How to Disable Prevent Cross-Site Tracking in Your Browser

Cross-site tracking is when websites and ads follow you from site to site. They use hidden trackers (often cookies) to collect your browsing data. For example, a study found that websites have about 48 trackers on average. These trackers can collect your IP address, location, browsing history, and even the items you click on​. Many of them are run by big companies – about 30% of third-party trackers on sites come from Google​. Because this tracking builds a profile of you (often sold to advertisers like Google and Facebook​), it’s smart to block or disable it.

Cross-site tracking can feel like someone is watching you on every page. It’s like a person on multiple laptop screens, following you around. Trackers record info like your IP address, location, and clicks​. But you can stop this by adjusting your browser’s settings. Blocking trackers gives you more privacy and fewer targeted ads.

Most people want more privacy. For example, a NordVPN survey found 47% of users worry about being tracked by social media companies. Because of this, modern browsers now include tools to prevent cross-site tracking. We’ll go step-by-step through the top browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) on desktop and mobile. Follow these easy steps to turn on tracking prevention in each browser.

Why Block Cross-Site Tracking?

• Privacy protection: Cross-site trackers collect your data (IP, location, search history) across many websites​. This data builds a detailed profile about you, often sold to advertisers​. You may get followed around by ads or even targeted by hacks. Blocking trackers helps keep your activity private.
• Reduce unwanted ads: When you stop cross-site cookies, ads become less personal and less creepy. Without trackers, advertisers have a harder time guessing what you like.
• Better performance: Each tracker adds extra content to load. One report showed an average of 36 trackers per page (55+), which requires megabytes of extra data to load. Blocking them can make pages load faster.
• Clearer browsing: Many sites work fine without third-party cookies. Blocking trackers means fewer pop-ups asking to “Accept all cookies”.

In short, disabling or preventing cross-site tracking makes your browsing more private and secure. Below we show exactly how to disable or block cross-site tracking in each major browser.

General Privacy Tips

Before diving into browser settings, here are some quick tips we also recommend:

• Use private/incognito mode: This doesn’t save your history or cookies after you close the window. It won’t stop tracking completely, but it won’t store new cross-site cookies.
• Clear cookies regularly: Even with trackers blocked, some old cookies may remain. Go to your browser’s privacy settings and clear cookies and site data often.
• Use a VPN or Privacy Browser: A VPN hides your IP address, and privacy-focused browsers like Brave, DuckDuckGo, or Firefox Focus block many trackers by default.
• Install ad-blockers or tracker blockers: Tools like uBlock Origin or Privacy Badger can block additional trackers and scripts in any browser.

Now let’s configure each browser’s built-in options to disable or prevent cross-site tracking.

Disable Cross-Site Tracking in Chrome (Desktop & Mobile)

Google Chrome calls cross-site tracking mostly “third-party cookies”. You can block these in Chrome’s settings:

1. Open Settings: On your computer, click the three-dot ⋮ menu (top-right) and choose Settings.
2. Go to Privacy & Security: In Settings, click Privacy and security in the sidebar.
3. Cookies and other site data: Click Cookies and other site data.
4. Block third-party cookies: Select Block third-party cookies. This ensures all cookies from other sites (trackers) are blocked unless you add an exception​. (Google’s support page confirms this step: “select Privacy and security > Third-party cookies > Block third-party cookies”​.)

Tip: Chrome is also adding a feature called Tracking Protection that restricts third-party cookies by default​. Google plans to phase out third-party cookies completely by late 2024​. But for now, manually blocking them as above works.

On Android Chrome:

1. Open the Chrome app on Android.
2. Tap the three-dot ⋮ menu (top-right) and go to Settings​.
3. Tap Site settings, then Third-party cookies.
4. Choose Block third-party cookies.

This blocks cross-site cookies on Chrome Android as well. Now Chrome will stop most trackers, unless a site is on an allowed list.

Disable Cross-Site Tracking in Firefox (Desktop & Mobile)

Mozilla Firefox uses Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) by default. It already blocks many cross-site trackers for you. To check or increase this setting:

1. Open Preferences: In Firefox on desktop, click the menu ☰ (top-right) and select Settings (or Options).
2. Privacy & Security: Scroll to Privacy & Security. You’ll see Enhanced Tracking Protection.
3. Choose a strict level: Firefox Standard mode already blocks social trackers and cross-site cookies​. For extra protection, set it to Strict. In Strict mode, all third-party cookies are blocked. (Mozilla’s support notes: “ETP in Strict mode blocks all cross-site cookies”.)

Firefox’s built-in tracker protection uses the Disconnect list. By default it isolates third-party cookies so that they can’t be read by other sites​. Strict mode just blocks them entirely.

On Firefox iOS/Android:

1. Open the Firefox app and tap the menu ☰.
2. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security (or Tracking Protection on iOS).
3. Turn on Enhanced Tracking Protection (it should be enabled by default).
4. For even stronger blocking, choose Standard or Strict. The Standard level already “protects you from social media trackers [and] cross-site trackers”​. Strict mode blocks more content but might break some sites.

(Firefox Focus browser on mobile is an even simpler option, since it disables tracking by default without needing any settings.)

Disable Cross-Site Tracking in Safari (Mac & iPhone)

Safari has a built-in feature called Prevent Cross-Site Tracking. When enabled, Safari blocks many trackers automatically:

• On Mac (Safari app):

1. Open Safari, then click Safari > Settings from the top menu (or Preferences on older versions).
2. Click the Privacy tab.
3. Check “Prevent cross-site tracking”​.

• This tells Safari to delete cookies and data from third-party trackers unless you directly interact with those sites​. Apple explains this stops those hidden “Share” and “Like” buttons from tracking you across sites​.
• On iPhone/iPad (iOS):

1. Open the Settings app and scroll down to Safari.
2. Under Privacy & Security, find Prevent Cross-Site Tracking.
3. Turn it on (green).

• iOS Safari limits third-party cookies by default when this is on. (If you ever need a site to work with these cookies, you can temporarily disable it in Settings or use the “Privacy Report” in Safari to see what’s blocked​.)

By enabling Prevent Cross-Site Tracking, Safari uses Intelligent Tracking Prevention to keep many trackers from following you​. It will also show you a Privacy Report of trackers blocked on each page.

Disable Cross-Site Tracking in Microsoft Edge (Desktop & Mobile)

The new Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) also lets you block third-party cookies and has tracking prevention:

• On Windows/Mac:

1. Click the three-dot ⋮ menu and select Settings.
2. Go to Cookies and site permissions (or Privacy, search, and services in newer versions).
3. Select Manage and delete cookies and site data.
4. Turn on Block third-party cookies​.

• This blocks cookies from other sites. (Microsoft’s support says exactly this: go to Settings > Cookies and site permissions and enable Block third-party cookies.)
• Alternatively, you can disable all cookies by turning off “Allow sites to save and read cookie data”​, though this may break some sites. Blocking third-party cookies is a good middle ground.
• Edge also has a Tracking prevention feature under Privacy: set it to Strict for extra protection. By default Edge is on Balanced, which blocks known cross-site trackers on sites you haven’t visited​. Switch it to Strict or block all cookies for more privacy.
• On Edge for Android:

1. Open the Edge app. Tap the menu (three dots) > Settings.
2. Go to Privacy and security > Site permissions.
3. Tap Cookies.
4. Disable cookies (turn the switch off)​.

• This blocks all cookies on Edge Android. (According to a privacy guide, you set “Cookies” to Disabled to block them​.)
• On Edge for iPhone/iPad (iOS):

1. Open Edge, tap the menu (bottom), then Settings.
2. Go to Privacy and security > Cookies.
3. Toggle Disable cookies on​.

• Alternatively, on iOS you can go to Settings > [Edge] in the main iPhone Settings and disable “Allow Cross-Website Tracking” system-wide. (Edge on iOS uses WebKit and respects the iPhone’s privacy setting for cross-site tracking.)

By blocking third-party cookies in Edge, you effectively stop cross-site trackers. You can always add exceptions for sites you trust, just like in Chrome and Firefox.

Other Useful Privacy Settings

• Clear browsing data: After turning these settings on, clear your old cookies. Each browser’s settings have an option to clear history and site data.
• Disable third-party cookies only: Most browsers let you block only third-party cookies and still allow first-party cookies. This is usually enough to stop tracking while keeping logins and forms working.
• Use browser extensions: Extensions like DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials or uBlock Origin can add extra blocking of trackers beyond what the browser does.

Conclusion

Cross-site tracking is common but preventable. By following the steps above, you can disable or block these trackers in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge on both computers and phones. This will stop many advertisers from following you around. The official guides for each browser confirm these steps​. With these settings on, you should see fewer targeted ads and more privacy while you browse.