How to enable cookies on an iPad to streamline and personalize your web browsing experience
- Cookies are files that save information about web sites you visit. Cookies are designed to streamline your web browsing experience.
- Your iPad's Safari browser has enabled cookies by default, but if you've turned cookies off, it's easy to turn them back on.
- If you're using a third-party web browser, cookies are enabled by default and for most apps, cookies generally can't be turned off.
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First the good news: If you've never turned cookies off on your iPad, they're probably already enabled. Apple enables cookies in Safari (the default iPad web browser) by default, so there's no extra steps required.
But if you (or someone else) has ever turned off your browser's cookies on an iPad, they're easy to re-enable.
Cookies, of course, are files that web pages save to your computer (or, in this case, iPad) which usually store preferences and personal settings. In other words, cookies help web pages remember that you're logged in, what's in your shopping cart, your preferred language, and other details that make your browsing experience more convenient and personalized.
We recommend leaving your cookies enabled, but some users with privacy and security concerns prefer to disable them, which is why they might be turned off now. You can follow these steps to turn them back on.
How to enable cookies on your iPad
1. Open the Settings app and then, in the list on the left, tap "Safari."
2. In the Privacy and Security section on the right, make sure that "Prevent Cross-Site Tracking" is turned off by swiping the slider to the left, so it's grayed out.
3. In the same section, ensure that "Block All Cookies" is also turned off by swiping the slider to the left.
4. Close the Settings app. Your cookies are now enabled.
How to enable cookies in other browsers on your iPad
If you have installed third-party browsers on your iPad such as Firefox or Chrome, there's nothing special you need to do to enable cookies: they're always enabled by default, and in fact they generally can't be turned off in those apps.
If you are using a browser like Firefox or Chrome and want to browse without cookies, you should use Chrome's Incognito mode or Firefox's "Private" mode. When you return to the browser's standard mode, you will automatically re-enable cookies.
Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:
How to add bookmarks on an iPad, and sync them across all of your Apple devices
How to backup your iPad to iCloud or a computer
How to clear your browsing history on an iPad in three different ways
How to delete apps on your iPad (and save their data)