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I want a cookie policy API in browsers. User has a master switch for: Ask Every Time, Yes, No, and Essential Only – then in the list of remembered sites you can

I want a cookie policy API in browsers. User has a master switch for: Ask Every Time, Yes, No, and Essential Only – then in the list of remembered sites you can toggle after the fact if your little heart so desires. That's it, that's all I want. Give me back my web please. Between cookies and user authentication I think the web is an actively user hostile place. We could and should have done better.

swiley 5y ago
lynx has this, it's one of my favorite features.
fogihujy 5y ago
This used to be a feature of most web browsers. Then they removed it.
gregoriol 5y ago
It actually kind of exists: in Chrome and Firefox, you can block all third-party cookies, which are mostly ads and tracking, and keep those from the site itself, which are likely more useful. This doesn't remove the stupid banners though.
- weird-eye-issue 5y ago
  Yeah sorry but this just isn't true at all. When the browsers started blocking or otherwise crippling third party cookies by default a few years back, lots of companies changed how tracking works to get around it. I know because I did it for a company I was working for. Instead of being able to use a simple tracking pixel hosted on a third-party server we changed to having websites embed JavaScript hosted by us so we could set a first party cookie. I don't think any respectable tracking uses third-party cookies these days because they just don't work well at all anymore.
- FabHK 5y ago
  Is there a halfway decent cookie manager for Safari (macOS, maybe iOS)?
aenario 5y ago
We used to have a Do-Not-Track header, which all websites promptly ignored. The hard part is having a legally-binding standard Given the current available API, I'd imagine the law-maker could have decided to write in the law 'consent must be collected through a javascript window.confirm() popup'
ixxie 5y ago
This. I am sure there are significant legal, technical and logistical challenges to overcome to do this, but are they insurmountable?

swiley 5y ago

lynx has this, it's one of my favorite features.

fogihujy 5y ago

This used to be a feature of most web browsers. Then they removed it.

gregoriol 5y ago

It actually kind of exists: in Chrome and Firefox, you can block all third-party cookies, which are mostly ads and tracking, and keep those from the site itself, which are likely more useful. This doesn't remove the stupid banners though.

weird-eye-issue 5y ago
Yeah sorry but this just isn't true at all. When the browsers started blocking or otherwise crippling third party cookies by default a few years back, lots of companies changed how tracking works to get around it. I know because I did it for a company I was working for. Instead of being able to use a simple tracking pixel hosted on a third-party server we changed to having websites embed JavaScript hosted by us so we could set a first party cookie. I don't think any respectable tracking uses third-party cookies these days because they just don't work well at all anymore.
FabHK 5y ago
Is there a halfway decent cookie manager for Safari (macOS, maybe iOS)?

aenario 5y ago

We used to have a Do-Not-Track header, which all websites promptly ignored. The hard part is having a legally-binding standard Given the current available API, I'd imagine the law-maker could have decided to write in the law 'consent must be collected through a javascript window.confirm() popup'

ixxie 5y ago

This. I am sure there are significant legal, technical and logistical challenges to overcome to do this, but are they insurmountable?