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Oldham residents trying to log into council or government websites this week have been met with a blunt message: no cookies, no access. The pages refuse to open unless the browser is set to accept the small text files that remember a user's sign-in details.

Cookies act like digital name badges. When they are blocked, the site cannot tell whether someone is already logged in, so it treats every visit as a stranger and bars the door. The result is a stand-off that leaves people unable to view council tax accounts, school application portals, or benefit updates until they change their settings.

The change is not a new policy from Oldham Council itself; it is built into the underlying government platform that many local services share. Anyone who has tightened privacy settings after recent data-loss headlines will now need to make an exception for .gov.uk sites if they want to reach their own records.

Help is tucked inside each browser's menu. Edge, Chrome, Safari and Firefox all let users allow cookies either for every site or only for chosen addresses, and the government pages suggest starting with the latter. No personal data is gathered beyond what is needed to keep a session open, but the requirement still catches people who thought they were being cautious.

Library staff in Oldham say they have already fielded a handful of calls from residents who fear the site is broken. It is not broken; it is just demanding a key that many have thrown away. Until that key is restored, the message on screen will stay the same: we cannot sign you in.