How to disable third party cookies

With the news that Firefox 22 will disable 3rd party cookies by default, you may be wondering how to do the same in your browser. Third-party cookies are those usually left by advertisers in your browser so that they can track and learn from your surfing habits when you’ve left the site.

If you’re not comfortable with this, or you’d rather just block them, here’s how in Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer.

How to disable third party cookies in Firefox

Go to the top left of your screen, click on the orange Firefox button and select Options.

Under the Privacy tab, deselect the box that says Accept Third Party Cookies and click OK.

How to disable third party cookies in Chrome

Click the Chrome Menu on the top right of the browser and select Settings. Scroll down until you see Advanced Settings and click it.

In Privacy click Content Settings and put a tick in the box Block third-party cookies and site data:

How to block third party cookies in Internet Explorer

Go to Tools near the top right of your screen in the browser tool bar. In the drop down menu, select Internet Options. In the Privacy tab, select Advanced.

Select Override automatic cookie handling and select the Block button next to Third Party Cookies

Most people shouldn’t suffer problems surfing sites after blocking third party cookies but if you do start experiencing problems with sites that were previously OK, then you may have to reverse the procedure and allow third party cookies.