In the old days, sites sometimes specified a "low res" version of images, which the browser could load more quickly as a placeholder for a better quality version of the image. I don't know whether sites do that any more, so I'm not sure what signal Firefox could check for whether a lower resolution version is available.

Meanwhile, to stop Firefox from downloading images automatically, you could consider an add-on such as Image Block: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/image-block/ (adds a toolbar button so you have more control over when to download images).

Are there other kinds of content that raise a similar concern to images?

I guess videos... I haven't researched how to prefer a low-res video. Most users seem to be looking for HD resolution. But maybe there's an add-on for this, too? If you find anything in your research, please post back with your solution.

Thanks for the image blocker. This helps, but problem is mainly with videos. Youtube and such seem to download at the highest resolution available. This uses lots of my download allowance.

I suggest checking for video-related extensions to try to influence what resolution is requested. I'm pretty sure there's no built-in setting for that.

You also might switch Flash to Click-to-Play ("Ask to Activate"). This will delay Flash from starting on a page until you approve it.

To set "Ask to Activate", open the Add-ons page using either:

• Ctrl+Shift+a
• orange Firefox button (or Tools menu) > Add-ons

In the left column, click Plugins. Look for "Shockwave Flash" and change "Always Activate" to "Ask to Activate".

When you visit a site that wants to use the Flash, you should see a notification icon in the address bar and one of the following: a link in a black rectangle in the page or an infobar sliding down between the toolbar area and the page.

Thanks for the help.

mike

Hi,

If you login into YouTube then you can change the settings for playback.