iMac OSX El Capitan 10.11.6
I use the Safari privacy setting always block. This is fine. It works.
But many sites e.g. banking, email etc, require cookies to be enabled.
When I use the filter – ‘Allow from current website only’ – my website data frequently displays a bombardment of cookies, many from sites I have never visited or been aware of, especially software analytics.
Why does this filter setting not function as it states?
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Chris
Not sure. "Allow from Current Website Only" should mean that you only get cookies for the domain of the page you are viewing. Embedded content from other domains should not leave cookies then. But you are saying that they are leaving cookies. I haven't tested it, but if that is the case for you then it isn't working as it should.
Perhaps there are embedded frames (AKA iframes) on the page? So you are actually viewing pages inside of pages? Seems that it still shouldn't save the cookies, but it could be why it is happening.
I prefer not to worry too much about this. Websites I use work much better with cookies, and websites I have built use cookies to provide a much better user experience.
Thanks Gary. In response, -
No, not viewing pages inside of pages. For example, when viewing on one site only, e.g. banking. But when I opt for 'Allow from current website only" it seems as though the cookie floodgates have been opened.
I do allow many regular sites to store their cookies but should I not be concerned then about the infiltration of cookies by other websites and analytics on my Mac?
You say "No, not viewing pages inside of pages" -- but how do you know? These iframes could be tiny or pretty much invisible., They may look like ads or images or little widgets of information that are just part of the page.
So why do you think you need to be concerned about these cookies? What is your specific issue with them? So what if the sites collect analytics data -- MacMost has Google analytics on this very page.
I did a video on cookies a long while back:
http://macmost.com/browser-cookies.html
Hi Gary
Many thanks.
I have no objection to cookies per se. I know they assist user experience.
My issue was with the specific functionality of the 'Allow from current website only' setting' which does not appear to filter appropriately. Wondered weather this function might be improved next time the operating system is upgraded? Incidentally whilst using this setting to post this comment, about 30 cookies were added to my website data list. Anyway, will check out the video. Regards, Chris
Chris: I can confirm that I get about 10-12 cookies when starting from scratch and going to a single page at MacMost. Inspecting them, they are almost all from Google's ads, which use a variety of methods to present relevant ads instead of random ones. I wish they kept it cleaner, but they pay the bills so I can't complain too much.
Hi Gary
Your replies and the MacMost site are very much appreciated.
Still wish the 'Allow from current website only' setting does what it says - but maybe I won't fret too much at all the invaders!
Thanks again for your time,
Best regards,
Chris