Mozilla removed one of the available cookie control options in Firefox 44 effectively disabling the option for users to decide what to do with cookies that sites want to set on a per-cookie basis.

Firefox users had several options in regards to cookies ever since it was released to the public. Users could allow or block all cookies, configure exceptions for sites, block all third-party cookies, or configure the behavior to display a prompt whenever a site requests to set a cookie.

And it is that last option that Mozilla removed from Firefox 44. While it is likely that the majority of users are not affected by the removal of the feature as it was deeply hidden in the options of the browser, those who have made use of it are.

The reason for the removal, according to Mozilla, is that it is a feature that is no longer maintained.

The functionality was unmaintained, bogus and not really nice to use on today's Web. Yes, it would be better if implemented in an add-on, so someone could take care of it properly and interested users in the community could drive its future better.

Firefox installations in which users had had the browser configured to "ask me every time" were switched to accepting cookies after the upgrade to version 44 of the web browser.

Mozilla suggests that users who were using the feature previously install third-party cookie extensions instead, or rely on blocklists such as the Tracking Protection blocklist that Mozilla ships with Firefox's Private Browsing Mode.

We reviewed cookie extensions for the Firefox web browser recently, and users affected by the change may want to check out the available add-ons that improve cookie management in the browser.

An add-on replicating the exact functionality does not seem to be available at this point in time though, and the use of blocklists does not offer the same functionality as fine-grained cookie management which the setting offered.

The feature removal brings Firefox more in line with browsers like Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge which don't offer these kinds of controls as well.

Firefox-based browsers such as Pale Moon support the "ask me every time" cookie option, and there is no indication that it will be removed from browsers supporting it in the near future.

Now You: Are you affected by the change? How do you manage cookies in your browser?

Summary Article Name Firefox 44:"Ask me every time" cookie option removed Description Mozilla removed the "ask me every time" cookie management option in Firefox 44 and replaced it by an "accept" policy instead. Author Martin Brinkmann Publisher Ghacks Technology News Logo

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