Cookie Manager – Browser Cookie Management Guide

New in BleachBit 5.1.0

The Cookie Manager lets you select which cookies to keep when cleaning browsers. Instead of deleting the whole “cookie jar,” you can preserve cookies from sites where you want to stay logged in while still removing everything else.

Supported Browsers

The Cookie Manager works with the following browsers:

  • Brave
  • Chromium
  • Firefox
  • Google Chrome
  • LibreWolf
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Opera
  • Pale Moon
  • SeaMonkey
  • Waterfox
  • Zen

There are two ways to open the Cookie Manager.

Method A — Right-click context menu

  1. In the BleachBit left pane, expand a supported browser (for example, Google Chrome).
  2. Right-click on the Cookies option under that browser.
  3. Select Cookie Manager from the context menu.

Method B — Preferences dialog

  1. Open Preferences from the application menu.
  2. Click Cookies in the left sidebar.

BleachBit Preferences showing the Cookies tab in the sidebar

BleachBit Cookie Manager dialog showing a list of cookie host domains with checkboxes

The Cookie Manager dialog shows the heading:

Select the cookies to keep when cleaning cookies across browsers.

The list displays one row per Host (cookie domain) gathered from all supported browsers that are installed.

Interface elements

Element Description
Search / Filter cookies… Type to filter the host list by domain name
Show Selected Toggles the list to show only currently checked hosts
Checkboxes Check a host to keep its cookies; leave unchecked to delete
Select All Checks every host in the list
Deselect All Unchecks every host in the list
Cookie count (e.g., 10 of 35 cookies kept) Running tally of how many cookies are marked to keep
Close Saves your selections and closes the dialog

Step-by-step workflow

  1. Open the Cookie Manager using either method above.
  2. Wait for the cookie list to load. BleachBit scans the cookie files of all supported installed browsers.
  3. Browse or search the Host list to find sites whose cookies you want to preserve.
  4. Check the box next to each host you want to keep. The counter at the bottom updates as you make selections.
  5. Optionally use Show Selected to review only your chosen hosts.
  6. Click Close to save your selections.
  7. Click Preview on the main headerbar.
  8. Click Clean to actually delete the cookies.

Tips and Best Practices

  • Close your browsers before cleaning. BleachBit needs exclusive access to browser cookie files. Cleaning while a browser is open may result in errors or incomplete deletion.
  • Start with a Preview. Use Preview before Clean to see exactly which cookies will be deleted.
  • Use the search box for large lists. If you have dozens of cookie hosts, typing a domain name into the filter box is faster than scrolling.
  • Protect localStorage and IndexedDB with the Keep list. Until those file types are supported by the Cookie Manager, add their directories to Preferences → Keep list to prevent accidental deletion.

localStorage and IndexDB

Only HTTP/HTTPS cookies are supported. LocalStorage and IndexedDB files, which function similarly to cookies, are not yet managed by the Cookie Manager. Support for those is planned for a future release.

Until then, to prevent BleachBit from deleting localStorage or IndexedDB data, add their directories to the Keep list in Preferences. Example path:

[...]/google-chrome/Default/IndexedDB/https_example.com_0.indexeddb.leveldb/

Relationship to the Keep List

The Cookie Manager and the Keep list serve related but distinct purposes.

The Cookie Manager works at the hostname level, letting you select specific HTTP/HTTPS cookie hosts to preserve across any supported browser.

The Keep list (found under Preferences → Keep list) protects entire file paths and directories from deletion. It is the appropriate tool for protecting localStorage, IndexedDB files, and any other files outside the scope of the Cookie Manager.

Both can be used together for comprehensive control over what BleachBit deletes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a cookie?
A cookie is a small file a website saves to your browser to remember information about you. For example, a cookie might store your login session, language preference, or shopping cart contents.
Why would I want to delete cookies?
Deleting cookies reduces traces of your browsing activity, removes tracking data collected by advertisers, and clears stale session data from sites you no longer use.
Why would I want to keep a cookie?
Deleting a cookie from a site usually signs you out and resets your preferences there.
Which cookies should I keep?

You may want to keep cookies for sites that you trust, regularly visit, and want to stay logged in.

Examples:

  • Email provider
  • Banking website
  • Social media site or discussion form
Can I be tracked without cookies?

Yes. Websites can use other techniques such as browser fingerprinting, localStorage, IndexedDB, ETags, and tracking pixels. Deleting cookies is one of multiple ways to reduce tracking but does not eliminate it entirely.

How do cookies show in the preview and cleaning log

Instead of showing “Delete” in the log, you will see “Clean cookies” followed by the filename containing cookies. There will be one entry for each supported browser. The log will not list individual cookies.

Does Cookie Manager separate cookies by browser?

Cookies from all web browsers are shown together.

Troubleshooting

Cookie Manager is not in the context menu
  • Verify you are using BleachBit version 5.1.0 or later.
  • Verify the browser is supported.
After cleaning, I am logged out of a site
Cause: The site’s cookie host was not checked in the Cookie Manager, or it appears under a variation of the hostname (e.g., www.example.com vs. example.com or .example.com).

Solution: Re-open the Cookie Manager, search for variations of the site’s domain, check all matching hosts, then clean again.

A kept cookie was deleted anyway

Cause: The cookie may be stored in localStorage or IndexedDB, not as an HTTP cookie.

Solution: Add that directory to the Keep list in Preferences.