A fellow blogger asked about why they could no longer log in and use their profile when commenting on others' blogs. They try, but instead of logging them in, the comment resets, and they can either comment using anonymous or it won't let them comment at all.
Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to this. But it got me thinking about when I had a similar problem. I wrote a blog post about it then.
At that time (three years ago) the Incognito Mode had a screen that looked like this:
The fix was to turn on the cookies. After I did that, my commenting woes disappeared. And everything was fine, until the IT people in my school district decided to disallow Incognito Mode on district Chromebooks. Deep sigh.
(It took me a couple months, but I came up with a solution that worked for me: I bought my very own Chromebook just for work.)
So, I wonder if the logging in and being recognized issue on Blogger blogs is still just a cookies issue.
What are cookies? They are small pieces of data stored on a user's device by web browsers to remember information and track browsing activity. When you log into Blogger, it's the cookies that hold your username and the information to link back to your user profile. Google's own terms of use describe how they use cookies. (And how to manage cookies in your browser.)
If you're using Google Chrome, you need to click on your profile (it's your picture in the upper right hand corner), and then you'll choose "Manage Your Google Account".
Then, in the sidebar (on the left side), go into "Data & Privacy".
At this point you'll want to check a few things. Personalization Settings. Data Sharing. (Under my Data Sharing, I am sharing information with Blogger under "Third-party apps & services". If you aren't, this might be the issue with logging into Blogger comments.) This is probably a good thing to explore even if you aren't having issues as there might be some settings you want to check out.
(Google's own help topics talks about turning cookies on or off. This might be of help as well.)
This is a place to start, anyway. Whether it solves the problem or not, I can't be sure.
If you're using a different browser, finding data and tracking and finding the cookies should be similar. Look under your profile and check the settings. Whether you allow all cookies or just for Blogger will be up to you.
Safari (for Apple) has protections in place to disallow tracking, so that might be harder. But there should be a way to opt in to cookies, at least for Blogger.
I hope this helps. Let me know in the comments if it was of any use or not. And if you have a different solution, please also add this into the comments. If anyone can solve the issue, there are many bloggers who would like to know.
Good advice! I have no issues with Blogger since I have a Blogger account, but it’s a giant PITA to leave a comment on a Wordpress blog due to them refusing to store my “cookie,” so I have to retype the block of info every time 😡
ReplyDeleteAnother solution for those who have problems is to post a comment as "anonymous", and sign their name in the comment; they could also add their blog http address. Like this:
ReplyDeleteMarina
https://milepebbles2.wordpress.com
Yes, that works too. But some blogs don't allow anonymous. (I do, just because of this issue.)
DeleteMy problem is when I use Safari. I have both.a Mac and a Windows computer (using Firefox) and the problem comes only when I'm using my Mac, so it has to be related to Safari somehow. The strange thing is I don't have problems commenting on your blog or some others, but on others if I don't use my Google account name (bookworm) it. kicks me out of post, and I have to leave the blog completely and go back in or the commenting area doesn't show. Also some bloggers delete anonymous comments. I would rather not use Chrome for various reasons. I guess I'll have to try to figure this out.
ReplyDeleteApple has been touting how they "block trackers". Well, cookies are trackers. I don't know for certain. My guess is that Safari is blocking cookies in a way that breaks the commenting.
DeleteI would recommend starting with checking your Safari settings and seeing how it's blocking cookies. Websites you usually visit probably got grandfathered in, but others might be blocking cookies.
Like I said, I don't know for sure. It could be something else entirely. But maybe...?
That's interesting. I was having trouble making comments on my own blog yesterday but I could still comment on others' blogs. Blogger keeps having glitches too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining this so clearly. Some of my followers have trouble commenting on my posts, and I tell them it could be due to not accepting cookies because I'm a Blogger blog. I don't think it always solves the problem. On my old computer, I could comment fine in Mozilla, but not in Google Chrome. I'm guessing something was wrong with my laptop.
ReplyDeleteIt's very kind of you to offer such detailed assistance. Be well!
ReplyDeleteI use Blogger, but it's Wordpress that give me commenting problems. It has a lot of choices for bloggers and I am not sure they all realize that some options block former Wordpress account holders from making comments at all. That's me! It remembers and tries to get me to sign in, but then they can't because there is no account with that email. I do leave anonymous comments, and sometimes put my URL, or just my name. I hope Marina (anonymous above with an URL) knows it's me when it just says "Lisa"! Blogger uses my gmail address of course, but that's not my "real" one.
ReplyDeleteMost of the time Chrome works fine for me, but once in a while I’ll hit a blog where I can’t comment at all. When that happens, I switch over to Firefox and it works without a problem. Seems like cookies and browser quirks really do make a difference.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Deus caritas est!
ReplyDeleteFirefox has a security setting that has to be turned off for each new blog one visits. If you don't, you won't be able to sign in to comment.
ReplyDelete