The weekly scrub

Ten minutes, once a week. Your ticks reset whenever you press the button below, so you can reuse the list.

0 done

Clear cookies & site data (time range: All time). Shortcut in Chrome, Edge and Firefox: Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Cmd+Shift+Delete on Mac).
Flush DNS on your computer and in the browser. Commands here.
Audit extensions. Remove anything you don't use: extensions are a common tracking and malware vector.
Redo cookie-based opt-outs (clearing cookies erases them). DAA · NAI
Skim your Google activity and delete anything you don't want feeding ads. My Activity
Run a 30-minute chaff session with a new persona. Open the generator

One-time settings per browser

Chrome

chrome://settings/adPrivacy: switch off Ad topics, Site-suggested ads and Ad measurement.
chrome://settings/cookies: Block third-party cookies.
Settings → Privacy and security → Security → Use secure DNS with a filtering provider.
Turn off Allow Chrome sign-in if you don't need sync. It keeps browsing out of your Google account.

Chrome no longer supports the full uBlock Origin. Use uBlock Origin Lite, or consider switching browsers.

Firefox

Settings → Privacy & Security → Enhanced Tracking Protection → Strict.
Same page: tick Tell websites not to sell or share my data (Global Privacy Control).
Same page: Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed, with exceptions for sites you stay logged into.
Install Multi-Account Containers or Facebook Container to wall off logged-in sites.

Safari (Mac, iPhone, iPad)

Settings → Safari (or Safari → Settings → Privacy): Prevent cross-site tracking on.
Hide IP address → From Trackers and Websites.
Advanced → Advanced Tracking and Fingerprinting Protection → All Browsing.
Turn off Privacy-Preserving Ad Measurement if you'd rather not take part at all.

Edge

Settings → Privacy, search, and services → Tracking prevention → Strict.
Same page: turn off Personalize your web experience and Allow Microsoft to save your browsing activity.
Pick Choose what to clear every time you close the browser → Cookies and other site data.

Brave

Shields → Trackers & ads blocking: Aggressive.
Settings → Privacy and security: Block fingerprinting on, and turn off Brave Ads if you don't use Rewards.

Extensions worth installing

Fewer is better. One blocker plus, optionally, one obfuscator.

uBlock Origin

The gold-standard content blocker. Full version on Firefox; Lite on Chrome.

ublockorigin.com

Privacy Badger

From the EFF. Learns which third parties follow you around and blocks them. Sends Global Privacy Control.

privacybadger.org

AdNauseam

Blocks ads and silently registers clicks on them, poisoning your profile and the ad network's data. Firefox recommended.

adnauseam.io

TrackMeNot

An academic obfuscation project that sends decoy searches in the background, the same idea as our generator.

trackmenot.io

Automate it

Make the browser clean itself every time it closes. These use the browsers' official enterprise policies, which work fine on personal machines.

Firefox: `policies.json`

Create a distribution folder in the Firefox install directory and save this as policies.json. Restart Firefox and check about:policies.

policies.json

{
  "policies": {
    "SanitizeOnShutdown": {
      "Cookies": true,
      "Cache": true,
      "History": false,
      "Sessions": false,
      "SiteSettings": false,
      "Locked": false
    },
    "EnableTrackingProtection": {
      "Value": true,
      "Cryptomining": true,
      "Fingerprinting": true
    }
  }
}

Windows: C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\distribution\policies.json
macOS: /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/Resources/distribution/policies.json
Linux: /etc/firefox/policies/policies.json

Chrome on Windows: registry policy

Save as adpoison-chrome.reg and double-click to import. Chrome then wipes cookies and cache on exit. Check chrome://policy.

adpoison-chrome.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome]
"BlockThirdPartyCookies"=dword:00000001
"SyncDisabled"=dword:00000001

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome\ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList]
"1"="cookies_and_other_site_data"
"2"="cached_images_and_files"

Heads up: Chrome only honors clear-on-exit when sync is disabled, which is why SyncDisabled is included. Your bookmarks stay on this computer but stop syncing. Delete the keys in regedit to undo.

Separate profiles

The simplest trick of all: keep one browser profile (or a whole browser) only for logged-in Google, Meta and Amazon, and do everything else in another. Trackers can't link what they can't see together.