Are you sick of cookie alerts? If you spend a lot of time online, you might also spend a lot of time agreeing, customising or closing cookie notifications. If you’re tired of these cookie alerts, or cookies in general, there is something you can do about them.
What are cookie alerts?
Cookie alerts, or cookie pop-ups, are notifications that appear when you visit a website for the first time. These notifications usually inform you that the website is using cookies, and by continuing to use the website, you consent to cookies being used.
These cookies have different purposes depending on the website in question. Sometimes they can be collecting login information that a website will need to remember, in order to keep you signed in to an account. Some cookies are used to remember what you’ve put in your basket, if you’re shopping online. Others are to track how you use the website, such as what you click on and which pages you visit.
The notifications are designed to inform users that the websites are collecting information about their visit, and were designed to allow for more transparency between the website and the user. That way, whenever someone visits a new website, they know exactly what information is being collected, and how it is being used.
However, repeated pop-ups can be frustrating for users. The majority of websites rely on them to function, and many can’t offer customisation options. If you don’t consent to the kinds of cookies that are being used on a website, usually the only option you have is to leave.
There are currently ongoing discussions in the UK about discontinuing these notifications; however, there are ways to reduce cookie alerts in the meantime.
How can I cancel cookie alerts?
There are a couple of different methods you can use in order to keep those cookie notifications and banners off your webpages. One option is to use an extension. Our favourite pick for cookie management is Consent-O-Matic.
This clever little extension doesn’t just block the banners from appearing; instead it lets you set your preferences for cookies once, and it’ll apply those preferences to every website you come across. On occasions where that isn't possible, they’ll always disagree to as many cookies as they can.
If you don’t get on with Consent-O-Matic, then try ‘I don’t care about cookies’ (https://www.i-dont-care-about-cookies.eu/). This extension blocks or hides the majority of cookie alerts and pop-ups. In cases where you have to agree to the policy to use the website, ‘I don’t care about cookies’ will also do that for you.
Can I just block the cookies?
We wouldn’t recommend blocking all cookies - remember, a lot of them are saving your shopping cart and remembering your login details. If you don’t mind the banners, but you want to block as many cookies as possible, you can alter cookie settings within your web browser.
The majority of web browsers allow you to switch between allowing all cookies, blocking third-party cookies, and blocking all cookies. If you’d like to find out how to block cookies, there’s a helpful guide here.
Tweet us @TranscenditUK
