How do I remove all the 'Do Not Track' cookies placed in Firefox after I uncheck 'Do Not Track' when they all keep reappearing after being deleted?
I initially checked "Do Not Track" in blind faith that this would work. I am running FF 14.0.1. I do not accept 3rd party cookies. I ask to be notified each and every time a cookie wants access. Prior to this, I would normally check my cookie list to eliminate ones I do not wish to keep, after I have closed the related tab. However, after checking the option, multitudes of 'do not track' cookies have appeared. They clog my table. I spend too much time tracking down unwanted cookies. In addition, after UN-checking the option, all those unwanted 'Do Not Track' cookies remain! No mater what I do to remove them, even to the excess of 'Remove All Cookies', none of them stay deleted. Even if I 'Remove All Cookies' and then immediately close FF, they ALL return when I restart FF again, even after total PC shutdown.
Chosen solution
Selecting the "do-not-track" setting will only make Firefox send a specific HTTP header (DNT=1) to a web server and doesn't involve setting cookies.
- Tools > Options > Privacy > Tracking: "Tell web sites I do not want to be tracked"
- http://browserspy.dk/donottrack.php
It is up to the server to do something with that request.
If you get persistent cookies that can't be removed then it is likely that you've installed an extension.
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I think the easiest way to handle cookies is to default to blocking them and make exceptions for the ones needed. I have the extension Cookie Monster which makes making exceptions more convenient. You can allow a site any kind of cookies or only session cookies. You will not have to remove cookies at all, since there will be no unwanted ones.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/cookie-monster/
Opt-out cookies added by an extension like Do Not Track Plus can only be removed if you disable that extension.
- Do Not Track Plus: https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/donottrackplus/
In this case, all the unwanted "opt-out" cookies were added when I checked the "Tell websites I do not want to be tracked" box in FF 'Tools-Options-Privacy'. When I saw what was added to the list, I unchecked that box; they all stayed. This is my problem. I cannot delete them; they keep coming back.
Chosen Solution
Selecting the "do-not-track" setting will only make Firefox send a specific HTTP header (DNT=1) to a web server and doesn't involve setting cookies.
- Tools > Options > Privacy > Tracking: "Tell web sites I do not want to be tracked"
- http://browserspy.dk/donottrack.php
It is up to the server to do something with that request.
If you get persistent cookies that can't be removed then it is likely that you've installed an extension.
My apologies to both of you for taking so long to reply; client work has kept me away from my home PC for too long. (Altho, that can be a good thing!) Anyway, I had completely forgotten that I had installed the program DNT+ (Do Not Track Plus); it was not in my add-ons, but did have an icon in the tool bar. THAT was the 'cause' of all the cookies, and yes, when I uninstalled it, all the extra cookies departed. Thanks for the 'heads-up'.