Firefox 91 can clear stubborn cookies

Firefox has just released version 91 of its beloved browser, and it brings a new feature called Enhanced Cookie Removal that creates a more secure method of removing website data from the browser.

Improved cookie deletion from Firefox 91

With its new way of handling cookies, Firefox Strict Mode can prevent hidden privacy breaches and let you see which websites are storing information on your computer. When you choose to forget about a website, Firefox will automatically delete all cookies, supercookies, and other data stored on your computer.

With traditional cookie deletion techniques, sometimes third-party cookies can remain in place when you try to delete them. This is because websites often use cross cookies, so deleting data from the site you have visited does not necessarily delete all of the data it has stored.

With this new Firefox method, all of a website’s cookies are stored in a single “cookie jar”, and when you empty that jar all data is deleted, even those pesky cross cookies.

Without this functionality, a site could use the cross cookie to track you through another website, even if you have deleted their cookie. With it, all cookies are deleted, preventing future tracking (until you visit again and receive more cookies). Of course, you still have the option of completely blocking cookies, if you really want to lock things down.

How to use improved cookie deletion

To take advantage of this new form of cookie deletion, you must download Firefox 91. Once installed, turn on Strict Tracking Protection enabled in settings. To activate, click on the Shield next to any website. From there, click on “Protection Settings”. Then, under Enhanced Tracking Protection, select “Strict”.

Once you have activated strict mode, Firefox will start placing cookies in “jars” rather than saving them in specific domains. If you want to completely remove data from a site, right-click a website on your history page, then click “Forget this site.”

When you delete a site in this way, you will be able to completely delete all cookies, which will create a more secure experience for you.