Safari keeps logging me out of everything

[jlgolson]

Does anyone else have problems with Safari on macOS just randomly logging you out from everything?

I can't tell if it's just wiping out cookies or what but it keeps happening. It happened under Ventura and now Sonoma. Super annoying.

Just, one morning I'll sit down and have to log back into Google, Facebook, YouTube, Amazon, everything. It looks like the cookies are still there, but it acts like they're all gone. Anyone else experience this or have a weird fix?

Resetting Safari doesn't seem to help, but it's intermittent and has been going on for years.

 

[Nermal]

I can't help with fixing the actual problem, but I at least wanted to let you know that it's not normal. I've seen a handful of sites that lose their logins, but never at the same time, and the same issue occurs under Firefox so I'm pretty sure that it's the individual sites at fault. In twenty years of using Safari I don't think I've ever seen it lose all logins at once.

Are you using any of the "cloudy" features or is everything local?

 

[BotchQue]

I've been having that issue, but only in the last few months or so, and only on my iOS iPad (which I only use when my laptop runs out of juice), have to re-log into all my sites.

 

[jlgolson]

It happened again today. Had to log into Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, everywhere. I don't wanna reinstall everythinggggggggggg but that's probably my only fix since there's no easy way to wipe Safari away and reinstall it, right?

 

[bogdanw]

AppCleaner can now be used to delete user generated files of Apple’s preinstalled apps https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/
Not tested in Sonoma, “clean Safari” AppleScript https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/safari-issues.2354917/post-31383169

 

[Oh-es-Ten]

This has started happening after the 14.1.1 (23B81) update. Filed as FB13352804

 

[bogdanw]

Safari now stores cookies in ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Safari/Data/Library/Cookies/Cookies.binarycookies
When cookies are deleted from Safari’s menu, the database Cookies.binarycookies is not deleted, just emptied. Just as other macOS databases (TCC for example), Cookies.binarycookies can probably be corrupted, especially after macOS security updates.
Closing Safari, deleting Cookies.binarycookies and letting the latest version of Safari recreate the database might help.

 

[Boyd01]

Resetting Safari doesn't seem to help, but it's intermittent and has been going on for years.

I'm still on Monterey, so I haven't seen the behavior of getting logged out continuously. However, a few years ago, Apple made a change to Safari where all cookies and localStorage data gets wiped if you don't visit a site for 7 days. AFAIK, other browsers don't do this (or have a much longer limit). I find this annoying with sites like the electric company that I only visit once a month to pay my bill, since it forces me to login everytime, even when I check the "remember me" box on the site.

"Now ITP has aligned the remaining script-writable storage forms with the existing client-side cookie restriction, deleting all of a website’s script-writable storage after seven days of Safari use without user interaction on the site. These are the script-writable storage forms affected (excluding some legacy website data types):

Indexed DB
LocalStorage
Media keys
SessionStorage
Service Worker registrations and cache"

Full Third-Party Cookie Blocking and More

This blog post covers several enhancements to Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) in iOS and iPadOS 13.4 and Safari 13.1 on macOS to address our latest discoveries in the industry around tracking.

webkit.org

 

[interstella]

This happened to me last night on my M2 MBA running Sonoma. I opened Safari and found I was logged out of almost every website except Facebook. Reddit, online newspapers, MacRumors, YouTube, Google, Amazon, various website I use for hobbies etc. I was logged out of the lot. To my knowledge I've done nothing to cause this to happen. It was fine at 5pm Friday. When I next used it at 10pm I had to log back in to my sites. My M2 Pro Mac mini is, so far, unaffected.

 

[jlgolson]

Safari now stores cookies in ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Safari/Data/Library/Cookies/Cookies.binarycookies
When cookies are deleted from Safari’s menu, the database Cookies.binarycookies is not deleted, just emptied. Just as other macOS databases (TCC for example), Cookies.binarycookies can probably be corrupted, especially after macOS security updates.
Closing Safari, deleting Cookies.binarycookies and letting the latest version of Safari recreate the database might help.

So in Sonoma 14.1.2 (for me at least), I don't even have a com.apple.Safari container.

I do have ~/Cookies/Cookies.binarycookies, however — with a modification date of a minute ago. Maybe deleting that will help...

 

[bogdanw]

So in Sonoma 14.1.2 (for me at least), I don't even have a com.apple.Safari container.

I do have ~/Cookies/Cookies.binarycookies, however — with a modification date of a minute ago. Maybe deleting that will help...

I assume it’s ~/Library/Cookies/Cookies.binarycookies and yes, closing Safari and deleting that file might help.

The folder ~/Library/Cookies is empty in a system that had a fresh install of Sonoma 14.1.2. It’s probably still used on systems that have been upgraded from a previous macOS version or restored from TimeMachine backups.

 

[mwickens]

This happens for some when the Develop menu (aka "Show features for web developers") is on.

 

[smirking]

This happens for some when the Develop menu (aka "Show features for web developers") is on.

Ah, so that's why it happens. It makes sense. I did notice that I was often having to log back into a lot of places after every MacOS update (including minor updates).

 

[jlgolson]

This happens for some when the Develop menu (aka "Show features for web developers") is on.

Ahhhhh! Okay. So annoying, but at least I have a fix of sorts. Appreciate that!