How to Clear Browser Cache and Cookies (All Browsers)

Clearing your browser cache fixes many issues — stale pages, login problems, and formatting glitches.

When to Clear Cache

⋮ (three dots) → More tools → Clear browsing data

Or: Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows/Linux), Cmd+Shift+Delete (macOS)

Click “Clear data.”

⋮ → Settings → Privacy and security → Clear browsing data

☰ (menu) → Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data → Clear Data

Or: Ctrl+Shift+Delete

Check “Cached Web Content” and/or “Cookies and Site Data.”

☰ → Settings → Delete browsing data

Safari menu → Settings → Privacy → Manage Website Data → Remove All

Or: Cmd+Option+E (clear cache only, not cookies)

For older macOS versions:

Safari → Preferences → Privacy → Remove All Website Data

⋯ (three dots) → Settings → Privacy, search, and services → Clear browsing data → Choose what to clear

Or: Ctrl+Shift+Delete

Same options as Chrome.

Data	What Clears	Impact
Cache	Stored images, CSS, scripts	Sites load slower once (re-downloaded)
Cookies	Login sessions, preferences	You’ll be logged out of sites
Site data	Local storage, IndexedDB	Game saves, offline data, settings
History	URLs you visited	Autocomplete suggestions reset

Yes. Clearing cache and cookies is a standard maintenance task. You won’t break anything — at worst, you’ll need to log in again.

Instead of clearing everything, clear data only for the problematic site:

Chrome: Click the lock icon in the address bar → Cookies → Remove

Firefox: Click the lock icon → Clear cookies and site data

Safari: Right-click the site in History → Delete

Related: Learn how to speed up a slow computer and fix WiFi problems.