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Delete ALL bookmarks in Android Firefox

  • 18 replies
  • 0 have this problem
  • 6 views
  • Last reply by Paul

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Firefox Sync loaded all of my Bookmarks 4 times so I have this huge list of bookmarks. I want to delete them all and start over. How do I do this without doing it one by one? Also, is there a way to open bookmarks straight from the menu instead of going through several menus to get there.

Firefox Sync loaded all of my Bookmarks 4 times so I have this huge list of bookmarks. I want to delete them all and start over. How do I do this without doing it one by one? Also, is there a way to open bookmarks straight from the menu instead of going through several menus to get there.

All Replies (18)

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Hi

Are they also being duplicated in your other copy of Firefox connected to Firefox Sync?

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Yes. Since I started using Sync, the Bookmarks have started multiplying on all devices hooked up. I delete them, and they come back. My guess is that Sync is importing them form each device. I have turned it off. What I need is how to delete all bookmarks from Android. I can uninstall and reinstall if nothing else.

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If you do need to keep any other data, you can clear data in the Android Settings app under Applications for Firefox for Android. This will take Firefox for Android back ho a first run state with all personal data and settings cleared (including passwords!).

What you may find is that if you leave Firefox Sync to cycle round naturally, you will be left with one set of bookmarks across all devices.

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This would work however I can not find where to do this. It is not in Android Settings/Apps/Firefox nor is in the Firefox app.

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I finally just uninstalled Firefox and reinstalled. I synced it with my computer and I again have four sets of repeated bookmarks. The computer does not. How do I fix this.

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Another related question; to open the bookmarks I have to go to settings, tap bookmarks, tap Desktop Bookmarks, tap Bookmark Menu before I get my bookmarks. How can I open it with ONE tap? Why do programmers think we all want to tap and swipe so much.

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Hi

Are the bookmarks being repeated in the same folders (multiple bookmarks with the same names/address)?

The bookmarks option is available from the method you mention. There is no quicker to access them other than as a top site or recently viewed item.

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The Folders and individual book marks are repeated. The entire Bookmark list just repeats over and over. When I cleared it the whole thing repeated 5 times. It seems to keep growing over time. I finally shut off Sync, deleted all of the extra bookmarks and all is good until I need to sync again.

I am not sure where this is coming from as the last time it occurred all of my other devices that are hooked to sync were off or disconnected. I uninstalled Firefox, reinstalled it and when I synced it, I got my Bookmarks x5. Does Firefox store this stuff on the cloud?

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Hi

There is a cloud server as the data moves through that to sync to your devices.

When you look in the bookmarks library in the desktop copy of Firefox, you are only seeing one set of bookmarks?

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Best might be to fix the bookmarks on a desktop device.

If you use Sync, best is to disconnect Sync temporarily during troubleshooting.

This could be a problem with the places.sqlite and favicons.sqlite files in the Firefox profile folder.

  • use the "Places Database" -> "Verify Integrity" button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page

If errors are reported with "Verify Integrity", close and restart Firefox or reboot and retry.

If "Verify Integrity" cannot repair places.sqlite, rename/remove all places.sqlite and favicons.sqlite files in the Firefox profile folder with Firefox closed. Firefox will rebuild places.sqlite and restore the bookmarks from the most recent JSON backup in the bookmarkbackups folder.

  • keep a backup copy of places.sqlite in case a new places.sqlite database has to be created
  • you lose the history when a new places.sqlite is created

You may have to restore an older bookmarks backup in the bookmarkbackups folder via the Bookmarks Manager (Library).

The name of an automatically created JSON bookmarks backup in the bookmarkbackups folder includes a total item count (folders and separators included) and an hash value to prevent saving the same backup more than once. You also see this count in the Restore menu drop-down list.

  • bookmarks-YYYY-MM-DD_<item count>_<hash>.jsonlz4.

See also:

You can use the button on the "Help -> More Troubleshooting Information" (about:support) page to go to the current Firefox profile folder or use the about:profiles page (Root directory).

If you use Sync then best is to reconnect one device at the time and wait for the initial Sync to finish before connecting another device once you have fixed the bookmarks.

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Multiple copies appear in the bookmarks on any device I sync. I currently have turned off sync and manually cleaned up the bookmarks on all devices. My current concern is that as soon as I reactivate snyc, I'll be back to multiple copies of my bookmarks. I did back up the cleaned up bookmarks file so I have that to go back to.

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Running the Verify Integrity did not show any errors.

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Are multiple copies of the same bookmark appearing in the same folder, or do copies appear in other folders?

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The bookmarks are repeated four times. Each folder has one copy of the bookmarks. My entire bookmark list is repeated in whole four times. It hasn't really been a problem on the computer as I just use the first set of bookmarks and ignore the rest. However on the phone the bookmarks seem to get scrambled around so it is a problem.

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I logged everything off, laptop, desktop and phone. I got the laptop cleaned up to one set of bookmarks. I then uninstalled Firefox off my phone, reinstalled it and synced the two devices. So far everything is OK with both devices having one copy of my Bookmarks. I will double check my Desktop before I log it into Firefox to make sure it only has one copy of the Bookmarks. It seems that the problem is resolved, at least for the time being. I would like to know what caused this in the first place. Thanks for the help.

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Hi Dave.

To be honest, the only thing I can think of is that the sync events got a bit crossed, creating a new set of bookmarks. Firefox Sync looks to make sure that the newest iteration of bookmarks and other data are present on every device.

I am glad to hear that this problem has been resolved - thank you for letting us know.

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So far all is OK, however I have not brought my desktop back into the loop. At least if it happens again I'll know where it is coming from. Thanks for the help.

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Thank you for letting us know.