Datasette closed issue #3046 with a code change that omits the HTTP Link header’s rel="next" relation from HTML responses. The condition depends on the response format, so it applies to HTML pages rather than Firefox alone. The issue was closed with a code change on Nov. 7, 2026.
The change is based on response format
The code adds rel="next" when a next-page URL exists and the response is not HTML. That means the change is not limited to requests from Firefox. A later comment on the Datasette issue says the relation is removed from all HTML pages.
The practical boundary is the response: Datasette’s change stops advertising rel="next" on HTML, rather than changing Firefox’s prefetch logic.
What prompted the change
On Nov. 7, 2026, Simon Willison reported seeing Firefox request the next page of a paginated Datasette table after a response included a Link header with rel="next". He described that particular request as about 80 KB of HTML and an unnecessary hit to the server. The observation and size refer to that request, not a general traffic estimate. (Willison’s account; Datasette issue #3046)
Mozilla Bugzilla #175418 is a separate issue about limiting prefetching of rel="next" documents. Its record is listed as NEW. Mozilla Bugzilla #175418
