Are cookies safe?
Cookies are not programs and cannot infect your device or read your files. The real issue with cookies is privacy, not security — and it is manageable.
What cookies cannot do
A cookie is just a small piece of text. It cannot execute code, install anything, carry a virus, or access files on your computer. Deleting cookies will never harm your device — at worst you get logged out of some sites.
The real risk: privacy and profiling
The genuine concern is tracking. Advertising cookies let companies build detailed profiles of your browsing across many sites, which can feel invasive and, if mishandled, end up in data breaches or sold on. That is a privacy and data-protection problem, not malware.
There are narrower security edge cases — session cookies stolen over an insecure connection, or cross-site scripting — but these are the website's responsibility to prevent (HTTPS, Secure and HttpOnly flags), not something you catch from a normal cookie.
Staying in control
Reject non-essential cookies on banners, clear cookies periodically, block third-party cookies in your browser, and use private windows for one-off visits. To see exactly what a site stores about you, scan it.
Cookies like this
Scan any website and we'll list every cookie it sets — categorised, with the ones that load before consent flagged.
Related guides
General information to help you understand cookies — not legal advice.