Recently released Firefox 112 is reportedly using an insane amount of memory for Some. Here is how to fix the memory leak in Firefox if you’re affected.
What’s happening?
After the latest Firefox update, users reported Firefox is using high memory when browser windows are minimized.
Here is the repo of the actual issue:
- Launch Firefox
- Open a couple of Windows with tabs, and minimize one window to notice increased memory usage by Firefox Process in Task Manager.
Note: Memory usage will be high when multiple windows are covered. Here, Mozilla found an animated theme is constantly leaking memory in minimized or occluded windows.
Reason for the issue:
The memory leak occurs when you’re using an animated Theme in Firefox such as Dark Space.
Fortunately, only a specific animated theme affected the issue, not all. So if you’ve installed other animated themes, they may not cause the problem.
Platforms affected: Firefox running on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Dark Space Theme causing memory leak in Firefox
Dark Space by Nicothin is a popular animated theme among Firefox users. The developer claims it is the best dynamic theme and one of the best themes available, seamless video background with particles moving around.
Fix memory leak in Firefox
- Click on Menu and select Add-ons and themes
- Find a Dark Space theme.
- Disable or remove it.
Mozilla fixed this issue automatically with Firefox 112.0.2 update.
The organization found the bug they fixed in Firefox 112 for “compositor CSS animations keep being sampled in fully occluded windows” was regressed and causing the Dark Space theme to leak memory in minimized Windows.
Instead of waiting for a minor update, if you’re running this animated Gif theme, deactivate or uninstall it right now to avoid memory leakage.
Firefox offers several themes to choose from, including default, dark, light, and Alpenglow.
Additionally, Colorways can be added through AMO to further customize the browser’s appearance. However, it is important to note that animated themes may impact Firefox’s performance.
Summary: Firefox 112 on Windows, Mac, and Linux is consuming a massive amount of RAM when using an Animated Theme named Dark Space. Mozilla is aware of it and is working to push the fix with an update soon. Meanwhile, you can follow the instructions in the article. The memory leak is observed when windows with tabs are minimized or occluded.
If you’re running the latest Firefox and still noticing high memory usage, please follow the below steps
- Ensure your Firefox is up to date. Click on the hamburger menu > Help >About Firefox
- Close all Firefox instances and Restart Firefox. Visit about:restartrequired and press Enter
- Disable all extensions and Themes and see if that makes Firefox work fast. Click on Menu > Add-ons and themes, disable some or all extensions and themes. Restart Firefox
- You can skip step 3 and open a new Private window in Firefox.
- Ensure Hardware acceleration is enabled.
- Refresh Firefox. Load about: support in address and click Refresh Firefox.