Don't know if it is related, but I also have to accept cookies every time I log in too, even though I have done so in the past.

please check the remember me icon after you log in.

Agreed. Also,

Your ‘logged-in’ status is stored in special cookies. If the cookie is removed, you are logged out.

In case you use "Clear history when Firefox closes" or otherwise clear history.

• do not clear the Cookies
• do not clear the Site Preferences

• Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security
  Firefox will: "Use custom settings for history":
  [X] "Clear history when Firefox closes" -> Settings
• https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/delete-browsing-search-download-history-firefox

• clearing "Site Preferences" clears exceptions for cookies, images, pop-up windows, and software installation and exception for password and other website specific data
• clearing "Cookies" will remove all selected cookies including cookies with an allow exception you may want to keep

Let the cookies expire when Firefox is closed to make them session cookies instead of using "Clear history when Firefox closes" to clear the cookies.

• Options/Preferences -> Privacy & Security
  Cookies and Site Data: [ ] "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed"

Make an allow exception with the proper protocol (https://) via "Manage Data" for websites you want to remember you.

Thank you Internet Mechanich, but there does not seem to be a "remember me" icon/tick box when I log in. eg for this Forum website.

Thank you FredMcD. You have pointed me in the right direction. I think the problem is that I want to keep login cookies for the websites I regularly visit, but I don't want to keep any other cookies, and I am probably not making the distinction properly in my settings as I don't understand the Firefox interface properly.

Thank you Cor-el. Your reply is much more comprehensive, but I got a bit lost along the way, and despite make the changes, I still don't seem to have fixed the problem. Are you saying that: 1. Under "History" I should select "Use custom settings for history" and tick [X] "Clear history when Firefox closes"? 2. Under "Cookies and Site Data" I should untick the box [ ] "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed" 3. Under "Cookies and Site Data |Manage Data" I should list the cookies I want to keep for the sites I want to log into automatically [using the proper protocol (https://)]? Under the last item, please could you advise what is the difference between " Manage Data" and " Manage Permissions"? Must I complete both or just one of them?

I don't know what you mean by "Let the cookies expire when Firefox is closed".

Thanks for the link to "Delete Browsing". It explains what one deletes when deleting history, but is not clear what one should keep in order to get an automatic log in.

Under Manage Permissions you can inspect and modify cookie exceptions, whether to allow or block (third-party) cookies. Cookie allow exceptions are only honored when you use "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed" to let cookies expire when you close Firefox. If you use "Clear history when Firefox closes" to clear Cookies and possibly Site Preferences and all cookies will be cleared including cookies with an allow exception. Clearing Site Preferences will also clear your allow exceptions made under Manage Permissions.

Only when you keep 'remember me' cookies, websites will remember you and log you in automatically.

Thank you very much Cor-el I appreciate you are trying to help me, but I'm afraid I am still confused. When you say "When you use…" do you mean "When you have ticked…" I still don't know what you mean by "Let the cookies expire when Firefox is closed" And I don't know what 'remember me' cookies are or how I identify them.

Looking at it a different way, my settings are as follows; please tell me which ones are wrong (or not relevant) to allow me to automatically log into websites. Cookies and Site Data: Unticked: Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed Under Manage Data, the sites I visit have various numbers of cookies stored. Under Manage permissions, the sites I visit are set to Allow. History: Firefox will "use custom settings for history" Unticked: Always use private browsing mode Ticked: Remember browsing and download history Ticked: Remember search and form history Ticked: Clear History when Firefox closes Under Clear All History settings: Ticked: Browsing & Download history, form & search history, cache, offline website data Unticked: Cookies, Active logins, Site Preferences. Under Settings: Ticked: Browsing & Download history, Form & search history, Cache, Offline website data. Unticked: Cookies, Active logins, Site Preferences.

"Let the cookies expire when Firefox is closed"

I.e., they get deleted when the browser closes, rather than when the cookie is set to delete itself (the expiration time).

When you say "When you use…" do you mean "When you have ticked…"

Yes.

And I don't know what 'remember me' cookies are or how I identify them.

You can't identify them per se, you just need to allow (keep) the cookies on a per-domain basis. For example, you might have several domains involved visiting a site. If the "login cookie" comes from subdomain.somesite.com and you are saving cookies not for that domain, but for somesite.com and www.somesite.com, then you won't stay signed in.

Your settings appear fine to me, although another person is having this same problem. I have not been able to test on a Windows machine yet, but they worked on a Linux box regardless as to whether Cookies and Site Data: Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed is ticked or unticked.

Thank you crankygoat. I am now much clearer, so will try and experiment to see if I have inserted/allowed the right domains. I must say I am surprised at how difficult it is in firefox to achieve this. I had always thought Firefox was superior to internet Explorer, but on this issue IE is much easier. (or it seemed to be.) Love your handle "crankygoat" by the way.

An allow exception for https://somesite.com should include all sub domains like www.somesite.com and subdomain.somesite.com. Actually it is usually best to create the allow exception for the top level domain manually to ensure that cookies for a sub level domain are kept as well (in a lot of cases you login via a sub domain, e.g. login.somesite.com)

Thanks, cor-el. Good to know that it will work that way.

So as long as one has the second-level domain excepted, all should be well. (Better than hunting for the correct 3rd or 4th level domains.)