you can see from the limitations, showing persistent notifications isn’t something that users can just enable, or that Firefox, or any other browser for that matter, can enforce on to other websites. On Windows 10, you can set notifications to be visible for as long as five minutes before they’re automatically dismissed. You can then access your missed notifications from the Action Center which Firefox supports. If you need a website to show you notifications for more than a few seconds, try changing this setting if you’re on a Windows 10 system.
Persistent notifications, in most cases, are not something users generally ask for. Mobile operating systems give their users an option to set them but they’re not really that popular on desktops.
