Chromium Edge Not Remembering Log-ins?

Is Chromium Edge browser not remembering your log-ins? Read on to learn a simple fix.

Very recently, my Chromium Edge browser stopped automatically logging me into sites I had previously logged in to. In order to fully understand this problem, you first need to know a little about the function of cookies. A cookie is a tiny piece of data stored by the web browser whenever you visit a website. There are multiple types of cookies but the two main types are simple cookies and persistent cookies:

1. Simple Cookies: Also known as session cookies will record any site preferences while you are visiting a site. These are the most common type of cookies typically delivered by every site you visit and will generally be quite safe to delete.
2. Persistent cookies: Also known as authentication cookies record similar information to simple cookies plus any log-in details so the site knows whether the user is logged in or not. Persistent cookies generally expire after a specific period of time as set by the website’s admin. With the aid of persistent cookies, users only have to log-in to a site once and will then be automatically logged into their accounts each time they visit the site until that cookie’s expiry date, at which time the user will then need to log in once more. And so on. If you delete persistent cookies you will lose that automatic log-in function and need to log back in each time you visit the site.

All my browsers are set to clear browsing data each time I close the browser, including Edge. Along with this setting are options to choose exactly what data to clear and I always leave the cookies option disabled so I don’t need to keep logging back into sites I visit regularly, such as DCT for example.

Unfortunately, browsers are unable to distinguish between simple cookies and persistent cookies. However, most browsers do make provisions to exclude certain cookies from deletion. In Edge, for example, if you click the Cookies and other site data option, you can then add URLs into an exceptions list and cookies for those sites will not be deleted on close.

However, this is often a clumsy and long-winded process and I prefer to simply retain all cookies within the browser and then manage the clearing of cookies via CCleaner which provides a much easier method for sorting cookies to keep.  Sorry, this is a rather long preamble to get to the point… and here it is. So, I have Edge set NOT to delete any cookies on close, yet, each time I closed the browser and visited a site where I was already logged in, I’d find myself logged out and having to log back in again… over and over. Most annoying. I looked at all the clear browsing data on close options again and, other than the obvious, could not see anything that could potentially involve deleting cookies.

Edge Not Remembering Log-ins: The Solution

In the end, I disabled every option under Clear browsing data on close (which did provide a temporary workaround) and contacted Microsoft Answers to see if anyone else was experiencing this same issue. Turns out this is a known issue that has just recently come to light and has been reported by multiple Edge users: Edge does not remember logins to any website. Happily, the solution in my case anyway, was a very simple one. Apparently, the Hosted app data option under Clear browsing data on close is the little devil causing this issue. I simply disabled that option to clear on close and all is well again.

So, if you are losing your log-ins while using the Chromium Edge browser, the following should fix it:

• Go to Edge Settings (click the three little dots at the far right of the address bar and, from the menu that opens, click Settings)
• In the left-hand panel click Privacy, search, and services 
• In the center panel click Choose what to clear every time you close the browser
• Turn off the option to clear Hosted app data

According to a post on Microsoft Answers, the Edge team is working on this bug and should have a permanent solution available in the not too distant future:

Hey, everyone! I’m the Community Manager for the Edge team. I wanted to hop in and let y’all know that the team is investigating what’s going on here. In the meantime, we suggest that you head to edge://settings/clearBrowsingDataOnClose and ensure that Hosted app data is NOT selected, as a temporary workaround. This should ensure that you stay signed into your websites.

I’ll reach out with an update once I hear from the team again. We appreciate your patience while we work on getting this resolved.

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