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How to Inspect Cookies in Your Browser

·By Emil Klitmose

Browser cookies are small pieces of data stored on your device by websites you visit. Inspecting them is easy using your browser's built-in developer tools — no extra software needed. Here's how to do it in the four major browsers.

Google Chrome

  1. Open the website you want to inspect.
  2. Press F12 (or Cmd + Option + I on Mac) to open DevTools.
  3. Go to the Application tab.
  4. In the left sidebar, expand Storage → Cookies and select the domain.
  5. All cookies for that site are listed with their name, value, domain, path, expiry, and flags.

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Open the website you want to inspect.
  2. Press F12 (or Cmd + Option + I on Mac) to open DevTools.
  3. Go to the Storage tab.
  4. Expand Cookies in the left sidebar and select the domain.
  5. You'll see all cookies along with their attributes.

Microsoft Edge

  1. Open the website you want to inspect.
  2. Press F12 to open DevTools.
  3. Go to the Application tab.
  4. Expand Storage → Cookies in the sidebar and click the domain.
  5. All cookies are displayed in the main panel.

Safari

  1. First, enable the Develop menu: go to Safari → Settings → Advanced and check Show features for web developers.
  2. Open the website you want to inspect.
  3. Click Develop → Show Web Inspector (or press Cmd + Option + I).
  4. Go to the Storage tab and expand Cookies.

What to Look For

When inspecting cookies, pay attention to these key attributes:

  • Name / Value — what the cookie is called and what data it stores.
  • Domain — which domain set the cookie (watch for third-party domains).
  • Expires / Max-Age — session cookies disappear when you close the browser; persistent cookies have a future expiry date.
  • HttpOnly — if checked, JavaScript cannot access the cookie (a security measure).
  • Secure — if checked, the cookie is only sent over HTTPS.
  • SameSite — controls whether the cookie is sent with cross-site requests (Strict, Lax, or None).

Deleting or Editing Cookies

In Chrome, Edge, and Firefox you can right-click any cookie in the list to delete it, or double-click a value to edit it directly. This is useful for testing how a site behaves without a specific cookie.

Understanding the cookies a site sets is the first step to auditing its privacy and compliance posture. Tools like Audit Cookies can automate this process and flag cookies that require user consent under regulations like GDPR and ePrivacy.