The Tracking Foundation
Cookies are small text files that websites inject into your browser to remember your login state, your shopping cart, and your site preferences. However, they are also the absolute foundation of modern tracking capitalism. Every single click, page view, and ad interaction is logged via these files. While Chrome allows you to block “third-party cookies” (cookies from ad networks), the websites you actually visit (first-party) are still allowed to aggressively build profiles on you. If you demand absolute privacy and are willing to completely break website functionality to achieve it, you must destroy the browser’s ability to save any cookie data whatsoever.
How to Block All Cookies Globally
You can permanently sever the browser’s ability to write data to the local cookie cache via the Site Settings.
- Open the Google Chrome desktop browser.
- Click the three vertical dots (⋮) in the top right corner and select Settings.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Privacy and security.
- In the main window, click on Site settings.
- Scroll down to the “Content” section and click on Third-party cookies (or “Cookies and site data” on older builds).
- Under the primary behavior heading, click the radio button next to “Block all cookies (not recommended).”
An Amnesiac Browser
The change is instantaneous. Google Chrome will completely lock down its local storage cache. Be warned: This will fundamentally break the modern internet. Every time you close a tab or navigate to a new page, you will be instantly logged out of your email, your banking, and your social media accounts. Shopping carts will empty the second you click a new link. However, in exchange for this massive inconvenience, you achieve near-total immunity from persistent tracking, as websites are rendered entirely incapable of remembering you.