2026-10-26
Macinacookie: cookies shouldn't last forever
Macinacookie: cookies shouldn't last forever
If you don't know what cookies are, you're probably on the wrong website. If you do, Macinacookie might make your browsing a little more private.
8,928 cookies observed. Do we really need them all?
I opened Macinacookie and found 8,928 cookies observed. That doesn't mean they all need to be deleted, but it does raise a question: how many belong to websites I'll never visit again?
A website you open only once can leave a persistent identifier in your browser for months. Deleting it reduces the chance that the website can recognize the same browser using that cookie when you return. It won't make you anonymous, but it's a sensible bit of digital housekeeping.
One cookie at a time
Macinacookie is a free Firefox extension, also available on Android, that automatically deletes cookies after a configurable period of 1 to 120 days.
A cookie's age is measured from when the extension first observes it, not from your last visit to the website. You can set a time limit without having to clean up manually. Just remember that deleting some cookies may mean signing in again.
Cookies are useful. Keeping them forever usually isn't.