Ever notice when you visit a website and then minutes later you are receiving advertisements for that site on your social media? This is due to something called Cross-Site Tracking, which is where third-party sites track your browser activity and data for advertising purposes. While some may find this service convenient, especially around the holidays, many find it intrusive.

Cross-site tracking services can easily be disabled on all major browsers simply by following the steps below.

Important Note: Disabling Cross-Site Tracking could prevent you from downloading images and files in Canvas and other sites.
  • Safari 13.1 or higher:
    1. In the Safari app  on your Mac, choose Safari > Preferences, then click Privacy.
    2. Select “Prevent cross-site tracking.”
  • Chrome
    1. On your computer, open Chrome.
    2. At the top right, click More More and then Settings.
    3. Under “Privacy and security,” click Cookies and other site data.
    4. Turn Send a “Do not track” request with your browsing traffic on or off.
  • Firefox
    1. Click the menu button Fx57Menu and select Options.
    2. Select the Privacy & Security panel.
    3. Under Enhanced Tracking Protection, select the Custom radio button to choose what to block.
    4. Select the Cookies checkbox. Cross-site and social media trackers is the default setting.
    5. Close the about:preferences page. Any changes you’ve made will automatically be saved.

Additional Resources:

What are the browser and computer requirements for Canvas?

Chrome: Turn “Do Not Track” on or off

Disable third-party cookies in Firefox to stop some types of tracking by advertisers

Manage cookies and website data in Safari on Mac