iOS 10.3 Safari cookies won't delete

Same problem here on three iPads, including a new 2017 I recently bought. Tried all of the suggestions here to no avail. Contacted Apple support and found out I'm basically stuck with it. They are aware of the issue and a senior tech even easily duplicated the issue on his end. After consulting several other senior level techs, he advised me that they are already aware of the issue based on numerous other users reporting it. Apple doesn't consider it a glitch and calls it "expected behavior". He suggested I completely reset my iPad to delete the zombie cookies already there and use private browsing mode from here on to prevent new zombie cookies. I tried that method for a day and decided to move on from this tablet. Thank goodness I'm not yet into week two of a 30-day return period. Prior to buying this iPad, my eighth, I was strongly contemplating the Galaxy Tab S3. I was very tempted to try it out. The fact that I still have three of the prior seven iPads to fall back on if I dislike it really pushed me toward the S3. However, I played it safe and decided on another iPad. The lower price also affected my decision. Now it appears the decision just settled itself. Between this and calendar widgets not working, I'm tired of "settling" with Apple, even at a lower price. I really miss the good old days where stuff like this wasn't so common.

Issue still exsists in 10.3.2. I have filed a bug report and have a case still open with Apple.

Really disappointed they haven't sorted this out. I thought Apple prided itself on security and privacy...

Thanks for your Firefox Focus suggestion, DFMA. I've been using it on my iPad Mini and will try it on my SE PDQ. I've been watching the replies to this topic and a thought struck me the other day...what if Apple has been allowing these persistent cookies to remain all along and it's only the gLitch in the iBS 10 matrix that's allowing us to see them now?

Just updated my IPad Mini 4 and IPhone 6s and can see that the 10.3.2 has resolved the issue on my iPhone, but not my iPad.

The funny thing is if I go into websites with rogue cookies on my iPhone now they are deleting as you would expect to see when clearing history.

This makes me think this is an apple issue and not the websites we are visiting.

I spoke too soon the first rogue cookie is backninmky iPhone. This relates to mobiles.co.uk. So it seems a fix is not there yet. Also read today iOS 11 is out in June so maybe there will be a fix then.

I'm on a iMac computer and also use safari. Recently I can't remove all stored data either!! Also my computer has slowed down!! So do I have a bug? I'm thinking of getting rid of all computers & devices and going back to pen, paper & books. Life was less complicated and I was healthier before!!

LollyDitt wrote:

I'm on a iMac computer and also use safari. Recently I can't remove all stored data either!! Also my computer has slowed down!! So do I have a bug? I'm thinking of getting rid of all computers & devices and going back to pen, paper & books. Life was less complicated and I was healthier before!!

You should post this in the appropriate Mac forum. iPhones and Macs use very different operating systems and troubleshooting for each is quite different.

Funny how every year about this time there are issues with iOS and devices? Just before a new product release or new iOS release ? I have an iPad Pro which last year was amazing, no need for a computer fastest ever and any other hyperbole you can remember, now less than a year later it's slowing up has issues with iOS, iMessage sometimes doesn't work etc etc, are we then to believe that my awesome iPad has lasted less than a year??? Or is there some credence to the conspiracy that apple puts things in the source code to affect the performance of older devices? Whatever it is they've lost me this year and I assume a few others, I had a oneplus one a few years ago but came back now I wish I never had so back to oneplus this year I think and also find an alternative to my iPad, a small drop in the ocean for them but better for me

Jiggy2 wrote:

Funny how every year about this time there are issues with iOS and devices?

Funny how, on any day of the year, someone is reporting issues with some iOS and devices.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias

I shouldn't need to change a setting, and have to *tweak* Safari to work because of the issue of "Delete History and Website Data" not working.

That is what beta testing is for.

[You have become better at correcting the first two letters in the first word of the paragraph... (723)]

Ok no need to change to private browsing as per your choice 😁 , use always block cookies in safari preferences .

But you cannot stop completely the storage of cookies .

Me use deleting entire contents of cookies folder from user library in my Mac , restart and emptying the trash , others not sure but that runs my system smoothly .

I don't think you understand what people are actually complaining about. Everyone knows the purpose of cookies. The issue isn't that they are stored or come back every time you visit a website. The issue is that they can't be removed at all, no matter what you do.

On the iPhone, the cookies are basically locked. Most of the cookies will read 'zero bytes.' It's an issue with Safari that Apple can't fix or doesn't care to fix.

You will find this issue with all devices. It's not Apple's fault. The blame lies with people who create websites and people like Google. There called Evercookies and they have have been around since 2005. Congress a while back complained about evercookies tracking everything people do online, calling it a privacy issue.

Why are cookies stored : if we browse a website the path is stored in caches and cookies folder of user library .

And if we enter into user library > safari folder > Local Storage here data of the system is saved , and in Databases > various links information is stored .

An example : To understand if we frequently visit same restaurant , the manager or steward remembers about us , and in the same way if we view websites the path is remembered that is saved in caches and cookies folder of user library .

I disagree, it is at least in part Apple's fault. We sacrifice a fair bit of control because of Apple's closed iOS. At the end of the day the cookies are only pieces of data. Within the realms of the phone iOS there is absolutely no reason why that data cannot be deleted.

I'm not saying the data won't be written back if you visit that site again, but at the point Safari is closed and you request the data deleted it should actually be deleted.

If sites are using tricks to make this data persistent then Apple is a multi-billion dollar company that could easily rectify the issue, but at this time it would seem they simply choose not to.

Unfortunately despite being a potential privacy issue the problem seems very low down on Apple's to-do list as there have been multiple updates all of which have failed to address the issue.