iOS 27.3 adds new setting to bypass website cookie popups (eventually)

iOS 27.3 is currently in beta and packed with new features, including a ‘Global Privacy Control’ setting in Safari that could someday put an end to cookie consent pop-ups.

Safari has new ‘Global Privacy Control’ setting in iOS 27.3 for automatic cookie opt-outs

Apple has several big changes coming to Safari in iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, and macOS 27.3. The browser is adding Vertical Tabs, Adaptive Dark Mode, and new Siri AI powers.

But iOS 27.3 has another Safari feature that’s hidden away in Settings: a new ‘Global Privacy Control’ option.

Inside Settings ⇾ Apps ⇾ Safari ⇾ Advanced you’ll find the ‘Use Global Privacy Control’ setting. Apple describes it this way:

Safari can ask websites to not sell or share your data. This may cause some websites to not function properly or work at all.

The beta also links to a support document where users can find more information, but it’s currently a broken link. The document will likely be published on iOS 27.3’s release day.

As noted by Nick Heer on his site Pixel Envy, this Global Privacy Control setting is “effectively a replacement for Do Not Track with legal muscle that should permit you to indicate your tracking preference one time and then, theoretically, never again see a cookie consent banner.”

Ultimately though, the dream of automatically declining cookie consents has a long road to reality. Websites have to add support for Global Privacy Control (which some have already done, but most haven’t). And GPC currently only has legal muscle in five US states.

That said, the addition of a Global Privacy Control setting in iOS 27.3 is a good start. And hopefully it means that in a few years, many Safari users don’t need to see cookie consent popups anymore.

Will you enable Global Privacy Control in iOS 27.3? Let us know in the comments.

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In practice, it will take time for websites to add support, and it requires users to enable the feature in Safari’s Settings.