Free Firefox Weather Extension: No Account, No Email Required

"Free" weather extensions that require an account or collect data aren't really free — you're paying with your information. Here's how to get weather in Firefox without any account, any email, or any data collection.

What "Free Without Account" Actually Means

When I say "no account required," I mean:

• No email address to provide
• No username or password to create
• No cloud sync of your settings
• No way for the developer to send you emails

This also means: if something goes wrong, there's no support ticket system. The extension is self-contained.

The trade-off is worth it for most people: you get weather information without creating another account for a weather service to manage (and eventually breach).

Extension Option: Weather & Clock Dashboard

Weather & Clock Dashboard is free, requires no account, and is MIT open source.

How it works:

• Install from Firefox AMO
• Open a new tab
• Allow location permission (or enter a city manually)
• See weather immediately

That's the complete flow. No "create account" step, no email verification, no welcome email. The extension is self-contained and stores all settings locally in your browser.

Source code: Available on GitHub. You can verify exactly what the extension does with your location data.

Website Option: wttr.in

For a completely browser-native approach with no extension: bookmark wttr.in/YourCity (replace with your city, e.g., wttr.in/London).

wttr.in is a terminal-style weather service that works in any browser. No account, no JavaScript required, no tracking. Enter your city in the URL.

Disadvantage: You have to navigate to it rather than seeing it passively on every new tab.

The Privacy of Location-Based Extensions

For any weather extension that uses your location:

1. One-time permission: You grant location permission once. The browser controls when the extension can access location (only when the new tab is open, not in the background)

2. Where the location goes: The extension sends your coordinates to a weather API (like OpenWeatherMap or Open-Meteo). The weather API returns forecast data. For open source extensions, you can verify this is the only destination.

3. No persistent storage of location: Browser extensions don't persistently store your GPS coordinates in a database (unlike mobile apps). When you close Firefox, the extension's runtime data is cleared.

4. City vs. coordinates: Some extensions send your city name instead of GPS coordinates. This is less precise (nearby zip code vs. exact address) but functionally equivalent for weather.

Comparing the Free Options

Extension	Account	Open Source	Permissions
Weather & Clock Dashboard	No	Yes (MIT)	tabs + location
Dark New Tab	Some features	Partial	varies
Momentum	Yes	No	<all_urls> + location
Most others	Varies	Varies	Varies

The key check: <all_urls> permission means the extension runs on every website you visit, not just the new tab. For a weather extension, this is more permission than necessary — avoid it.

Getting Started (3 Minutes)

1. Open Firefox
2. Go to addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/weather-clock-dashboard/
3. Click "Add to Firefox" → confirm permission
4. Open a new tab → click Allow for location
5. Done — weather on every new tab, no account

If you want to check the code first: GitHub.