Brave Browser iOS fails to clear **eaff.com** plus 2 other cookies

Description of the issue:

NOTE: Settings listed in Additional Information section, herein. Including:

Cookies and Site Data switch is ENABLED

Test:

Start Brave Browser iOS on iPhone. Close all Tabs (even if only 1 Tab).

Go to Settings > Brave Shields & Privacy > CLEAR PRIVATE DATA (section)

Click Clear Data Now button; and then Yes, Delete button

Go to Settings > Brave Shields & Privacy > Manage Website Data

3 cookies are ALWAYS listed:

eaff.com
grammarly.com
uphold.com

How [often] can this issue be reproduced?

Every time.

Expected result:

When Clear Data Now button is clicked, all cookies would be removed until visiting websites specific to the 3 cookies.

Brave Version( check About Brave):

Brave Browser iOS v1.35.1 (22.2.10.16)

Mobile Device details

iPhone iOS 14.8.1

Additional Information:

SETTINGS

Settings > Brave Shields & Privacy > BRAVE SHIELDS GLOBAL DEFAULTS (switches)

  • Block Cross-Site Trackers ENABLED
  • Block Scripts DISABLED
  • Block Cookies DISABLED

Settings > Brave Shields & Privacy > CLEAR PRIVATE DATA (switches)

  • Browsing History ENABLED
  • Cache ENABLED
  • Cookies and Site Data ENABLED
  • Saved Logins ENABLED
  • Downloaded files ENABLED
  • Recent Search Data ENABLED

Settings > Brave Shields & Privacy > Manage Website Data

The Manage Website Data window is where the list of cookies will show.

Settings > Brave Shields & Privacy > OTHER PRIVACY SETTINGS (switches)

  • Private Browsing Only ENABLED
  • Block Popups ENABLED

Settings > DISPLAY >

  • Appearance: Light
  • New Tab Page > Show Background Images: DISABLED
  • Show Tabs Bar: Never Show
  • Close Tabs: Manually

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About the 3 cookies:

eaff.com

East Asian Football Association

grammarly.com

There is a website. An extension exists for Chrome. An app exists in Apple Store, and includes Tracking.

uphold.com

–

No extensions are installed on iPhone, other than whatever are built-in by Brave developers.

@Mattches, @michal

When using Brave Browser for Mac OS, there are no cookies that are sticky (as in above, OP issue); and the the following cookies, when visiting and signing on to Brave Community.

Yet, when using Brave Browser iOS, visiting and signing on to Brave Community, no such Brave Community cookies exist in the Brave Shields & Privacy > Manage Website Data window.

–

1 Like

We investigated the issue. It’s our implementation of custom headers we use for certain partners.

For the record, all Brave users send the use the same cookie so this cannot be used for tracking individual users.

More info here

@michal ,

Forgive me, but what you wrote does not appear to address the OP issue re Brave Browser for iOS – and the 3 cookies that stick.

I only made reference to Brave Browser (Desktop), in order to help explain that the Brave Community website cookies, do not show in the Manage Website Data window aboard Brave Browser iOS.

(IOW Why do not, the Brave Community website cookies, appear in the Manage Website Data window?)

Yet . . . the 3 cookies (re OP) are sticky, and auto-magically reappear, despite efforts to clear them, is an un-resolved issue. And, is not a sticking cookie, something that effectively offers an opportunity – such as for the 3 websites – to track?

PS. I looked over your GitHub reference, and it, plus related, do not mention “cookie”:

“https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/1052”

“https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/8216”

IOW, parking permanent cookies in Brave Browser iOS, as some relation to establishing Brave Browser (for iOS) as a User Agent, is not mentioned, as far as I can tell, among those references.

There’s no tracking, this cookie is the same for all iOS browser instances.

On desktop and Android they use custom header values, on iOS we can’t use request headers due to Apple’s WKWebView limitations.

This cookie is basically the same as our javascript’s isBrave() handler you linked.
This feature is deprecated btw. I think the only site that uses the cookie approach is grammarly. At least I can trim down the list on iOS to this one cookie.
I think we can improve it so once you clear it once it will not re-appear, I will have more info on this issue next week.

2 Likes

We will remove those partnership cookies altogether from Brave. I’ve got confirmation that there’s not any active campaign on iOS using them.
Since iOS 1.36 is right out of the door this will probably land in build 1.37

Relevant ticket

1 Like

@michal ,

You are always so busy, I was sorry to bother you . . . but thank you.

1 Like

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