Neowin News Feed for: Cookies

Microsoft is killing something inside Edge but it's to improve user data privacy

Sayan Sen — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 05:52:01 +0000

Microsoft is improving user data privacy in Edge by moving on from the way it collects user-related browser and device data. Read more...

Ad execs warn Privacy Sandbox favors giants, leaving smaller firms in the dust

Paul Hill — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 17:16:01 +0000

Ad executives express frustration over Google's Privacy Sandbox implementation, stating it disproportionately impacts smaller companies. Read more...

Google Chrome on Windows will get a new layer of protection for cookies and passwords

Pradeep Viswanathan — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 14:14:02 +0000

Google Chrome is introducing a new security feature called App-Bound Encryption to protect Windows users from infostealer malware. This type of malware steals sensitive data like cookies and passwords Read more...

Google does a 180 as it will keep supporting third party cookies in Chrome after all

John Callaham — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 20:16:02 +0000

Google announced today that it will continue to support third-party cookies in its Chrome web browser after all, over four years after it announced plans to phase out support for those cookies. Read more...

Microsoft announces Privacy-Preserving Ads API for Microsoft Edge

Taras Buria — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 20:38:01 +0000

Microsoft has announced the Privacy-Preserving Ads API for the Edge browser. The feature aims to allow advertisers to show relevant ads without relying on third-party cookies and cross-site tracking. Read more...

Google will enable the Privacy Sandbox APIs in Chrome 115 starting next week

John Callaham — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 14:16:02 +0000

The latest stable version of Google's Chrome web browser is now available, and starting the week of July 24, it will begin enabling the Privacy Sandbox APIs for a percentage of those browsers. Read more...

Firefox 112.0.1 is out with a fix for the bug causing an unintentional cookie purge

Taras Buria — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 15:36:01 +0000

Following the recent Firefox 112 release, Mozilla pushed a minor update to fix its browser cookie problems. According to the release notes, version 112.0.1 fixes the bug causing a cookie purge. Read more...

Google Chrome 109 now available, last version to support Windows 7 and 8.1

Usama Jawad — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 19:34:01 +0000

Chrome 109 is the last version of the browser to support Windows 7 and 8.1, has an alternative implementation for third-party cookies, MathML, and a way for developers to monitor CPU utilization. Read more...

Microsoft hit with €60 million fine by France for not offering cookie opt-out on Bing

Paul Hill — Thu, 22 Dec 2022 19:08:02 +0000

Microsoft has been fined €60 million for not giving Bing users a way to reject cookies. French data protection agency CNIL said Microsoft should get consent to use ad fraud detection cookies too. Read more...

Digital IDs of 600,000 Indians were being sold for around $6 each on bot markets

Fiza Ali — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 15:38:01 +0000

NordVPN's study shows millions of people globally were hit by data theft in the past four years. Data stolen and then sold on bot markets included user logins, cookies, digital fingerprints, and more. Read more...

Brave 1.45, due in October, will block cookie consent notifications

Paul Hill — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 01:32:01 +0000

Brave will let you block annoying cookie consent notifications in an upcoming version of the browser. Users will be asked if they want to block these notifications at the browser's first start. Read more...

Google's plan to phase out third-party cookies by late 2023, pushed back to late 2024

Paul Hill — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 21:24:01 +0000

Google won't phase out third-party cookies in Chrome until the second half of 2024, the firm said. The company has received feedback from stakeholders who want more time to test Privacy Sandbox. Read more...

UK government plans opt-out cookie regime to reduce the number of banners

Paul Hill — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 20:44:01 +0000

The UK is thinking about changing laws around cookies to reduce how many pop-ups users see when they visit websites. Politicians are seeking an opt-out mechanism rather than an opt-in. Read more...

Edge 101 is here with a PWA hub and improvements to default profiles

Usama Jawad — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 05:52:01 +0000

Microsoft Edge 101 has hit the Stable Channel. This release contains a dedicated toolbar button for a PWA hub, improvements to default profiles, and the ability to resurface the certificate picker. Read more...

Google is changing how cookie choices work in Europe

Usama Jawad — Thu, 21 Apr 2022 17:30:01 +0000

Google is re-engineering its infrastructure for cookie choices across its services in Europe in order to comply with updated regulations. The changes have begun to roll out with YouTube in France. Read more...

Chrome is hitting version 100 today with cookie changes and multi-display improvements

Usama Jawad — Tue, 29 Mar 2022 09:00:01 +0000

Google Chrome version 100 is landing today with lots of improvements to cookie parsing, multi-monitor window placement, and a warning for websites utilizing unreduced user-agent strings. Read more...

Facebook and Google fined by France over cookie opt-out breaches

Paul Hill — Thu, 06 Jan 2022 15:40:01 +0000

Facebook and Google have been fined by the French regulator CNIL. It levied the fines because the companies make it too difficult to reject cookies. They now have to make it easier to reject cookies. Read more...

Chrome 95 is coming today, sets limits on cookie size and removes FTP support

Usama Jawad — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 16:29:45 +0000

Google Chrome 95 will be rolling out today. It contains enhancements to UA hints to differentiate various versions of Windows, removes support for FTP, and set limits on maximum cookie size. Read more...

Google delays its FLoC efforts "to move at a responsible pace"

Sayan Sen — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 16:32:01 +0000

Google has announced that it is slowing down its FLoC efforts "to move at a responsible pace" as the community doesn't quite seem ready for what Google is offering in order to protect user privacy. Read more...

Vivaldi 3.8 banishes annoying cookie messages on desktop and mobile

Paul Hill — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 18:38:01 +0000

Vivaldi 3.8 has been released today on desktop and Android. It now comes with a Cookie Crumbler that works using the same technology as adblocking lists. Cookie Crumbler is not on by default. Read more...

Google's FLoC advertising technology sparks antitrust investigations in the U.S.

João Carrasqueira — Thu, 18 Mar 2021 11:48:01 +0000

The United States Department of Justice is reportedly investigating Google's intention to get rid of traditional identifying cookies to make way for federated learning that groups users into cohorts. Read more...

Here's what you need to know about FLoC: Google's alternative to individual tracking

Usama Jawad — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 10:26:01 +0000

Google recently announced that it will soon stop individual tracking to preserve user privacy. But what does that mean exactly? We take a deep-dive around its proposed FLoC approach to find out. Read more...

Google says it will stop tracking you on the web via ads next year

Usama Jawad — Thu, 04 Mar 2021 09:14:01 +0000

In a surprise announcement, Google has stated that it will soon stop tracking your activity across the web as well as through its products. This is a part of the effort to build a privacy-first web. Read more...

Mozilla releases Firefox 86 with Total Cookie Protection

Paul Hill — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 16:04:01 +0000

Mozilla has launched Firefox 86. It comes with a new anti-tracking tool, support for simultaneous Picture-in-Picture videos, a better printing screen, and performance and stability enhancements. Read more...

GitHub gets rid of all non-essential cookies on its site, and by extension, cookie banners

Abhay V — Thu, 17 Dec 2020 20:16:01 +0000

GitHub today announced that it will no longer serve banners on its site for its cookie policies because it is completely removing all non-essential and third-party cookies from the website. Read more...

Chrome 80 arrives today with potentially site-breaking cookie changes [Update]

Paul Hill — Tue, 04 Feb 2020 08:38:02 +0000

Google releases Chrome 80 on the stable channel today. The new update includes changes to SameSite Cookies which bolster security but may also introduce breakage if a site hasn't been updated. Read more...

Google announces plans to phase out support for third-party cookies in Chrome

Paul Hill — Tue, 14 Jan 2020 19:28:01 +0000

Google has announced that it will phase out support for third-party cookies in Chrome within the next two years. It will work with other web bodies to develop viable privacy-friendly alternatives. Read more...

Mozilla switches on tracking protections for all its users

Paul Hill — Tue, 03 Sep 2019 15:26:01 +0000

Mozilla has turned on tracking protections for all Firefox users with the latest update. Just 20% of users were protected before today but the figure is expected to reach 100% when users update. Read more...

Opera Touch now has an option to remove cookie notifications

Paul Hill — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 16:02:01 +0000

Opera has announced a new update for its mobile-oriented Opera Touch browser. In this update, Android and iOS users receive a cookie dialog blocker which should make the web less cumbersome. Read more...

Firefox 65 launches with new online privacy controls, plus support for WebP and AV1

Paul Hill — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 00:16:01 +0000

Mozilla has released the next version of its Firefox web browser. In Firefox 65, users can better control their online privacy and gain access to newly introduced support for WebP and the AV1 codec. Read more...

Opera for Android 48 blocks those annoying cookie dialogs and makes payments easier

Paul Hill — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 12:56:01 +0000

Opera for Android 48 has just been released to the public. The new update brings a raft of useful features with it that will help with online payments, and blocking those pesky cookie dialogs. Read more...

Yahoo is warning users that their accounts have been compromised using "forged cookies"

Andy Weir — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 19:24:01 +0000

Yahoo explained that the source code it uses to generate cookies was stolen, enabling "state-sponsored" parties to gain access to users' accounts through the use of "forged cookies". Read more...

Here's what to do if Chrome isn't allowing you to view Microsoft websites

Usama Jawad — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 11:46:01 +0000

An issue that has recently popped up disallows users from viewing several official Microsoft websites on Chrome - throwing a "site cannot be reached" error, however, there's an easy fix. Read more...

Facebook will now officially track and serve you ads even if you don't have an account

Vlad Dudau — Fri, 27 May 2016 07:20:01 +0000

Facebook is changing its policies with regards to tracking and serving up ads to users on the internet. The company will now track you across sites even if you don't have a Facebook account. Read more...

Unencrypted cookies make WordPress accounts vulnerable over open networks

Brockman Davis — Wed, 28 May 2014 02:41:18 +0000

WordPress users could be left vulnerable over unsecured networks due to unencrypted cookies when logging in to the website, which means possible exposure of private emails, user settings, and more. Read more...

EFF uses a Badger to protect your privacy

Christopher White — Mon, 05 May 2014 02:31:59 +0000

The Electronic Frontier Foundation created an extension for Firefox and Chrome called Privacy Badger that looks for advertisers who ignore "Do Not Track" requests and throws them into a black hole. Read more...

NSA uses Google's PREF and other commercial tracking cookies to spy on folks

Vlad Dudau — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 10:34:59 +0000

The NSA has taken after companies that use cookies for commercial tracking, the best known of which is Google. The agency has used these same cookies to track and infect suspects' devices. Read more...

Google ordered to pay an additional $17m in fines for Safari snooping

Steven Parker — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 14:21:54 +0000

Google has been ordered to pay an additional $17m in fines divided up between 37 states and the District of Columbia for its data tracking practices in the Safari browser between 2011 and 2012. Read more...

Google rumored to replace cookies with anonymous identifier for ad tracking

John Callaham — Wed, 18 Sep 2013 14:01:49 +0000

A new report claims that Google is working on a plan to replace third party cookies to track browsing activity, in favor of an anonymous identifier that could give users more privacy controls. Read more...

Firefox third-party cookie blocking again postponed

Tim Schiesser — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 07:19:52 +0000

Mozilla has announced that they're working on something called the Cookie Cleaninghouse, which will be implemented into Firefox later and has delayed the blocking of third-party cookies by default Read more...