# Cookies Q

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cookies-q/149148>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 17, 2003, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cookies-q/149148 "2003-01-17T03:16:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![tcdaniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@tcdaniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tcdaniel)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cookies-q/149148/1 "2003-01-17T03:16:38Z")

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Is it safe to delete the entire cookies contents?

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cookies-q/149148/2 "2003-01-17T03:30:17Z")

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Yes. It will not hurt your computer at all.

However, …

```
     this also means all those web sites, for example, where you logged in once with an account (so you don't have to log in again the next time you vist - such as the SDMB to post here!) will be gone. You'll have to log in again to gain access. No big deal, but if you cant remember your account(s) and passwords, you're plum out of luck. 

```

😃

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**Author:** ![magog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/fbc32d/32.png) [@magog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magog)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cookies-q/149148/3 "2003-01-17T03:31:20Z")

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Yes, as in it’s not going to damage your computer or browser. Note that any “automatic” log-ins or other settings that are preserved past a browsing session may be lost.

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**Author:** ![SandWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8491ac/32.png) [@SandWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandWriter)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cookies-q/149148/4 "2003-01-17T04:25:25Z")

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You may not be **totally** out of luck for forgotten passwords. Many places will send an e-mail with your password if you have forgotten it.