Detecting Internet web navigation and web browsing idle conditions using cookies during navigating and browsing sessions, is accomplished by receiving in a local computer, from a server, a cookie that has at least one policy that causes the cookie to have either an active or expired status, based on either the presence of web content provided by the server or detection that either the user is idle or the user is away from the local computer. The cookie containing the policy is stored on the local client computer. A signal from a user of the local client computer activates the policy in the cookie; thus, causing the cookie to have a status of either active or expired. When a signal is received from the server requesting the status of the cookie, the local computer determines whether the status of the cookie is active or expired. When the status is active, the server continues to provide content to the local computer and when the status is expired, then the server stops sending content to the local computer.