CookieVault Guardian vs Cookie AutoDelete

TL;DR: Cookie AutoDelete was the privacy community’s tab-close cookie cleaner, but Chrome’s Manifest V2 sunset disabled it on Chromium browsers in late 2024. CookieVault Guardian is the Manifest V3 successor — same whitelist workflow, expanded to localStorage, IndexedDB, Cache Storage, and more. Cookie AutoDelete still works on Firefox.

CookieVault Guardian vs Cookie AutoDelete is a comparison between a Manifest V3 tab-close storage cleaner and the Manifest V2 cleaner it succeeds on Chromium. CookieVault Guardian is a free, MIT-licensed extension that rebuilds Cookie AutoDelete’s per-domain auto-cleanup workflow on modern extension APIs and extends it from cookies-only to every browser-storage surface, while Cookie AutoDelete is the long-running open-source cleaner that Chrome disabled in its Manifest V2 sunset but that remains functional on Firefox. This page compares the two honestly, including the cases where staying on Cookie AutoDelete still makes sense.

Status across browsers

In short: On Chromium browsers Cookie AutoDelete is disabled by Chrome’s MV2 sunset; on Firefox it still works. Guardian is available and maintained on both. Browser availability is the first thing that distinguishes them.

Cookie AutoDelete’s core mechanism listened to tab-close lifecycle events from a persistent Manifest V2 background page and reconciled the open-tab set against the cookie store. Chrome’s Manifest V3 transition removes persistent background pages in favor of ephemeral service workers, and its stable-channel sunset force-disabled all remaining MV2 extensions.¹² Cookie AutoDelete was caught in that wave on Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, and Arc, because rewriting its tab-lifecycle logic for Manifest V3 was not on the maintainers’ roadmap.

On Firefox the picture is different and worth stating clearly: Firefox kept Manifest V2 support, so the maintained Cookie AutoDelete build on Firefox Add-ons continues to install and function. That is a real, ongoing capability, not a legacy footnote. Guardian, for its part, is published on the Chrome Web Store, Edge Add-ons, and Firefox Add-ons, with signed CRX side-load for Opera, Vivaldi, Arc, and Brave — so it covers the Chromium browsers Cookie AutoDelete can no longer reach, plus Firefox where Cookie AutoDelete still lives.

Storage scope

In short: Cookie AutoDelete cleaned cookies and partial localStorage. Guardian cleans cookies, localStorage, sessionStorage, IndexedDB, Cache Storage, and Service Worker registrations on the same per-domain whitelist. Modern trackers hide in those side channels, so scope matters.

Cookie AutoDelete focused on cookies, with partial localStorage cleanup added in later versions. That was the right scope when it was built, but tracking and session state increasingly live elsewhere — localStorage, IndexedDB, and Cache Storage can all carry an identity that survives a cookie wipe. Cleaning only cookies on tab close is now a partial defense, because a tracker can rehydrate from any side channel you left untouched.

Guardian applies the same per-domain, tab-close model Cookie AutoDelete pioneered, but to every browser-storage API that can hold cross-session state: cookies, localStorage, sessionStorage, IndexedDB, Cache Storage, and Service Worker registrations. Each target is independently toggleable, so you can keep the defaults or narrow the scope if a specific site breaks. The whitelist and greylist concepts are identical to Cookie AutoDelete’s — Guardian deliberately preserves the mental model and only widens what gets cleaned.

What Cookie AutoDelete still does better

In short: Guardian is not strictly superior on every axis. Cookie AutoDelete is lighter, has a longer Firefox track record, and never introduced an account or Pro tier. For a Firefox-only, cookies-only workflow, those are real advantages.

Honesty over marketing: Cookie AutoDelete retains a few genuine edges, and a former user deciding whether to switch deserves to hear them.

• Smaller footprint. Cookie AutoDelete packs to roughly 150 KB; Guardian to roughly 480 KB, because the sync client and crypto library inflate the bundle.
• Longer Firefox track record. Cookie AutoDelete has been on Firefox Add-ons since 2017 with a multi-year stability record; Guardian is newer there.
• No account or Pro tier to consider. Cookie AutoDelete never asked you to create an account. Guardian’s local-only mode is identical in that respect, but the existence of a Pro/sync tier can feel like overhead if you never use it.

If you are a Firefox-only user with a stable, cookies-only whitelist, those points are a legitimate reason to stay put. We would rather you keep a tool that works for you than switch for the sake of switching.

Feature-by-feature comparison

In short: The two match on the whitelist/greylist workflow, wildcards, and Firefox container support. They diverge on manifest version, Chromium availability, storage scope, and cross-device sync.

The table compares Guardian and Cookie AutoDelete across the dimensions that matter to a tab-close cleanup user. Where Cookie AutoDelete leads, the table says so.

The honest read: for Firefox-only users with a stable, cookies-only workflow, Cookie AutoDelete remains a reasonable choice. For Chromium-browser users who lost it to the MV2 sunset, cross-browser users, or anyone who wants cleanup beyond cookies, Guardian is the upgrade.

When Cookie AutoDelete is the better choice

There are honest scenarios where Cookie AutoDelete wins:

• You use Firefox exclusively, where Cookie AutoDelete still installs and runs.
• Your cleanup needs stop at cookies and partial localStorage, so the wider storage scope is unnecessary.
• You value the smallest possible install and the lighter footprint.
• You prefer a tool with no account or Pro tier in the picture at all.
• Your existing whitelist and workflow are stable and nothing is broken.

When CookieVault Guardian is the better choice

Guardian fits the forward-looking and cross-browser cases:

• You used Cookie AutoDelete on Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, or Arc and lost it to the MV2 sunset.
• You want auto-cleanup that covers localStorage, sessionStorage, IndexedDB, Cache Storage, and Service Worker registrations, not just cookies.
• You want one whitelist synced across Firefox and Chromium browsers through end-to-end encryption.
• You want a Manifest V3 architecture that will keep working through future Chrome updates.
• You want reproducible builds that verify the shipped binary against open source.
• You want a 30-day cookie history (Pro) to recover from accidental tab closures.

How to migrate from Cookie AutoDelete to Guardian

If Cookie AutoDelete still runs — on Firefox, or a Chromium browser not yet disabled — migration is quick. The ordered checklist:

1. Open Cookie AutoDelete’s Settings and choose Export → Whitelist + Greylist; save the JSON.
2. Install CookieVault Guardian from the Chrome Web Store (or Edge / Firefox add-on sites; side-load the signed CRX for Opera / Vivaldi / Arc / Brave).
3. Open Guardian, go to Settings → Import → Cookie AutoDelete JSON, and select the file.
4. Verify every domain appears in the Whitelist tab; subdomain inheritance is on by default.
5. Open a non-whitelisted site, browse briefly, close the tab, then reopen it to confirm cleanup ran.
6. Tune cleanup scope under Settings → Cleanup Targets, enabling or disabling each storage type.
7. Optionally enable encrypted whitelist sync under Settings → Sync to share the list across devices.
8. Uninstall Cookie AutoDelete where it still runs, keeping the exported JSON for at least 30 days as a rollback option.

See also

• Cookie AutoDelete alternative — full migration guide
• CookieVault Guardian
• CookieVault vs EditThisCookie
• Auto-delete cookies on tab close
• Cookie whitelist
• How to whitelist cookies