All About Cookies

THE PLAIN-LANGUAGE PRIVACY GUIDE

Cookies explained.
No legalese.

Learn what websites remember about you, what actually matters for your privacy, and how to take control in the browser you use.

Show me how to manage cookies Start with the basics →

THE 30-SECOND ANSWER

A cookie is a small piece of text a website asks your browser to remember.

Cookies keep you signed in, remember your preferences, and hold your shopping cart. Some also follow activity across sites to build an advertising profile. They are not programs and cannot run code on your device.

TAKE CONTROL

What do you want to do?

Choose a goal. We’ll give you the short answer first, then the details if you want them.

03

Understand a consent banner

Know what “legitimate interest,” “partners,” and each cookie category mean.

Decode the choices →

QUICK GUIDE

Clear cookies in your browser

Select your browser for a quick desktop route to its cookie controls.

Full Chrome guide: desktop, Android, and iPhone/iPad

Chrome · Desktop

DesktopAndroidiPhone & iPad

Clearing cookies can sign you out and reset preferences. For one broken site, try deleting only that site’s data first.

  1. 1

    Open the three-dot menu.

  2. 2

    Choose Delete browsing data.

  3. 3

    Choose the time range and select the cookie/site-data category. Deselect other categories you want to keep.

  4. 4

    Review your choices, then confirm deletion.

PRIVACY, WITHOUT PANIC

Not all cookies deserve the same treatment.

Blocking every cookie can break logins, carts, and preferences. A better default is to keep essential first-party cookies and limit cross-site tracking.

Read the privacy guide
Essential

Sign-in, security, shopping carts

Usually keep
Preference

Language, region, display settings

Your choice
Analytics

How visitors use a website

Review
Advertising

Profiles and cross-site targeting

Limit

LEARN THE ESSENTIALS

Popular cookie guides

View all guides →
COOKIE BASICS · 3 MIN

Session vs. persistent cookies: what changes?

How cookie lifetimes work—and why closing your browser may not remove them.

Read guide → PRIVACY · 3 MIN

First-party and third-party cookies

The distinction that matters most for understanding online tracking.

Read guide → SECURITY · 3 MIN

Can someone steal your cookies?

What session hijacking is and the practical steps that reduce the risk.

Read guide →