I often think that instead of completely blocking cookies, it would be better to accept them and then throw them away. Same with localStorage. Just store it temporarily.
Things not available when someone blocks all cookies
41–50 of 231 posts
Re: Things not available when someone blocks all cookies
#42Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is loosely what Firefox's temporary containers [0] extension does. Each tab (with options to control whether a tab spawned from a parent tab should inherit the cookie-jar context of the parent) gets its own temporary context. I don't recall whether it clears the jar on navigating away, but you can have that jar cleared when the tab is closed, and you can configure new jars when opening a new tab to a new site or…
How well does this extension work together with the Multi-Account Containers addon ( https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/multi-account... )?
It is designed to work with and supplement the Multi-Account Containers add-on. There a few things that are annoying and could use better integration. First, all the temporary containers show up in the list of containers you have created. Most of the time you can ignore that list, so it isn't a big deal, but if you need to configure a permanent container (and you have 100s of tabs open) the clutter makes them harder to find in the long list.
When you tell Multi-Account Containers to always open a domain in a specific container, Temporary Containers knows about this, but for some reason it prompts you for additional confirmation. And sometimes this prompt breaks sites the first time through, adding an additional iteration when trying to configure a container to work with a site that uses multiple domains. Other than that they work together fine.
I would also recommend the Cookie Quick Manager extension, which lets you manage cookies on a per-container basis. If you have been using Multi-Account Containers by it self, then any links you open from a page will open in the same container (say reading news sites from HN), and you likely have a bunch of cross-site cookies stored there. This extension will let you clear out any undesired third-party cookies that have gathered in the container. The UI is a bit unclear at first (which of these three trashcan icons scattered across the page delete the subset of cookies I want), so read the tooltips before clicking an icon.
Re: Things not available when someone blocks all cookies
#43> All I am using is some innocent localStorage and IndexedDB to persist user settings like the values of the sliders or the chosen color scheme. When you turn off cookies you're telling the browser not to let sites persist information. Otherwise, whatever goals you had in disabling cookies would just be worked around through these other technologies.
Thing is though, it can be worked around as long as js is enabled. Client side fingerprinting plus server side data storage and you get the same functionality in a roundabout way.
You don't even need JS: blocking cookies doesn't (but really should) disable the browser cache, which can reasonably reliably store information.
Note that you can't use the cache to work around browsers blocking third-party cookies because all the major browsers fragment the cache by site.
Re: Things not available when someone blocks all cookies
#44I often think that instead of completely blocking cookies, it would be better to accept them and then throw them away. Same with localStorage. Just store it temporarily.
That's basically incognito/private browsing mode.
Re: Things not available when someone blocks all cookies
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
I totally understand your point and I think I agree, except—well, the setting says “disable cookies”. It should do what it says. If the goal is to disable all persistent information, the setting should be called “disable persistent storage”. Of course, I also know why it’s not called that: a lot of people know what cookies are at this point, at least relative to the number who'd understand “persistent storage”. A tog…
“Cookies” is shorthand for “persistent storage” because nobody outside of web developers knows other methods exist. When people, laws, banners, etc. refer to cookies, they mean “any technology that stores information on the client side systems”. Whatever mechanism is used is irrelevant to the meaning/concept.
Well, there is the distinction between cookies getting sent over the network vs localStorage being (obviously) local. but of course, a website can work around this by manually sending localStorage data in requests, so it makes sense that if people want privacy, you block both. Sucks though.
Re: Things not available when someone blocks all cookies
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
I totally understand your point and I think I agree, except—well, the setting says “disable cookies”. It should do what it says. If the goal is to disable all persistent information, the setting should be called “disable persistent storage”. Of course, I also know why it’s not called that: a lot of people know what cookies are at this point, at least relative to the number who'd understand “persistent storage”. A tog…
“Cookies” is shorthand for “persistent storage” because nobody outside of web developers knows other methods exist. When people, laws, banners, etc. refer to cookies, they mean “any technology that stores information on the client side systems”. Whatever mechanism is used is irrelevant to the meaning/concept.
> “Cookies” is shorthand for “persistent storage” because nobody outside of web developers knows other methods exist
Most people don't know what "cookies" means either. We shouldn't make the problem worse by giving them false information.
Re: Things not available when someone blocks all cookies
#47I often think that instead of completely blocking cookies, it would be better to accept them and then throw them away. Same with localStorage. Just store it temporarily.
This is the answer. Blocking the APIs is just asking for a broken internet, and I have very little sympathy.
Furthermore, blocking the API is a detectable characteristic and increases the surface area of your fingerprint. It has exactly the opposite of the intended effect on privacy.
Re: Things not available when someone blocks all cookies
#48> All I am using is some innocent localStorage and IndexedDB to persist user settings like the values of the sliders or the chosen color scheme. When you turn off cookies you're telling the browser not to let sites persist information. Otherwise, whatever goals you had in disabling cookies would just be worked around through these other technologies.
I totally understand your point and I think I agree, except—well, the setting says “disable cookies”. It should do what it says. If the goal is to disable all persistent information, the setting should be called “disable persistent storage”. Of course, I also know why it’s not called that: a lot of people know what cookies are at this point, at least relative to the number who'd understand “persistent storage”. A tog…
How about —
Allow websites to store data on your computer
[ ] short-term
[ ] long-term or permanently
Some websites need to store data for some features, or to work it all. Storing data can also enable them to track you.
Re: Things not available when someone blocks all cookies
#49I often think that instead of completely blocking cookies, it would be better to accept them and then throw them away. Same with localStorage. Just store it temporarily.
I do this with Firefox's Temporary Containers. Every manually opened tab is a new browsing session, with no cookies etc. Closed tabs' data get deleted after 15 mins. Fantastic addon, and the usage is as seamless as it gets.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/temporary-con...
Re: Things not available when someone blocks all cookies
#50I often think that instead of completely blocking cookies, it would be better to accept them and then throw them away. Same with localStorage. Just store it temporarily.
That's basically incognito/private browsing mode.
Just wondering, is there a fully automatic way in e.g. FF to do this? Like right-click 'open in new private tab which automatically accepts all cookie dialogs' ?