{"id":43505,"date":"2022-01-31T11:49:13","date_gmt":"2022-01-31T16:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/?p=43505"},"modified":"2022-01-31T11:49:13","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T16:49:13","slug":"how-to-block-cookies-in-chrome-safari-firefox-edge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/how-to-block-cookies-in-chrome-safari-firefox-edge\/43505\/","title":{"rendered":"How to block cookies in your browser"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of you have probably heard of the non-biscuit variety of cookies, but might not be sure what they\u2019re for or what to do with them. We have already discussed web cookies<\/a>: how they impact your privacy and how to manage them in the website settings. This article however, guides you down a less rocky road of setting up cookies \u2014 by way of browser options, with detailed instructions for Google Chrome<\/a>, Apple Safari<\/a>, Mozilla Firefox<\/a> and Microsoft Edge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What are cookies and why bother with them?<\/h2>\n

When you visit a nearly any website, it creates and stores on your computer a cookie \u2014 a small file with data about your system and actions you take on the site. Cookies can be created and used both by sites you visit and by third-parties, such as advertisers.<\/p>\n

Very often, website cookies are needed for the site to work properly or to improve the user experience. For example, they might help an online store to remember your city or automatically switch an international website to your language. Perhaps most usefully, they can remember your login credentials, so you don\u2019t need to fill them in every time you visit a site on which you have an account.<\/p>\n

But those from other services (commonly referred to as \u201cthird-party cookies\u201d) are used mostly for targeted ads or analytics. For instance, they can be used to find out which banners you clicked on or what products you look at in online stores. This kind of attention is not welcomed by all, so most browsers give you the ability to block them.<\/p>\n

What cookie settings do browsers have<\/h2>\n

Most popular browsers offer two ways to limit the impact of cookies on your privacy: by completely erasing them from the device, or by blocking certain types of cookies, for example, third-party ones. The delete option may seem simpler and more reliable, however it\u2019s far from convenient.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the fact that cookies can be removed in two ways: manually and automatically. The first approach lets you selectively delete cookies for each individual site. That doesn\u2019t sound so great when you consider that in just a couple of hours online most of us visit dozens of different pages, each of which is eager to leave a trail of cookies on the device. Sure, there\u2019s the \u201cDelete All\u201d\u009d button, but in this case, even useful cookies \u2014 those that store automatic login information, currency and delivery addresses in online stores, etc. \u2014 will get swept away.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same problem with automatic deletion: in this case, the browser itself will have a clear-out\u009d with each restart, munching up all cookies for all visited sites. This means you will have to re-enter login credentials and form details that usually get auto-filled.<\/p>\n

So the best option is to block only third-party cookies in the settings. If, after that, some website starts playing up, you can always add it to the exclusions list. This way you will get rid of advertising, tracking and other non-essential cookies<\/a> without putting useful data at risk. Here\u2019s how to do it in Google Chrome<\/a>, Apple Safari<\/a>, Mozilla Firefox<\/a> and Microsoft Edge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How to block third-party cookies in Google Chrome<\/h2>\n

To block all third-party cookies in Google Chrome in one fell swoop:<\/p>\n