How to clear your browsing history, cache and cookies in any browser

Your browser keeps several separate records, and each one is cleared for a different reason. Clearing the cache and cookies can fix a site that won't load properly. Cookies are also what keep you signed in. Your history is the list of sites anyone with your device could read. Find your browser in the table, then check what you'd lose before you confirm.

Find your browser

History, cache, cookies and account activity: what's the difference?

• Browsing history is the list of pages you've visited. In Chrome, clearing it also removes those pages' New Tab shortcuts and address bar predictions. Google says Chrome's History page covers the last 90 days.
• The cache holds saved parts of pages, such as images, so they open faster on your next visit.
• Cookies and site data are what websites store on your device to remember things like your sign-in and preferences. Third-party cookies can also be used to learn what you do on other sites, Google says.
• Download history is only the list of files you've downloaded. Google, Apple and Microsoft all say clearing it leaves the files themselves in place.
• Saved passwords and form data are separate items. Whether they're on the list depends on the browser, so read the checkboxes.
• Account activity is what a company saves in your account rather than in your browser. Google says searches and other activity on its services are saved to your Google Account, and Chrome's delete option doesn't touch them.

Browser history vs. Google's My Activity

These are two records, and clearing one doesn't clear the other. Chrome's history lives in the browser, and it syncs to your Google Account if you're signed in and syncing. My Activity, at myactivity.google.com, shows what's saved in your Google Account, such as a search you ran. Google warns that deleting something from My Activity doesn't guarantee it's gone from your browser. To remove a search from both, delete it in both places.

Microsoft works in a similar way. If you've turned on sync or personalization, it keeps some Edge data in its cloud, which you manage on the Microsoft privacy dashboard. Microsoft says data you delete there isn't deleted from your device.

What clearing fixes, and what it costs

Google gives three reasons to clear your cache and cookies: to fix sites that load or display badly, to get the latest version of a site and to free up storage on your device. The costs are mostly small inconveniences:

• You'll probably be signed out. Microsoft says deleting all cookies signs you out of most sites, and Apple says removing website data may sign you out or change how sites behave.
• Some site settings go too. Google says your saved preferences can be deleted along with cookies.
• Pages may load more slowly at first, Google says, because images and other content have to download again.
• Your Google Account is a partial exception in Chrome. On Android, Google says deleting cookies won't sign you out of your Google Account while you're signed in to Chrome. To leave your Google Account on every website, Google says to sign out of Chrome itself.

Will clearing delete my saved passwords?

Not unless you choose them, so check the list before you confirm. Chrome on a computer treats passwords separately, in Google Password Manager. Chrome on Android and Edge both list saved passwords among the items you can clear. Apple says clearing Safari history on iPhone doesn't change your AutoFill information. In Firefox on a computer, be careful with Forget About This Site, which removes that site's saved passwords along with everything else stored for it. Our password manager guide covers keeping passwords in a password manager.

Does clearing on one device clear it on the others?

Often, if you sync. Google says that if you delete data while signed in to Chrome, it's removed from your other devices and your Google Account. Microsoft says synced items are cleared across all synced devices, so turn off sync first if you want to clear only the device in front of you. Apple says that when iCloud is set up for Safari on a Mac and your other Apple devices, clearing history removes it from all of them.

How to clear browsing data in Chrome

Chrome on a computer

1. Open Chrome. At the top right, select More (the three dots), then Delete browsing data.
2. Choose a time range, such as Last hour or All time.
3. Check what to remove: Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, Cached images and files, or other items. To clear only the cache, leave the rest unchecked.
4. Select Delete data.

To delete cookies for one website, go to More > Settings > Privacy and security > Third-party cookies > See all site data and permissions, search for the site and select Delete. To remove a single page from your history, go to More > History > History, check its box, then select Delete and Remove.

Chrome on Android

1. Open Chrome. To the right of the address bar, tap More, then Delete browsing data.
2. Choose a duration. The default is only 15 minutes, so change it if you're clearing older data.
3. To pick specific types of data, tap More options and select them.
4. Tap Delete data.

Google notes that deleting browsing history here also closes the open tabs on your device.

Chrome on iPhone

1. Open Chrome. Tap More, then Delete Browsing Data.
2. Next to Time Range, select a duration. The default is 15 minutes.
3. To pick specific types of data, tap Browsing Data, select them and tap Confirm.
4. Tap Delete Browsing Data.

How to clear history and cookies in Safari

Safari on iPhone

1. Go to Settings, tap Apps, then select Safari.
2. Scroll down and tap Clear History and Website Data.
3. Confirm the timeframe, then tap Clear History. Apple says this also removes cookies and the permissions you gave websites to use your location or send notifications.

To clear cookies and cache but keep your history, go to Settings > Apps > Safari > Advanced > Website Data, tap Remove All Website Data, then tap Remove Now. To delete one site from your history, open Safari's start page, tap the History button and the More button, tap Select Websites, choose the sites and tap the Trash button.

You can also start inside Safari. From your start page, tap the Show Bookmarks button, the History button and the More button, then Clear History. On iOS 17, tap the bookmark button, tap the History button, then tap Clear. If you use Safari profiles, Apple lets you clear one profile or all of them.

If the button is gray, Apple says either there's nothing to clear or you may need to check web content restrictions in Screen Time.

Safari on a Mac

Apple splits this into two places. For history:

1. In Safari, choose History > Clear History, then click the pop-up menu.
2. Choose how far back to clear.

Apple says this also clears recent searches, your frequently visited sites and the list of downloaded items, though not the files. For cache and cookies:

1. Choose Safari > Settings, then click Privacy.
2. Click Manage Website Data.
3. Select one or more websites and click Remove, or click Remove All.

Apple notes that this can also change or remove that data in other apps.

How to clear browsing data in Edge

Edge on a computer

1. Select Settings and more > Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
2. Select Clear browsing data, then Choose what to clear next to Clear browsing data now.
3. Under Time range, choose a range.
4. Choose the types of data, such as browsing history, cookies and other site data, or cached images and files. Passwords and form data are separate boxes.
5. Select Clear now.

To delete cookies for one site, go to Settings and more > Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies, select See all cookies and site data, search for the site, select the down arrow next to it and select Delete.

Edge on Android and iPhone

1. Tap the menu (…), then Settings > Privacy > Clear browsing data. Microsoft's Android steps also call this section Privacy and security.
2. Select the types of data you want to clear.
3. Tap Clear.

How to clear browsing data in Firefox

Firefox on a computer

1. Click the menu button, click History and select Clear Recent History.
2. Next to When, choose a time range, from the last hour up to everything.
3. Check what to clear. To clear only the cache, leave only Temporary cached files and pages selected. To clear cookies, select Cookies and site data.
4. Click Clear.

To clear cookies for the site you're on, click the shield icon to the left of the address bar, then Clear cookies and site data.

Firefox on Android

1. Tap the three-dot menu, then Settings.
2. Under Privacy and security, tap Delete browsing data.
3. Select what to delete: open tabs, browsing history, cookies and site data, cached images and files, site permissions or downloads.
4. Tap Delete browsing data, then confirm.

To clear only history, tap the three-dot menu, then History, the trash icon, Everything and Delete. Mozilla's Android help pages were last updated in 2023, so your menu may look a little different.

Firefox on iPhone

1. Tap the menu button at the bottom of the screen.
2. To clear history, select History, tap the trash icon and choose Today, Today and Yesterday, or Everything.
3. To clear website data, go back to the menu, tap Settings and, under Privacy, tap Data Management. Select Clear Private Data. Mozilla warns that this can't be undone.

Mozilla's iOS page was last updated in 2024, so check your menu if the labels differ.

How to delete your Google search history

Clearing your browser doesn't remove searches saved to your Google Account, so this is a separate job. Google warns that once you erase search history from your account, you can't get it back.

On a computer

1. Go to your search history in My Activity at myactivity.google.com.
2. To erase everything, click Delete, then Delete all time. For a set period, click Delete, then Delete custom range.
3. To erase one day, find the day and click Delete all activity from that day. To erase one search, find it and click Delete activity item.

On Android or iPhone

1. Open the Google app.
2. At the top right, tap your profile picture or initial, then Search history.
3. Tap Delete, then choose Delete all time or Delete custom range, or delete one day or one search from the list.

How to stop saving it, or delete it automatically

In My Activity, click Controls. Under Web & App Activity, click Turn off, then choose Turn off or Turn off and delete activity. To have Google erase it on a schedule, click the words under Auto-delete and choose activity older than 3, 18 or 36 months.

These names are changing. Google says it's gradually moving Search, Maps, Shopping and similar services to a new setting called Search Services History. If you don't see it yet, those services are still controlled by Web & App Activity.

Deletion also isn't instant. Google says it first removes activity from view, then starts deleting it from its storage systems, and it may keep certain data longer for limited purposes such as business or legal requirements.

What clearing history doesn't do

• It doesn't reach your network. Clearing only removes records on your device or in your account. Google says networks run by a school or employer, and internet providers, may be able to observe activity even in Incognito, and EFF says others along the path can usually see which domains you visit and when.
• It doesn't reach websites. Apple says clearing Safari history doesn't touch histories kept independently by the sites you visited, or your browsing history in other apps.
• It doesn't reach your account unless you do that separately, as covered above.
• It isn't a malware fix, in our view. If pop-ups or a changed search engine come back after you clear everything, our browser hijacker guide is a better place to start.

To keep future sessions off your device in the first place, use a private window. Our guide to incognito mode explains what that hides, what it doesn't, and when a VPN changes the picture.

Can a browser clear itself automatically?

Some can, if you'd rather not remember:

• Edge on a computer: Settings and more > Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Clear browsing data > Choose what to clear every time you close the browser. Turning on cookies here signs you out of most sites each time, Microsoft says.
• Edge on Android: in the same Clear browsing data screen, turn on Clear browsing data upon exit.
• Firefox on a computer: in Settings, go to Privacy and security, then History. Select Customize history, click Choose what you want Firefox to remember and check Clear history when Firefox closes.
• Firefox on Android: Settings > Delete browsing data on quit. Mozilla says the data is deleted when you leave through the Quit option in the three-dot menu.