3 easy ways to automatically delete browser cookies to protect your privacy
Cookies are those little pieces of data websites secretly store in your browser and track your online movements and preferences. If you’re like me and value your privacy, you might want to take control of this one. You can set Google Chrome, Firefox and Edge browsers to automatically delete cookies.
How to set Chrome to automatically delete cookies
You can always delete cookies manually in Chrome, but it’s easier to let Chrome do it automatically. Click on the menu with three dots in the upper right corner and go to Settingsand then select Privacy and security in the left menu. Scroll down to click Site Settings.
On the resulting page, scroll down again and click Additional content settings to expand the options where you find and click Website data on the device.
Then select the option that says “After closing all windows, delete the data sites that have been saved to your device.”
If you want to go through all of these navigations, you can paste this link into the address bar of your Chrome browser: chrome://settings/content/siteData
How to set Edge to automatically delete cookies
Edge offers more automatic data deletion options than Chrome when you close the browser. In addition to automatically deleting cookies, Edge may delete your browsing history and cached data when you exit.
Start by clicking the three-dot icon in the top-right corner of Edge (or press Alt+F) and selecting Settings. In the left menu, click on Privacy, search and services. Then scroll down to Clear browsing data and click Choose what to delete every time you close the browser below him.
Here, turn it on cookies and other site data, and optionally turn on Browsing history, Download history, Cached images and files, Automatic filling of form data, and Site Authorization so that Edge automatically clears them when you close the tab or browser.
For faster access, you can paste this link into the Edge address bar: edge://settings/clearBrowsingDataOnClose
How to set Firefox to automatically delete cookies
Like the other two browsers, you can set Firefox to automatically delete cookies and other browsing data. To set it up, click the three horizontal lines in the top right corner of Firefox and select Settings. In the left menu, click on Privacy and securityand scroll down to History section on the right. In the drop-down menu next to “Firefox will”, select Use custom settings for history.
Next, check the box for Clear history when Firefox closesand then tap on Settings…— a dialog box appears.
Control Cookies and site data (and uncheck anything you want to keep). Click Save changesand now Firefox will delete your cookies whenever you close the browser.
You can use these extensions to automatically delete cookies
If you’d rather skip adjusting your browser settings, try using an extension to automatically delete cookies. The Self-Destructing Cookies and Cookie AutoDelete extensions are solid options, and their installation works similarly across the three browsers.
Once you have installed the Self-Destructing Cookies extension, right-click on its icon in the toolbar and select Destroy cookies when you close your browser or Destroy cookies when tab is closed to delete stored cookie data whenever you close the tab or the browser itself.
Download: Select-Destructing Cookies for Google Chrome | Edge | Firefox (Free)
To use the Cookie AutoDelete extension to automatically clean cookies, click on its icon in the toolbar, then click on Automatic cleaning disabled button to turn on automatic deletion.
Automatic cookie deletion also offers several customizable options for managing cookie data, all located in the Settings menu. You’ll see six auto-clean options, each with a checkbox:
- Enable automatic cleaning
- Enable automatic cleanup for loose/discarded cards
- Enable cleanup on domain change
- Enable Greylist cleanup on browser restart
- Clear cookies and other site data from open tabs at startup
- Clear all expired cookies
Most of these settings are self-explanatory, but if you need more information, just click on the question marks next to each option and open the Documentation tab for details. The Enable automatic cleaning For example, this feature clears data whenever you close a tab, restart your browser, or change domains.
Download: Automatic cookie deletion for Google Chrome | Firefox | Edge (Free)