Brave deletes all cookies on exit, including the allowed list.

1

Description of the issue:
Brave browser deletes every single cookie when windows are closed by the user, even when the user wants to have a list of allowed websites.
This, in some cases, forces people to install unwanted extentions to do the job, in other cases people always keep all the cookies instead of periodically deleting them and it may represent a risk for people’s privacy and security.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Go to → brave://settings/cookies
  2. Activate → delete cookies and data on exit
  3. Below you can set some filters but this option is missing: “add websites whose cookies will not be deleted when tabs are closed”

Actual Result:
You can set an allowed list, you can also set a list that will be deleted on exit but you can’t set a list of websites whose cookies will be kept after you close Brave’s tabs and windows.

Expected result:
If you activate the feature to automatically delete cookies on exit and you have a list of allowed websites, their cookies should still be there when you restart the browser, or, even better, there should be an additional option that allows users to set a list of exceptions to the automatic removal, so that the cookies of a website in the exceptions list are not removed when tabs are closed.

Brave Version:
1.32.115

1 Like
2

Hi @Krw5,

I am using Brave Version 1.33.106 Chromium: 96.0.4664.110, Official Build (x86_64), https://brave.com/latest/

It is installed on macOS Monterey 12.1

I also have Brave configured to “Clear cookies and site data when you close all windows” to clear all unwanted cookies after each browsing session.

I have NO problems keeping all my wanted cookies with this setting enabled.

The problem may possibly be caused by the format used when you add cookies to your allow website list.

When you have set Brave to “Clear cookies and site data when you close all windows” scroll down further to “Customized behaviours” and then go to “Sites that can always use cookies”

When adding a website to that list it’s best to use the “wildcard” format for example for Amazon’s website the entry should be: [*.]amazon.com

You will most likely need to review all the websites listed in this section and edit them so that they are all using the "wildcard’ format.

Wildcards cover all the various subdomains of a website and since doing this all the cookies that I wish to retain are preserved and DO NOT get deleted when I have finished browsing and close Brave.

Hopefully this will fix this issue for you as I never have any issues with Brave deleting any cookies I wish to retain.

I also use an Extension called "Cookie AutoDelete
"https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cookie-autodelete/fhcgjolkccmbidfldomjliifgaodjagh

This is does exactly what the description states: Automatic Deletion of cookies after a user defined period of time. It supports “Wildcards” and “White Listing/Allowed Websites” to retain cookies you want to keep.

This extension works well for me and I use it to reduce the possibility of cross-site cookies being used to track me across the internet as I have it set up to delete website cookies after leaving a website.

It is up to you to decide if you wish to use an extension to further enhance cookie handling in Brave.

You may not want to use another extension and you may feel comfortable simply having Brave configure to " clear all unwanted cookies after each browsing session", but be aware of the possible cross-site tracking privacy implications.

3

Hi!

  • I activated “Clear cookies and site data when you close all windows”.
  • I went to Amazon website to get the cookie.
  • I scrolled down to “Customized behaviours” and added [*.]amazon.com to “Sites that can always use cookies”.
  • I closed Brave
  • I re-opened Brave
  • I went to “Customized behaviours” but the wildcard [*.]amazon.com disappeared. In fact the section called “Sites that can always use cookies” was empty.

Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks

4

Hi,

Have you also checked the “Clear Browsing Data” settings.

Click on History in the Menubar at the top of your browser window, in the menu that appears, scroll down to the bottom of the website listings to “Show Full History” click on that and in that menu on the left side you will see “Clear Browsing Data” click on that and another popup menu will appear.

There will be 3 sections: “Basic”, “Advanced” and “On Exit”
In each section ensure that that “Cookies and other Site data” is unchecked and then click “Save” at the bottom of the menu.

I overlooked that setting before.

However it’s still a good idea to Wildcard your entries in the “Sites that can always use cookies list” as that will cover all subdomains for a website you wish to retain cookies.
You can also manually edit existing entries via click the 3 vertical dots next to a listing on the right side of it, if you see a small Trashcan you will have to click on that to delete the website and enter it again in the Wildcard format.

If new entries in your “Sites that can always use cookies list” keep disappearing you will need to reset Brave.

Resetting Brave will retain all your Bookmarks and Passwords, NO important data will be lost.

It will simply reset most of the changes you have made
have made to Brave’s settings.

To do a Brave reset, go to Brave Preferences and scroll down to the bottom of the Settings, on the left side click “Additional Settings” at the bottom of that list click “Reset Settings” and click the onscreen menu “Restore Settings to their original defaults” and a popup will appear click “Reset Settings” and then close and reopen Brave.

You will notice that all website listings you added to “Sites that can always use cookies” have been removed, you will have to enter again websites that you wish to keep cookies for in the Wildcard format.

Ensure that “Clear cookies and site data when you close all windows” is enabled.

Check your “Clear browsing data” settings and make sure that in each section the option to “Delete cookies and site data” is unchecked in each and every section.

Do a full review of your Brave Preferences/Settings and check for any item that may have been reset to its default settings.

Once again don’t worry you will NOT lose any passwords or bookmarks or any other important data.

This reset of Brave shouldn’t take long to perform, the most tedious part will be adding all your websites back into the “Sites that can always use cookies” in the Wildcard format.

5

Hi,

If resetting Brave has not fixed your problem then the only really effective solution will be to export your bookmarks, passwords and other important information and uninstall Brave.

Then download a fresh new copy of the latest version and reinstall.

6

I have the exact same problem.

I followed the steps to untick “Cookies and other Site data” under History menu.

Still, my added addresses under “Customized behaviour / Sites that can always use cookies” is again empty after relaunching Brave…
And it’s a fresh install…

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