Turn on your iPhone’s browser cookies in a few simple steps
Cookies—small files sent to your device with details about your visit to specific sites—are enabled by default in Safari on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. However, if the features of a website weren’t working correctly or you received an error message about cookies, you may have disabled them in your settings. In this wikiHow article, we’ll teach you how to allow cookies in Safari (as well as Google Chrome and Firefox), plus show you what to do if cookies aren't working properly.
Steps
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Open Safari and click the Safari menu. While Safari is open, you'll see the "Safari" option at the top-left corner of your Mac's screen, just to the right of the Apple logo. Clicking on “Safari” will cause a drop-down menu to appear. [1] X Research source
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Select Settings… from the drop-down menu. You’ll see the “Settings…” option near the top of the menu, under “Safari Extensions…”.Advertisement
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Click the Advanced tab. At the top of the Settings window, you’ll see a row of different tabs, with “Advanced” at the far right end of the row. Selecting “Advanced” will bring you to a menu that lets you adjust Safari’s privacy settings.
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Remove the checkmark from “Block all cookies.” As long as this option is not selected (meaning there’s no blue checkmark in the box), Safari will save cookies from websites and third parties to your Mac.
- You can always re-select the “Block all cookies” option if you want Safari to start blocking cookies later.
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Allow tracking cookies (optional). Some cookies are placed on your Mac by advertisers who want to track your browsing activity. If you want to allow these cookies, you can remove the checkmark from "Prevent cross-site tracking," which is located in the “Privacy” tab of the Settings window.
- In most cases, you'll probably want to leave the checkmark for this option to preserve your privacy. However, if websites aren't loading properly or you can't use the features of certain sites, you may need to disable it.
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Open your Settings app. This is the gray gear icon on your Home screen (or in your app list). [2] X Research source
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Scroll down and tap Safari . You may need to search, since it’s further down in the 5th group of settings. Once you tap the “Safari” option, a list of settings for the Safari app will appear [3] X Research source
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Scroll down and tap the “Advanced” option. The toggle that blocks or unblocks cookies is located under Safari’s advanced settings. You’ll find the “Advanced” tab at the very bottom of the Safari settings page.
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Tap the green "Block All Cookies" switch . If this switch is on (green), cookies are blocked. Tapping the switch will unblock cookies again, allowing them in Safari on your iPhone or iPad. [4] X Research source
- If the switch is already off (meaning cookies are allowed), it’ll be grey—so you don’t have to change anything.
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Allow tracking cookies (optional). Some cookies are placed on your iPhone or iPad by advertisers who want to track your browsing across websites. If you want to allow these types of cookies, toggle the "Prevent Cross-Site Tracking" switch to the Off (white) position. This switch is located on the main Safari settings page (not under Advanced).
- In most cases, you'll probably want to leave this switch on, as this protects your privacy. However, if websites aren't loading correctly or you can’t use features of specific sites, you can enable this option and see if it resolves the problem.
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Fix the error "Cookie functionality is disabled on your browser." This error often pops up when you try to use certain website features or try to sign a document in your browser. If you've already enabled cookies but still see this error, try allowing third-party cookies: [5] X Research source
- Mac: Click the Safari menu, select Settings… , click Privacy , and then remove the checkmark from "Prevent cross-site tracking."
- iPhone/iPad: Open your Settings , tap Safari , and then toggle the "Prevent Cross-Site Tracking" switch to the Off (grey) position.
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Turn off private browsing mode. Even if you've enabled cookies, they won't work while you're browsing privately. To disable private browsing mode:
- Mac computer:
- First, check to ensure private browsing is not always set to turn on—click the Safari menu, select Settings… , click General , and click the "Safari opens with" menu. [6] X Research source If "A new private window" is selected, choose A new window instead.
- To open a new window, just close the currently open Safari window, click the File menu, and then select New Window .
- iPhone/iPad: Open Safari and tap the overlapping squares at the bottom. [7] X Research source Tap the “Tab Groups” option at the bottom (which looks like three blue bullet points and lines), select (number of) Tabs , and then tap Done .
- Mac computer:
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Clear your cookies. Sometimes, old cookies will stay on your computer, phone, or tablet and cause strange errors to appear on websites, so they can't save the newer version of the cookie. Clearing your cookies will log you out of websites you're signed in to, but it should resolve most cookie problems.
- Mac: Click the Safari menu, click Settings… , click Privacy , click Manage Website Data , and then click Remove All .
- iPhone/iPad: Open Settings , tap Safari , tap Advanced , select Website Data , and then tap Remove All Website Data . [8] X Research source
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Open Google Chrome and click the Chrome menu. You’ll see the “Chrome” option on the top left corner of your screen, next to the Apple logo (assuming you’re on a Mac). From there, you’ll see a drop-down menu appear.
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Select Settings… → Privacy and security . Click on the “Settings…” option in the drop-down menu, and a new tab will open in Chrome with settings options. In the sidebar on the left side of the screen, go to the “ Privacy and security ” settings page.
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Click the “Allow third-party cookies” option. If that option is filled in with a blue circle, you’ve successfully selected and enabled cookies in Google Chrome on your Mac!
- Alternatively, you can choose to block third-party cookies only while in Incognito mode or block them altogether.
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Open Mozilla Firefox and click the Firefox menu. The “Firefox” option is located in the top left corner of your screen, next to the Apple logo (on a Mac). From there, you’ll see a drop-down menu appear.
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Select Settings… → Privacy & Security . Click on the “ Settings… ” option in the drop-down menu, and a new tab will open in Firefox with settings options. In the sidebar on the left side of the screen, go to the “ Privacy & Security ” settings page.
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Select the privacy option you want under “Browser Privacy.” There are three main privacy options: Standard, Strict, or Custom. The “ Standard ” option automatically allows first-party cookies while blocking third-party cookies across sites; in most cases, you can leave this active. If you want to allow all cookies, do the following:
- Select the “ Custom ” Browser Privacy option.
- Uncheck the “ Cookies ” box under “Custom.” This will allow all cookies in Firefox, including third-party ones.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionHow do I enable cookies in Safari?Community AnswerYou can go to Safari, and click on preferences. Then, you click on "privacy," where you can select a “cookies and website data” option. You need to choose the "always allow" option.
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QuestionWhat do I do if I don't have the "Always allow" button, only the "Block all cookies" or "Manage data"?Community AnswerI found that I had to uncheck "Website tracking" - then everything worked fine.
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QuestionWhat do I do if I have allow cookies selected and I still get messages that I must enable cookies?Community AnswerYou have to uncheck “Prevent cross-site tracking” as well as unchecking “Block all cookies”. Then it will work. This is the same on your phone too.
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Tips
- Enabling cookies can often allow you to view and have access to a larger number of websites that require cookies in order to function or display properly.Thanks
- Despite their poor reputation, cookies aren't inherently malicious.Thanks
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References
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/manage-cookies-and-website-data-sfri11471/mac
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/105082
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/105082
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/105082
- ↑ https://support.ewu.edu/support/solutions/articles/10000057364-how-do-i-disable-prevent-cross-site-tracking-in-safari-
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/use-private-browsing-ibrw1069/mac
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203036
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/105082
About This Article
Article Summary
X
1. Open Safari.
2. Click the Safari
menu
3. Click Preferences...
.
4. Click the Privacy
tab.
5. Remove the checkmark from "Block all cookies."
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 596,025 times.
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