No, removing individual shortcuts or even disabling the entire most visited section does not delete your browsing history. The sites will still appear in your history, just not as shortcuts on your new tab page. To delete history, you must use the "Clear browsing data" feature.
Hover over the tile you want to delete, click the in its top-right corner, and select Dismiss .
Click the Gear icon in the top-right corner of the New Tab page. Uncheck the box labeled Shortcuts . Why Should You Remove Most Visited Pages?
: Open a new tab, scroll to the bottom, and tap Edit . Toggle off Frequently Visited . remove most visited pages
Firefox organizes your most visited pages into a section called "Shortcuts" (formerly known as Top Sites). On Desktop Open a .
For many, the "Most Visited" list is more than just an annoyance—it's a privacy risk. The shortcuts on your New Tab page can inadvertently expose sensitive information to anyone who glances at your screen. This could include URLs for online banking portals, medical records, HR platforms, or job search websites.
On Apple devices, the "Frequently Visited" section is part of the start page. No, removing individual shortcuts or even disabling the
It prevents anyone glancing at your screen from seeing exactly which websites you frequent.
There isn't a direct "Customize" button like on desktop. You typically have to long-press an individual site icon and select to remove it one by one.
| Browser | Easiest Method | Disable Entire Section? | Clears History? | Mobile Support | |---------|---------------|-------------------------|-----------------|----------------| | Google Chrome | Right-click → Delete | No (requires flag/extension) | Optional | Tap and hold → Remove | | Microsoft Edge | Customize new tab → Toggle off | Yes | No | Settings → Custom → Toggle off | | Mozilla Firefox | Gear icon → Toggle off Shortcuts | Yes | No | Tap three dots → Remove | | Apple Safari (Mac) | Options icon → Uncheck Frequently Visited | Yes | No | Edit → Toggle off Frequently Visited | | Apple Safari (iOS) | New Start Page → Edit → Toggle off | Yes | No | Tap and hold → Delete | | Opera | Easy Setup → Toggle off Show Top Sites | Yes | No | Depends on version | Hover over the tile you want to delete,
To hide the entire section on mobile devices:
Microsoft Edge refers to these links as "Top Sites" or "Quick Links." You can easily customize or disable them through the page settings menu. On Desktop Open a . Hover over the shortcut tile and click the three dots icon . Click Remove . To turn off the entire grid layout: