Guide
Refusing cookie banners on a Mac, not just hiding them.
Most ways of “getting rid of” a cookie banner make it disappear. That isn't the same as saying no. Some banners say outright that carrying on counts as agreement, so a hidden banner can leave a site tracking you as if you'd accepted.
Crank Browser's rule: a consent request is hidden only after Crank has refused it. If Crank can't refuse, the banner stays on screen for you to answer.
What Crank does with a consent banner
Where the platform allows refusal, Crank refuses. On OneTrust, Sourcepoint and Didomi, Crank declines consent on your behalf, then checks the site recorded the refusal before it counts it as done. Only then does the banner go.
Where it can't refuse, it leaves the banner alone. Some platforms offer no way to decline that Crank can use. There the banner stays visible, and the choice is yours.
A wall isn't a banner. When a site blocks the page unless you accept tracking or pay, Crank doesn't answer for you either way. It tells you the site is refusing readers on those terms, instead of hiding the wall and leaving you a page that won't scroll.
It also says no in advance. Crank sends Global Privacy Control, a signal that you don't want your data sold or shared, to every site except the ones you've trusted or excluded. Some US state privacy laws require sites to honour it.
You can see what happened. The change log (⌘I) lists cookie and consent banners as their own group, so you can tell a refused banner from one Crank left for you.
Where you'll still see banners
- Sites on platforms Crank can't refuse through yet, including Google Funding Choices and TrustArc.
- Sites you've marked as trusted. There Crank makes no privacy choices for you and leaves the banner for you to answer.
- Banking, health, government and mail sites on Crank's excluded list, where Crank changes nothing. See the list.
If a banner Crank should have handled gets through, Help ▸ Send Feedback… opens a draft you can check and send.
Try it next to your main browser.
Crank Browser is a free reading browser for Apple silicon Macs, macOS 13 or later. Keep your usual browser; open Crank for the pages that fight you.
As of Crank 0.3.5, October 2026.