Why Firefox Shows Strange Hints in Address Bar When Typing HTTPS

firefox

From typing only https:// I get the first selections below the bar to be from my history, but rather I get https://aka.ms/remoteconnect, https://www.epic games.com/2fa (yes space and all), https://spotify.com/pair and other such nonsense.

Firefox is up to date and this doesn't look like a malware infestation.

strange hints

Best Answer

They come from the google search provider. The Magnifying Glass icon to the left of each entry indicate that they are search hints, rather than the history suggestions further down. With google enabled, mine are subtly different based on my locality, but show many of the same links you display.

If you change your default search engine to another, for instance DuckDuckGo, they disappear.

you can disable search engine hints entirely with the setting "Show search suggestions in address bar results" or not sort them to the top with the setting "Show search suggestions ahead of browsing history in address bar results" under Settings > Search.

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