How To Disable Cookies on Firefox: Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS

If you’re one of those people looking for an anonymous browsing experience, you'll want to consider removing cookies from your browser. Keep reading to learn how to disable cookies on Mozilla Firefox, as well as how to block cookies with the best ad blockers.

How to delete Firefox cookies on your computer

Disabling cookies in Firefox on your computer is the same process regardless if you’re using a Windows PC or Mac. By preventing websites from storing cookies on your browser, you can enhance your online privacy experience.

Firefox default settings don't allow cross-site tracking cookies, social media trackers, cryptominers, and fingerprinting. Even though this disables most cookies, it doesn't block all types of tracking.

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to disable all cookies and cross-site trackers:

1. Open the Firefox browser and open the menu in the upper right corner. (The menu button might look like three stacked lines.)

2. Select Preferences.

3. Select the Privacy & Security tab.

4. Under Enhanced Tracking Protection, choose the Custom option.

5. Check the box next to Cookies and use the drop-down menu to select the types of cookies you want to block.

6. Choose All third-party cookies to block them.

Now all third-party cookies are disabled on your Firefox browser. However, you may notice websites start to break or not display content correctly.

Although this is normal, it may affect your browsing experience. You may want to temporarily enable third-party cookies again to view a specific website or keep the Firefox default settings to ensure a smooth browser experience.

If you're looking to delete cookies from your computer and keep other data, the process looks like this:

1. Open the Firefox browser and open the menu in the upper right corner. (The menu button might look like three horizontal lines.)

2. Select Preferences and open the Privacy & Security tab.

3. Under the History section, click the Clear History… button.

4. In the Time range to clear drop-down menu, choose Everything.

5. Check the box next to cookies and leave all other options unchecked.

6. Hit OK to clear all cookies stored on your browser.

How to enable cookies on Firefox

Although cookies can be invasive, they’re also sometimes necessary for websites to load properly. If you find disabling cookies leads to poor website performance, you may wish to enable third-party cookies. To enable cookies on specific websites, take the following steps:

1. Visit the website with your Firefox web browser.

2. Click on the shield icon located to the left of the address bar.

3. A drop-down window will appear that shows Enhanced Cookie Protection is on. Toggle the switch on the right to turn it off.

4. The page will reload and allow third-party cookies and trackers for the website.

If you want to enable Enhanced Cookie Protection again, follow the same steps but toggle the switch to turn it back on.

How to disable cookies in Firefox on your cell phone

Disabling cookies on your cell phone has a similar process to the desktop version of Mozilla Firefox. Enhanced Cookie Protection is the default privacy setting and stops cross-site tracking cookies, social media trackers, cryptominers, and fingerprinting.

If you want more strict settings on Android, here are the steps you need to follow:

1. Open the Firefox browser on your phone and open the menu in the upper right corner. (It looks like three dots.)
2. Select Settings.
3. Scroll down to Privacy and Security, and then tap Block cookies.
4. Select which cookies you want to block.
5. Exit to automatically save your new settings.

If you’re using an iPhone, follow these steps to change cookie permissions in your Firefox browser:

1. Open the Firefox browser on your iPhone and navigate to the website where you want to block tracking cookies.
2. Tap the shield icon next to the URL bar in the browser window.
3. A drop-down window should appear, toggle Enhanced Tracking Protection on.
4. You can also choose which types of tracking cookies to block: Advertising, Analytics, Social, and Content. Toggle each one on or off based on your preferences.
5. Tap Done to save your settings.

You may find some websites don't load properly when you block all third-party cookies. If this happens, you may want to turn on third-party cookies for a website to properly load.

How to block cookies on Firefox

If you're still concerned about cookies, there are additional ways you can block cookies to enhance your privacy. We recommend using an ad blocker or a virtual private network (VPN) with ad-blocking functions. The best ad blockers can block not only ads but online trackers as well, which helps you stay anonymous online. 

Here are some ad-blocking recommendations:

• Total Adblock: We listed Total Adblock as one of our best ad blockers for Firefox for a number of reasons, including its top scores for blocking trackers. It's also easy to use and works in the background, so you can set it and forget it. 

  Get Total Adblock | Read Our Total Adblock Review

• NordVPN: On top of being a privacy-forward VPN, NordVPN also comes with ad-blocking capabilities. With Threat Protection, you can stop web tracking, as well as block risky websites and clean up ads. 

  Get NordVPN | Read Our NordVPN Review

• ExpressVPN: ExpressVPN doesn't come with an ad blocker, but it does offer tracker and malicious website blocking. Its Threat Manager feature uses a constantly updated "blocklist" of known trackers and malicious sites to prevent your device from communicating with these servers.

  Get ExpressVPN | Read Our NordVPN Review

FAQs

Bottom line

Firefox has many options to control how cookies are used while using the browser. Even though default settings are turned on for Total Cookie Protection, you may want to utilize the Enhanced Cookie Protection feature to remove all cookies and trackers.

Alternatively, you can manually select cookie enablement for specific websites, which may provide a better browsing experience while maintaining your data privacy to a comfortable level.

Overall, Firefox offers a more privacy-focused browsing experience than other browsers. We've compiled a list of the best ad blockers for Firefox to help you make a decision.