Cord cutters and streaming enthusiasts pride themselves on paring down cable clutter and embracing lean-back entertainment. Many have likely optimized every aspect of their home entertainment environment with high-speed internet, a reliable VPN, and an ad-blocker. Yet few appreciate the role that web cookies play silently shaping their daily browsing and streaming experiences.
NordVPN’s latest NordStellar study, “Sticky fingers in the cookie jar,” analyzed 93.7 billion cookies for sale on dark-web forums and Telegram channels, revealing just how exposed our streaming sessions can be:
“Most cookies are harmless. But in the wrong hands, even the smallest crumb can reveal a whole digital trail, so accepting web cookies blindly can be a risky habit.”
While first-party cookies can streamline logins or save your spot in an online shopping cart, third-party and persistent cookies can wind up in criminal hands, compromising both privacy and performance and sometimes within minutes of a stolen session. The study found that 38 types of malware, including 26 new types not seen in 2024, were used to steal third-party cookies which contained personal info, including names, emails, addresses, and passwords that were frequently exposed.
Stolen Sessions: Key Findings from the NordVPN Study
NordStellar’s analysis exposes how cybercriminals leverage malware (infostealers, trojans, keyloggers) to harvest cookies directly from your device using stolen active session cookies. The big tech platforms top the hit list:
- Google Services (Gmail, Drive, Maps, etc.): 4.5 billion cookies stolen
- YouTube: over 1 billion cookies compromised
These stolen cookies can enable session hijacking, which allows attackers to impersonate you on ad-supported services or fuel ad profiling that drives up costs on “free” streaming tiers.
The United States in the Global Cookie Steal Rankings
Although cookie theft is a worldwide problem, some regions suffer more than others. Among the 253 countries and territories NordStellar identified, the four most impacted were:
- Brazil: 7,104,386,442 Total | 7.98% Active | 9.71% of Total
- India: 6,131,737,109 Total | 9.07% Active | 6.54% of Total
- Indonesia: 4,508,058,116 Total | 8.96 Active | 6.54% of Total
- United States: 3,663,083,524 Total | 7.48% Active | 3.91% of Total
In Europe, Spain leads with 1.75 billion stolen cookies, and the United Kingdom records an 8.3 % rate of active (still valid) cookies. For U.S. cord cutters, that top-four ranking underscores the need for vigilance. Additionally, Windows devices were the biggest target but over 13.2 billion cookies were stolen from unknown or other operating systems.
Why Cord Cutters Can’t Afford to Ignore Cookie Hygiene
“Cookies may seem harmless, but in the wrong hands, they’re digital keys to our most private information,” says Adrianus Warmenhoven, cybersecurity expert at NordVPN. “What was designed to enhance convenience is now a growing vulnerability exploited by cybercriminals worldwide.”
Many cord cutters lean on free, ad-supported platforms (Plex, Tubi, Pluto, MyFree DIRECTV) to stretch their budgets. However, the research found that compromised cookies can:
- Hijack your session: Expose your watch history, alter account settings, or charge premium fees.
- Inflate ad costs: Third-party trackers auction off your viewing habits, raising CPMs and indirectly making “free” streaming pricier by increasing ads slots or stricter ad caps before upgrading.
- Track you across devices: Cookies from Google apps can follow you from phone to tablet to smart TV, building an ever-growing profile of your binge habits.
Smart Browsing: How to Protect Your Online Cookie Jar
With a Virtual Private Network such as NordVPN, you don’t have to abandon your favorite services, its easy to outsmart hackers to take back control of the crumbs:
- Enable Advanced VPN Protection — Turn on NordVPN’s Threat Protection Pro™ (or your VPN’s equivalent) to block known tracker domains and scan downloads for infostealing malware.
- Refuse Third-Party Cookies by Default — When the cookie banner pops up, click “Reject all” or customize settings to allow only essential first-party cookies.
- Stream in Incognito/Private Mode — Private-browsing sessions clear cookies on exit, minimizing residual risk.
- Purge Cookies Regularly — Whether on desktop or smart TV, schedule routine clear-outs—especially on shared devices.
- Opt-Out of Ad Personalization — In your Google Account’s Data & Privacy settings, disable “Ad Personalization” to limit cross-site tracking.
- Use Encrypted Connections — Avoid public Wi-Fi networks and unencrypted connections by using a VPN that will make browsing more secure from nefarious users.
“Usually, people close the browser, but the session is still valid, and the cookie is still there. If you never clean that site data, that session will be valid for as long as the site owner deems it secure,” says Warmenhoven. “Taking basic precautions like using strong passwords, enabling MFA, and staying alert online can significantly reduce the risk of falling victim to cyberattacks. It’s a small investment of time that can protect you from big threats.”
Surf Safe & Securely with NordVPN 2-in-1 Deal
Whether you’re catching up on summer sports or exploring YouTube’s endless rabbit holes, cookies shape your streaming landscape for better or worse. NordStellar’s research makes one thing clear: even the smallest cookie crumb can reveal your entire streaming trail. By understanding where cookies come from, recognizing the U.S.’s high-risk position, and adopting straightforward mitigations, cord cutters can reclaim control over both their data and their downtime.
NordStellar’s study comes during NordVPN’s 2-in-1 deal, which includes 76% off NordVPN and up to 10GB of free eSIM data from Saily. With summer approaching, this combo deal is great for travelers who need to stay connected and safeguard both their privacy and uninterrupted binge-watching bliss on trips. For as low as $3.39 per month, NordVPN gives you access to over 7,700 VPN servers, alerts about leaked credentials, malware scans for downloads, connection speeds over 6730 Mbps, and much more.
Read the full NordStellar study here and try NordVPN’s 30-day risk-free guarantee and protect yourself online at the link below.
Credit: NortdStellar