How to Clear Cache and Cookies in Popular Browsers

When using any browser, information about the sites you visit is saved. The entire history is displayed in cookies called cookies as well as in the cache. We will tell you how to clear cache and cookies in popular browsers. This will help to erase your history of actions on the Internet, as well as solve some problems with loading pages of sites and their display.

Why Cookies and Cache Are Needed

Before proceeding to the instructions for removing cache and cookies, we’ll figure out why these two components are generally needed:

• cache – pictures and other content from visited sites are stored in the cache memory. Due to this, on the next visits, the loading of pages will be faster.
• cookies – files created by visited sites. They increase the comfort of web surfing, as they store authentication data, personal preferences, statistics on previous visits, as well as personal user settings.

As you can see, these are pretty useful things. However, if your task is to achieve maximum anonymity on the Internet, then it's better to figure out how to delete the cache and cookies.

Below you will find detailed instructions for all popular browsers.

How to Clear Cookies in Chrome

To remove cache and cookies in Chrome on Windows and Mac, follow these steps:

1. Open a browser on your device.
2. Tap the three-dots menu at the top right corner.

   

3. Hover over More tools, then click on the line to Clear browsing data.

   

4. A pop-up will appear where you can pick the time range for clearing data – choose from last hour, 24 hours, 7 days, 4 weeks, or all time. Set the All Time option from the list provided.

   

5. Make sure to check “Cookies and other site data” and, if you want, also select Cached images and files. Clear the cache for loading issues or to free space, clear cookies to reset site preferences or login info, or clear both for a fresh start.
6. It remains only to press the blue button.

   

7. For a quicker method, press Ctrl+Shift+Del on Windows or Cmd+Shift+Del on Mac to open this menu instantly.

On Android:

1. Open the Chrome app and tap the three-dot menu at the top right.
2. Select Clear browsing data.
3. Pick your preferred time range and select “Cookies and site data” and “Cached images and files.”
4. Tap Clear data to complete.

On iOS devices like iPhone or iPad:

1. Launch Chrome and tap the three dots at the bottom right.
2. Choose Clear Browsing Data.
3. Select the time range.
4. Check “Cookies, Site Data” and optionally other data like cached images or passwords.
5. Confirm by tapping Clear Browsing Data.

How to Clear Cache in Firefox Mozilla

To quickly remove cache and cookies in Firefox on desktop Windows or Mac, follow the instructions:

1. Click the menu icon (three horizontal lines).

   

2. Select Manage More Settings and then Privacy & Security category on the left.

   

3. Scroll down the page a little to Cookies and Site Data.
4. Click Clear Data.

   

5. Choose whether to clear cookies, cache, or both, then click Clear and confirm by pressing Clear.

   

6. To remove automatically in the future, place a bird as shown below:

1. Confirm your decision using the Delete Now button.

You can quickly open this menu with Ctrl+Shift+Del (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+Del (Mac).

On Android:

1. Open the Firefox app.
2. Tap the three-dots menu.
3. Then go to Settings > Delete browsing data.
4. Check the boxes for Cookies and Site Data along with Cached Images and Files.
5. Then tap Delete browsing data and confirm.

Here’s a helpful article that walks you through the process of setting up a proxy on Android.

On iOS:

1. Open Firefox and tap the three-line menu.
2. Go to Settings > Privacy > Data Management.
3. Turn on the toggles for Cookies and other data types you want to clear.
4. Then tap Clear Private Data and confirm with OK.

Remember, Firefox uses container tabs to isolate cookies for different sites, which can help with privacy. Its Enhanced Tracking Protection also controls how cookies behave with settings like Standard, Strict, or Custom.

For stronger privacy, you can combine clearing cache and cookies with Proxy-Seller’s private SOCKS5 and HTTPS proxies. Proxy-Seller offers many proxy types and geo-locations to mask your real IP, bypass geo-blocks, and stop tracking beyond what clearing browser data can do. Their easy management and fast connections support privacy for everyday browsing or automation tasks.

How to Clear Cache in Explorer

For example, consider this process in IE 11. To erase cache and cookies in Explorer, follow the step-by-step instructions:

1. Open a browser.
2. Simultaneously press the key combination Alt + X or go to Tools.
3. Hover over Safety.

   

4. Select the action Delete browser history.

   

5. Place the birds at the three points, as shown in the screenshot:

   

6. Click Delete to complete the operation.

How to Clear Cookies in Opera

Necessary steps to clear cache and cookies in Opera:

1. Press the key combination Alt + P in the browser, or go to the Opera menu and then to Settings.
2. Go to Privacy Security.

   

3. Click on Clear browsing history.

   

4. Select the All time item and check all the boxes (three out of three), as shown in the screenshot.

   

5. Press the blue Clear data button.

   

How to Clear Cache and Cookies in Safari

If you need to clean only the cache on macOS, then follow the instructions:

1. Launch a browser.
2. Click on the Safari section.
3. Go to Settings (or Preferences in older versions).
4. Click the Privacy tab and then Manage Website Data.
5. To clear stored cookies and cache, click Remove All.
6. Then confirm with Remove Now.
7. Safari specially manages cookies per site and includes intelligent tracking prevention to reduce cross-site tracking.

On iOS:

1. Open Settings, and scroll down to Safari.
2. Then go to Advanced > Website Data.
3. Tap Remove All Website Data and confirm.
4. If you want to block cookies fully, toggle on “Block All Cookies” in Safari Settings under Privacy & Security.

Doing this clears cookies and cache globally but keeps your stored passwords safe. Also, consider using Safari’s Private Browsing mode if you want sessions that don’t save data like cookies or cache.

Here is an article about how to configure proxies on Safari.

How to Clean Cookies and Other Information

Cookies and other data are cleared in the Safari browser as follows:

1. Open Safari.
2. Go to Settings.
3. Go to Confidentiality.
4. Select Manage Website Data.
5. Click on the Delete All button, and then Delete Now.

What Happens after Deleting Cache and Cookies?

Clearing the cache and cookies in the browser will lead to the following consequences:

• settings of some websites, for example, logins and passwords for authorization, will be deleted;
• if synchronization is enabled, then the browser files will be erased on your other devices;
• on some sites, the speed of loading some pages may decrease, because pictures and other content will be reloaded.

In Conclusion

Now you know how to clear cookies and cache in popular browsers. If you are using or are only going to use proxies for anonymity on the Internet, you should know one more important point. Through cookies and cache, third-party software can track information about you and your browsing history. If anonymity is important to you, it is better to delete the cookie and cache after each session in the browser through a proxy.