How to Check What Cookies a Website Installs on Your Browser

Chrome shows you every cookie a site sets, how long it lasts and who it belongs to. There's a quick view for anyone and a detailed one in Chrome's developer tools.

The quick view: from the address bar

1. On the site, click the icon to the left of the address (the tune or padlock icon).
2. Choose Cookies and site data.
3. Open Manage on-device site data to see which sites have stored data while you're on this page, including third-party ones such as ad and analytics services.

You can delete a site's data from the same list.

The full list: DevTools

1. Press F12 (or Cmd + Option + I on Mac) and open the Application tab.
2. In the sidebar, expand Cookies and click the site's address.

You'll see each cookie's name, value, domain, expiry date and flags:

• Domain tells you who set it. A domain that isn't the site you're on means a third-party cookie.
• Expires shows how long it stays. "Session" means it's deleted when you close the browser; others can last months or years.
• HttpOnly and Secure are security flags. Login cookies should have both.
• SameSite controls whether the cookie is sent when another site links or embeds this one.

The same Application tab lists other storage sites use, such as local storage and IndexedDB, which can hold tracking IDs too.

Seeing every site's cookies

To see what all sites have stored, go to chrome://settings/content/all. It lists every site with data on your computer, how much, and lets you delete each one or all of them.

What the cookies tell you

• Cookies from the site itself usually keep you signed in, remember your cart or store your settings.
• Cookies from ad and analytics companies track your visits, sometimes across many sites.
• A site's cookie policy often lists its cookies by name and purpose, which helps you match the names you see.

Blocking cookies you don't want

• Block third-party cookies under Settings → Privacy and security → Third-party cookies. This stops most cross-site tracking but can break some sign-ins and embedded content.
• Reject non-essential cookies on consent banners. Cookie Auto-Reject clicks "reject" on those banners for you.
• Use Incognito for sites you don't want remembering you. Its cookies are deleted when you close the window.