Where to find Safari's cookie settings
Safari stores its cookie settings in the Preferences menu, which you reach from the Safari menu bar at the top of your screen. Open Safari, then click Safari in the top menu, and select Preferences (or press Command + comma as a shortcut). A window will open with several tabs across the top — you need the Privacy tab.
The Privacy tab shows you what Safari does with cookies and tracking data. This is where you control whether websites can store cookies on your Mac. The setting you're looking for is labeled Cookies and website data, and it has a dropdown menu with three options that determine what Safari accepts.
Key Takeaways
- Safari's cookie settings live in Preferences under the Privacy tab, accessible from the Safari menu at the top of your screen.
- The three cookie options are "Always allow", "Allow from websites I visit", and "Never allow" — most websites work with the middle option.
- If a website won't load properly or keeps asking you to log in, enabling cookies is often the fix.
- You can allow cookies globally or block them from specific websites using the same Privacy settings.
The three cookie settings and what each one does
Always allow means Safari accepts cookies from every website, including ones you haven't visited yet. This is the most permissive setting and lets websites track your activity across the internet more easily, but it also means fewer websites will have loading problems.
Allow from websites I visit is the middle ground — Safari accepts cookies only from sites you actively navigate to, not from ads or tracking pixels embedded in other pages. This is Safari's default setting and works for nearly all websites while blocking some third-party tracking.
Never allow blocks all cookies. Some websites will refuse to work at all with this setting, because they use cookies to remember you between visits or to keep you logged in. If you choose this option, expect to log in repeatedly and encounter broken features.
How to turn cookies on if they're currently off
Open Safari and go to Safari > Preferences > Privacy. Look at the dropdown menu next to Cookies and website data. If it's set to Never allow, click the dropdown and select Allow from websites I visit. This is the setting that enables cookies while still blocking most tracking.
Close the Preferences window — the change takes effect when ready. The next time you visit a website that uses cookies, Safari will accept them. You don't need to restart Safari or your Mac.
Why websites ask you to enable cookies
Websites use cookies to remember information about you between visits — your login status, items in your shopping cart, your language preference, or what you've already read. Without cookies, the website has no way to know you've been there before, so you'd have to log in every single time and reset your preferences each visit.
Some websites also use cookies to track how you move around the site so they can show you ads based on what you've looked at. This is why websites sometimes display a banner asking you to accept cookies — they're asking permission to store that tracking data on your Mac.
Blocking cookies from specific websites while allowing others
You can keep cookies enabled globally but block them from individual websites. In Safari, go to Safari > Preferences > Privacy. Below the Cookies and website data dropdown, you'll see a button labeled Manage Website Data. Click it to see a list of every website that has stored cookies on your Mac.
Find the website you want to block in the list and click it once to select it. Then click the Remove button to delete its cookies. If you want to prevent that website from storing cookies in the future, you can also click Remove All to clear everything and start fresh, though this removes data from all sites.
For more granular control, some websites let you adjust their own cookie settings directly. Look for a link labeled "Cookie preferences", "Privacy settings", or "Manage cookies" — usually in the footer of the website or in your account settings.
What to do if a website still won't work after enabling cookies
If you've enabled cookies but a website still won't load properly or keeps logging you out, the problem might not be cookies alone. Try clearing Safari's cache and cookies for that specific site. Go to Safari > Preferences > Privacy, click Manage Website Data, find the website, and click Remove.
Then reload the website in a fresh tab. Safari will ask the website to set new cookies, and you may be prompted to log in again. If the site works after that, the old cookies were corrupted. If it still doesn't work, the issue is likely something else — try a different browser like Chrome or Firefox to see if the problem follows you, which would tell you whether it's a Safari issue or a problem with the website itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will enabling cookies slow down Safari?
No. Cookies are tiny text files — usually just a few kilobytes — and storing them has no measurable effect on Safari's speed. The performance difference between allowing cookies and blocking them is not noticeable on any modern Mac.
Is it safe to enable cookies?
Cookies themselves are not dangerous — they're just text files that websites read back to themselves. The risk is that advertisers and tracking companies use cookies to follow you across the internet. The "Allow from websites I visit" setting blocks most of this third-party tracking while still letting websites you actually use function normally.
What's the difference between cookies and tracking data?
Cookies are files websites store on your Mac. Tracking data includes cookies plus other information Safari collects, like your browsing history and IP address. The Privacy settings control both together, so enabling cookies also enables Safari to store other tracking information from websites.
Do I need to restart Safari after changing cookie settings?
No. Cookie settings take effect when ready. You can change them and then reload a website in the same tab without restarting Safari or your Mac.
Why does Safari keep asking me to accept cookies even after I've enabled them?
Websites show cookie banners because of privacy laws like GDPR in Europe, not because Safari is blocking cookies. The banner is the website asking your permission to use cookies for tracking and advertising. You can usually click "Accept" or "Reject" to dismiss it, and your choice is remembered by that website.