Search Support

Avoid support scams. We will never ask you to call or text a phone number or share personal information. Please report suspicious activity using the “Report Abuse” option.

Learn More

FF 45 (Mac) no longer saving selected cookies on quit

  • 9 replies
  • 1 has this problem
  • 1 view
  • Last reply by LX23

more options

Settings for Clearing History: only item checked is Offline Website Data

Was working through FF 44.0.2-- Temporarily reverted to that version to test and can confirm that it continues to work there.

Settings for Clearing History: only item checked is Offline Website Data Was working through FF 44.0.2-- Temporarily reverted to that version to test and can confirm that it continues to work there.
Attached screenshots

All Replies (9)

more options

-Duplicate screenshot posted in error.

- Forgot to mention that I deleted cookies.sqlite, which had no effect on resolving this problem.

more options

In your settings, you selected "Keep Until I Close Firefox. " Change it to Until They Expire.

more options

Been there, done that. Depends on the expiration date. On exit, keeps cookies I want removed.

Been doing it this way for years, until FF 45 broke it.

http://www.ghacks.net/2011/03/09/configure-firefox-to-delete-all-cookies-on-exit-but-select-ones/

Modified by LX23

more options

I would suggest a add-on that controls cookies.

Go to the Mozilla Add-ons Web Page {web link} (There’s a lot of good stuff here) and search for cookies.

more options

Thanks, already know about that, but would still like to find a way of continuing this natively on FF. If no one can offer a solution, will probably have to file a bug report with Mozilla.

more options

You can let the cookies expire when Firefox is closed to make them session cookies.

  • Firefox/Tools > Options > Privacy > "Use custom settings for history" > Cookies: Keep until: "I close Firefox"

You can create a cookie" "Allow" exception to keep specific cookies.

In case you use "Clear history when Firefox closes" or otherwise clear history.

  • do not clear the Cookies
  • do not clear the Site Preferences
  • clearing "Site Preferences" clears exceptions for cookies, images, pop-up windows, and software installation and exception for password and other website specific data
  • clearing cookies will remove all selected cookies including cookies with an Allow exception you may want to keep

You can set network.cookie.thirdparty.sessionOnly to true on the about:config page to make third-party cookies behave as session cookies that expire when Firefox is closed.

more options

Maybe I'm not understanding something or I missed something important in what you suggested, but as far as I can tell, there's nothing there that I'm not already doing. Plus, I'm not allowing third party cookies, so no need to make the about:config change for that.

Already posted above, been doing it according to this ghacks article for many years, and just now it stops working with FF 45.

http://www.ghacks.net/2011/03/09/configure-firefox-to-delete-all-cookies-on-exit-but-select-ones/

As I said, nothing checked in Privacy>Settings, except Offline Website Data (will uncheck to see if that makes a difference: no change after testing), and cookies are not checked with Clear Recent History. Just Cache, Active Logins (just removed that and tested: made no difference.) Browsing and Download and Offline Website.

What is very strange is that, since FF 45, all the Exceptions>Allow cookies are now removed on exit except for those from newyorker.com, which I have set to save because they contain my login cookie for that site. All the other cookies in Exceptions>allow disappear after quit and reopen. No idea why only the newyorker.com cookies are getting saved.

I have CookiesManager+ (unfortunately, no way with that to save cookies on exit) and not seeing anything exceptional about those newyorker.com cookies: a mix of session cookies and ones with nice expiration dates.

One of the URLs for which I want to have cookies saved on exit, but which are no longer saved are for those for my login to Apple Support Communities (discussions.apple.com.) Nothing exceptional about those either: a mix of session cookies and ones with healthy expiration dates. So no idea why only the newyorker.com ones are still being saved, while all the others get zapped. Maybe a clue to what's happening from the newyorker ones?

And still no idea what would have changed between 44.0.2 and 45 for this to stop working properly.

Modified by LX23

more options

Try to rename or remove the permissions.sqlite file in the Firefox profile folder in case there is a problem with the file.

You can use this button to go to the current Firefox profile folder:

more options

Thanks for trying to solve this, but nope, already tried that. Didn't help. (Already mentioned this in my second post.)

Any guesses as to why only the newyorker.com cookies are being saved?

EDIT: a bit of news: entered nytimes.com into exceptions>allow and those are being saved. Just can't figure out what it is about ones from apple.com that won't get them saved. Seeing a mix there of session only, but several with adequate expiration dates.

HOWEVER, just removed nytimes.com from exceptions>allow, quit and reopened FF, and they are still there. Something is very screwed up. Hard to understand why a Profile would become corrupt going from one FF version to another, but may try later from a new test Profile. As mentioned already, when I revert to the 44.0.2, this is still working just fine.

Modified by LX23