How to Clear Your Browser Cache and Cookies

The Problem

Your browser saves bits of every website you visit to load pages faster—but over time this stored data (the cache and cookies) gets stale or corrupted. The result: pages that look broken, old content that won't update, login loops, checkout errors, and a browser that feels sluggish. Clearing it is one of the most reliable, low-risk fixes in all of tech, and it takes about a minute.

What Cache and Cookies Actually Are

Two different things, often cleared together:

Cache: copies of images, scripts, and page parts saved so sites load faster on your next visit. When these go stale, pages display wrong.
Cookies: small files that remember your logins, preferences, and shopping carts. Clearing them logs you out of sites and resets preferences—so it fixes login glitches but means re-entering passwords.

Knowing the difference helps: clear the cache for display and loading problems; clear cookies too for login and account issues.

When Clearing Helps

Reach for this fix when you see:

A website looks broken or won't show new content.
You can't log in, or get stuck in a login loop.
Checkout or forms fail repeatedly.
The browser is slow or pages hang.
A site tells you to "clear your cache and cookies" (a very common support instruction).

Chrome and Edge (Windows, Mac, Android)

Both share the same shortcut and menu.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + Delete (Mac). On mobile, go to Settings > Privacy > Clear browsing data.
Set the time range to All time for a full clear, or Last hour for a targeted fix.
Tick Cached images and files and Cookies and other site data.
Click Clear data.

Leave Passwords and Autofill unticked unless you specifically want to remove them—your password manager keeps those safe regardless.

Safari (Mac and iPhone)

On iPhone:

Settings > Apps > Safari (or Settings > Safari on older versions).
Tap Clear History and Website Data.

On Mac:

Safari menu > Settings > Advanced and enable Show Develop menu.
Open the Develop menu and choose Empty Caches, or use History > Clear History for cookies too.

Firefox

Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + Delete (Mac).
Choose a time range.
Tick Cache and Cookies.
Click Clear Now.

A Faster Alternative: Hard Refresh

If only one page looks wrong, you may not need to clear everything. A hard refresh reloads that single page while ignoring the cache:

Windows: Ctrl + F5.
Mac: Cmd + Shift + R.

Try this first—it fixes most "this one page looks broken" problems without logging you out of everything else.

Test in a Private Window First

Not sure if the cache is the cause? Open a private/incognito window (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N), which ignores your cache and cookies. If the site works correctly there, stale cache is your culprit—clear it in your normal window.

The Privacy Angle

Clearing cookies also removes tracking cookies that follow you around the web, so it's a small privacy boost too. For ongoing privacy, most browsers offer tracking protection in their settings, and you can set the browser to clear cookies automatically when you close it. Pair this with the habits in protect your privacy on social media.

What Clearing Won't Fix

Clearing cache and cookies won't help if the real problem is elsewhere:

A slow internet connection, not the browser—see speed up a slow internet connection.
A failing or overloaded computer—see speed up a slow Windows PC.
Too many heavy extensions—disable or remove ones you don't use, which also reduces malware risk per avoid malware from fake downloads and extensions.

Quick Recap

Display/loading glitch? Clear the cache (or hard refresh one page).
Login/account glitch? Clear cookies too (you'll be logged out).
Shortcut: Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Delete in most browsers.
Test in a private window to confirm the cache was the cause.

It's the digital equivalent of "turn it off and on again" for websites—simple, safe, and surprisingly effective.