How to remove tracking cookies in your browser (r)

Feb 24, 2023
Learning how to remove tracking cookies

If you've ever spent time on websites, you're likely to have seen cookie consent messages on websites you visit. Certain cookies save your personal details in order to provide a better user experience, some are used to track your visits across multiple websites and track your actions. So, it is possible that you are trying to delete tracking cookies in your browser.

It's easy to delete cookies from all most popular browsers, including Google Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla Firefox. They can be removed on your smartphone in order to get back control over your privacy on the internet.

This article will explain how tracking cookies function and whether they can pose as a threat to your privacy. Also, we'll show you how to remove them in your browser. It's time to get going!

What are the tracking cookies?

Most websites need permission to store your personal information and you've probably seen Cookies notices on different websites:

An example of a cookie notice on the  website
Notice about cookies on the site

By contrast, tracking cookies monitor your behavior across multiple websites. Once you are on one of these websites it will begin recording your activities and will monitor your activities when you move to another website. These data are often shared between multiple services including advertising networks.

Are tracking cookies spyware?

Simply put the term spyware means that it hides on your computer and collects details about your actions, including your passwords and bank account information as well as other personal data. The majority of these are used by criminals seeking get access to personal data or to sell your personal information to other criminals.

There are many ways to get a spyware infection to your system, it generally is triggered by phishing scams and malicious hyperlinks in websites or emails and hidden files inside ordinary downloads.

Tracking cookies do not have malicious intent. They do not gather passwords or any other information that's sensitive, and sell it to other organizations. Additionally, they aren't inaccessible to your devices, and you can easily turn them off.

How Do Tracking Cookies Work?

At this point, you ought to have a good idea of the principle behind tracking cookies. But, you may be wondering how exactly they collect details.

If you go to a website that uses tracking cookies, your browser will send an email to the server inquiring to display the content of the site. The server responds with information sent about the website directly to the browser. This also includes an "identifier". This is an unique combination of letters and numbers which represents the device you are using.

What kind of information are tracked cookies collecting?

To do this, the tracking cookies collect information about various activities such as:

  • The history of web browsing
  • Location
  • Previous purchases
  • Searches
  • Speed of scrolling
  • Clicks
  • Mouse hovers

If you appear to be interested in a specific item that you are interested in, tracking cookies detect this. It is possible that you will see advertisements for services and products relevant to the topic you are interested in.

Do tracker cookies pose an health risk for you?

The tracking cookies don't pose risk in and of the sense that they are in. However, many Internet users are concerned about their use , as and the potential that they could compromise the privacy of their accounts on the internet.

Cookies that monitor your activities will provide you with more relevant advertising. If you've been searching for laptops on the web, you could be able to see advertisements that could help you buy.

You may prefer not to allow the companies that advertise to collect data regarding your interests and behavior. Indeed, as high as the 78 percent American internet users are currently looking for ways to enhance their online privacy as of 2021.

You may be worried when you aren't aware of which platforms are monitoring you, what kind of data they're recording, and who they may share that information with. This is why removing and disabling tracking cookies is one of the most important steps towards developing a privacy online.

Do Tracking cookies take Passwords?

Contrary to malware and spyware trackers aren't specially designed to steal passwords or other sensitive data. But, they are able to be hacked.

If you're in an attack that hijacks cookies (also known as session fixation as well as session hijacking attacks), hackers gain access to the entire cookie data in the course of the session. They can also access the information about your bank account as well as passwords that allow malicious hackers to acquire your bank account and access your online accounts.

A session fixation (cookie hijacking) attack
Session repair (cookie hijacking) attack ( Source: The SSL Store)

In some instances, hackers might change the login info and passwords so that it is impossible to access them.

This type of attack does not only target the tracking cookies. Hackers have the ability to attack all kinds of cookies that is within the browser.

What are the motives for removing tracking cookies?

There are many reasons you may want to remove tracker cookies in your browser. Beyond keeping your information private online and reducing the risk of cookies being stolen, there are additional reasons to think about:

  • . Cookies help to save data in your browser which can eat up space, and possibly affecting the performance of your browser in the end. This is the case especially when you've got many saved cookies in your computer. So, clearing them out can increase the speed of your internet browsing as well as allow you to browse your the content faster.
  • Removal of personally identifiable data. When you fill out the form online on websites you visit you are able to enter details about yourself, such as your full name, address and your username and password. As this information could be used for the purpose of stealing your identity, you'll need ensure that the information you provide will not be available to non-trustworthy websites of third parties.

If you've chosen to erase tracker cookies, then you're in the right place! The next section will explain the entire process.

How Do You Remove Tracking Cookies from Your Browser

It's easy and quick to remove tracking cookies on every major browser, including Google Chrome. This walkthrough will help you understand how to accomplish this using Windows 10 and 11, as well as Android mobile phones. The steps can also be applied to MacOS as well as iOS.

Google Chrome

If you're using Google Chrome on a laptop or desktop computer, you'll have to click the three dots at the top right part of the browser. Then, select Other Tools > Clear browsing data:

How to remove tracking cookies in Google Chrome
Get rid of tracking cookies in Chrome.

You should now get a pop-up with different ways to clear data from you Google account. It is essential to select Cookies as well as other site information and then click Clear Data:

Clearing cookies and other site data in Google Chrome
Cleaning the cookies, as well as other information from the website

If you'd also want to disable tracker cookie tracking for future sessions, go to the Settings tab, then Privacy and Security > Cookies and other site data. Select the toggle bar next to stop the third-party cookie:

How to block third-party cookies in Google Chrome
Block all third-party cookies within Google Chrome

This setting will not affect the settings for cookies in your browser for example, passwords that are saved. This setting is specifically created to block tracking cookies.

When you're running Google Chrome on a mobile device, you have the option of opting out of the tracking cookies using More > Settings:

Google Chrome mobile settings
Mobile settings within Google Chrome

Then, select Security and privacy > Clear browsing the history:

How to clear browsing data in Google Chrome on mobile devices
The browsing experience is clear on mobile devices using Chrome

Finally, check the box beside Cookies and Site Information then click Clear Data at the bottom of your screen.

Removing tracking cookies in Google Chrome on mobile devices
Removal of tracking cookie from smartphones

That's it! We recommend following these steps periodically if you want to remove tracking cookies from the device(s).

Safari

If you'd like confirmation of this, select Safari > Settings on the left of the browser window:

Accessing Safari’s settings
Setting Safari's preferences.

Then, you go to then the Next, move into thetab. You'll want to ensure that there's a checkbox beside stop cross-site trackingis ticked. After that, you can select Manage your website's data:

Managing cookies in the Safari browser
The control of cookies in the Safari browser

The list will consist of all cookies that have been saved inside your browser. These cookies originate from various sites. You are able to remove the cookies when needed or select Remove All after which you can click Done:

Removing cookies in Safari
Get cookies out in Safari

As with the web browser the mobile Safari browser is also able to block tracking cookies by default. If you'd prefer to erase the cookies on iOS devices, go to Settings > Safari. Safari > Clear History and Web data.

Mozilla Firefox

If you're concerned that tracker cookies might be inserted into your browser, you might remove it of it. Select the triangle that will is located in the upper right corner of your browser and choose the options:

Mozilla Firefox settings
Mozilla Firefox settings

Select Security & Security, then scroll to section Section on Cookies as well as Site Datasection:

Cookies and site data in Mozilla Firefox
Cookies and Site Data

To delete tracking cookies, click on Clear Data. After that, make sure the checkbox on the right side of Cookies and Site Data is checked and click Clearat at the lower right of the page:

How to clear tracking cookies in Mozilla Firefox
Clear tracking cookies can be found in Firefox

Mobile devices can erase cookies by clicking in the triangle located in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. Next, you can select the appropriate settings:

Accessing mobile settings in Mozilla Firefox
Configuring mobile preferences within Mozilla Firefox

Click on Privacy and security and then select Privacy and security. Then, tap to erase browsing data. Make sure you tick the checkbox next to Cookies and then tap delete browsing informationat the bottom right corner side of the screen.

How to remove tracking cookies in the Mozilla Firefox mobile browser
Get rid of tracking cookies on mobile browsers.

It is crucial to be aware that Firefox offers enhanced protection against tracking on mobile devices. It can prevent third-party sites from tracking your online activities.

Microsoft Edge

How to access the browser settings in Microsoft Edge
The browser's settings can be modified inside Microsoft Edge

Under Cookies and Site Permissions at the bottom of the menu select the option to manage and erase cookies as well as other data related to the site:

How to manage and delete cookies in Microsoft Edge
Remove and manage Cookies

When you first start you might want to stop third-party websites from saving tracker cookies to your web browser. To do this, click on the slider that is beside blocking third-party cookies:

How to block third-party cookies in Microsoft Edge
Block cookies from third parties in Microsoft Edge.

Click the button to open the entirety of Cookies as well as Site Data to display any tracked cookies and gespeichert data that is stored in the browser:

A list of browser cookies in Microsoft Edge
Cookies for browsers: A List

If you select remove all, Edge will delete all cookies that are within Edge's browser. However, the delete the third-party cookies option will focus on those tracking cookies.

The process for phones is similar. In the beginning, you need to tap the 3 dots at the lower right of the screen. then follow by the Settings:

Accessing settings in the Microsoft Edge mobile browser
Access settings for the Microsoft Edge mobile browser

After that, you can select Privacy and security, followed by the option to delete your the history of your browsing:

How to clear browsing data in the Microsoft Edge mobile browser
Edge mobile browser is a great alternative to the Edge mobile browser provides clear browsing details. Edge mobile browser.

Not to be left out make sure that the checkbox for Cookies as well as Site Data is ticked before tapping clean Data:

How to clear cookies in the Microsoft Edge mobile browser
Clear the cookies of your mobile's web browser

You can set a time range for clearing cookies from the upper right hand corner of your screen. If you're looking to erase the entire cache of cookies from your device, be sure to that you select the"All-time" option..

What is the best frequency to delete cookies that track you?

In the case of any device that is publicly accessible (such for example, an in-library computer) it is advised to wipe all cookies off at the end of each session. So, you will not keep your personal information stored in a system that is which is accessible by other people.

If you own your own laptop computer or mobile phone, you may be interested in removing tracker cookies on a regular basis. There's no requirement on this but every month at least can be a great starting point.

Does Google likely to begin phasing out cookies that track you?

Google originally planned to disable tracker cookies in 2022. The deadline, however, was later pushed back to Q3 of 2024. It is due to the fact that Google has been focusing its attention on the development of its Privacy Sandbox Project. The project will incorporate new ways to protect privacy in Google's Chrome browser.

The end result was that Google released a simple-to-use button which lets French users to reject all cookies at a single click. Google will also be implementing this feature across the EU, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Summary

Cookies that track you are generally used by third-party sites to gather information on the way you use their services , and to send you targeted advertisements. They can also feel like an invasion of privacy.

It's not difficult to delete tracking cookies from the top browsers, including Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Microsoft Edge. In addition, many browsers allow you to disable the cookies of third parties completely or disable them completely.

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