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How to clear Safari’s cache and cookies on Mac

purge cookies safari

There are a handful of situations when clearing Safari’s cookies or cache–one of the places where Safari stores website data to avoid having to download it afresh each time you access a site–can help improve your browsing experience.

The first is when websites simply stop working when you access them on Safari. Perhaps Facebook stops updating with new posts, for example, or the images on a site don’t appear as they should. If this happens, it’s likely the cache has become corrupted.

Alternatively, if you find that personal info automatically completed on sites isn’t correct, deleting cookies can help. These are small files that sites use to save data about you and what you do on the site.

Even if none of these problems affect you, periodically cleaning browser data can help protect your privacy from snoops who want to discover what you’ve been up to online. In this article, therefore, we explain how to clear Safari’s cache and cookies on Mac.

We also have an article that explains How to clear cache on a Mac.

How to clear Safari cookies and cache for websites

Cleaning cookies and the cache data for individual sites can be done via Safari’s Settings/Preferences.

  • Open Safari
  • Click on Safari in the menu at the top of the screen.
  • Click on Settings or Preferences (depending on the version of macOS you are running).
  • Go to the Privacy tab.
  • Click on Manage Website Data…
  • Choose Remove All or select websites individually to remove.

After the data is loaded you’ll probably see a long list of websites. You can choose to Remove All or just select individual websites you want to remove from this list. If you want to select a number of different sites you can click on one and then press and hold the Command key to select a second, third or fourth and so on. We recommend that you don’t select hundreds this way – it’s better to delete in batches just in case you have to start over.

If you would prefer to select all and then deselect the ones you want to keep you can do so. Use Command + A to select all, then press and hold Command while clicking on any website you are happy to keep in this list. Just click Remove afterwards, not Done, as that will just undo all your hard work.

There’s a search field you can use to track down individual sites.

Bear in mind that deleting cookies might remove autocompleted login usernames and passwords for sites, and will almost certainly log you out of that site if you’ve configured it to automatically log in each time you visit.

How to clear Safari's cache and history on Mac: Privacy

How to clear Safari cache

The hidden Safari Developer menu can be used to clear just the cache, leaving cookies and the browser history in place. This is a very useful diagnostic step to take before removing those two items if a website behaves badly.

If you just want to clear all your cache you can do so by following these steps:

  • Open Safari.
  • Click on Safari in menu bar at top of screen.
  • Click on Settings/Preferences (depending on the version of macOS you are running).
  • Click on the Advanced tab.
  • Check the box beside Show Develop Menu in Menu Bar.
  • Now there will be a new Develop tab in the menu at the top of your screen. Click on this.
  • Click on Empty Caches.

Alternatively click on Option/Alt + Command + E.

Close any open Safari windows and select Empty Caches on the Develop menu. Then click File > New Window to start Safari with a clean cache.

How to clear Safari's cache and history on Mac: Empty caches

How to remove autocomplete data from AutoFill

Safari’s AutoFill tool can fill in username and password details on websites as well as credit card details and other elements like your address and email details.

This can be really useful, but it can also be annoying if the data it fills in is incorrect or out of context. It’s also a problem when AutoFill helpfully enters old or incorrect passwords or emails and addresses.

You can change this data, or delete it by following these steps:

  • Click on Safari.
  • Click on Settings/Preferences.
  • Choose the AutoFill tab.
  • Here you can edit contact information, usernames and passwords, credit cards and other data. Click on Edit beside the category you want access to.
  • You’ll need to enter your password or use Touch ID to gain access.

Delete incorrect data: If you are finding that Safari is autofilling incorrect data about you–your address, for example–click Edit beside Using information from my contacts. This will open up your Contacts app. Your card will be at the top or under My Card. You can add and amend data about you here.

How to clear Safari's cache and history on Mac: Autofill

Delete incorrect passwords and site logins: If you wanted to delete incorrect passwords, for example, you can just click on the Passwords tab. If you know which password you want to remove search for the website or service and then find the older password option (if there is more than one) and select it and then click on the – below the column to remove it. You can then select Delete Password. If that means there is no password saved for that website, you can then recreate the entry for the site by clicking the Add button. You’ll first need to provide the URL of the site (that is, something like https://facebook.com ), and then type the username and password alongside (hit the Tab key to move from field to field).

See: How to autofill passwords, bank cards, names and addresses for more.

How to clear Safari's cache and history on Mac: Site logins

Delete logins and passwords system-wide

Pruning site logins can also be done via the Keychain Access app, which you’ll find in the Utilities folder of the Applications list in Finder, although you should be very careful using this app because it pretty much controls the entire security operation of your Mac! However, by removing errant username and password entries here you’ll stop virtually all of your Mac apps using them, and not just Safari.

Just type the name of the site into the Search field, and look in the list of results for entries of the kind Web Form Password. Right-click the entry and select Delete.

Changing password keychain Mac

If you want to delete your Chrome or Firefox cache, cookies or browsing history read: How to delete your Mac browsing history . For alternative web browsers take a look at: Best web browser for Mac.

Clear the history, cache and cookies from Safari on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch

Find out how to delete your history, cookies and cache in Settings.

Delete your history, cache and cookies

Clear your cookies and the cache, but keep your history

Delete a website from your history, block cookies, use content blockers, delete history, cache and cookies.

Go to Settings > Safari.

Tap Clear History and Website Data.

ios-17-iphone-14-pro-settings-safari-clear-history-and-website-data

Clearing your history, cookies and browsing data from Safari won't change your AutoFill information.

When there’s no history or website data to be cleared, the button to clear it will turn grey. The button may also be grey if you have web content restrictions set up under Content & Privacy Restrictions in Screen Time .

To visit sites without leaving history, turn Private Browsing on .

Go to Settings > Safari > Advanced > Website Data.

Tap Remove All Website Data.

When there’s no website data to be cleared, the button to clear it will turn grey. The button may also be grey if you have web content restrictions set up under Content & Privacy Restrictions in Screen Time .

Open the Safari app.

Bookmarks button

Tap the Edit button, then select the website(s) that you want to delete from your history.

Tap the Delete button.

A cookie is a piece of data that a site puts on your device so that site can remember you when you visit again.

To block cookies:

Go to Settings > Safari > Advanced.

Turn on Block All Cookies.

ios-17-iphone-14-pro-settings-safari-block-all-cookies

If you block cookies, some web pages may not work. Here are some examples:

You'll likely not be able to sign in to a site even when using your correct user name and password.

You may see a message that cookies are required or that your browser's cookies are turned off.

Some features on a site may not work.

Content blockers are third-party apps and extensions that let Safari block cookies, images, resources, pop-ups and other content.

To get a content blocker:

Download a content blocking app from the App Store.

Tap Settings > Safari > Extensions.

Tap to turn on a listed content blocker.

You can use more than one content blocker. If you need help, contact the app developer .

Information about products not manufactured by Apple, or independent websites not controlled or tested by Apple, is provided without recommendation or endorsement. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance or use of third-party websites or products. Apple makes no representations regarding third-party website accuracy or reliability. Contact the vendor for additional information.

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purge cookies safari

Manage cookies and website data

Websites often store cookies and other data on your Mac. This data may include information that you have provided, such as your name, email address, and preferences. This data helps websites identify you when you return so the site can provide services for you and show information that might be of interest to you.

By default, Safari accepts cookies and website data only from websites you visit. This helps prevent certain advertisers from storing data on your Mac. You can change options in Safari preferences so that Safari always accepts or always blocks cookies and other website data.

Open Safari for me

Important:   Changing your cookie preferences or removing cookies and website data in Safari may change or remove them in other apps, including Dashboard.

Choose Safari > Preferences, click Privacy, then do any of the following:

Change which cookies and website data are accepted: Select a “Cookies and website data” option:

Always block: Safari doesn’t let any websites, third parties, or advertisers store cookies and other data on your Mac. This may prevent some websites from working properly.

Allow from current website only: Safari accepts cookies and website data only from the website you’re currently visiting. Websites often have embedded content from other sources. Safari does not allow these third parties to store or access cookies or other data.

Allow from websites I visit: Safari accepts cookies and website data only from websites you visit. Safari uses your existing cookies to determine whether you have visited a website before. Selecting this option helps prevent websites that have embedded content in other websites you browse from storing cookies and data on your Mac.

Always allow: Safari lets all websites, third parties, and advertisers store cookies and other data on your Mac.

Remove stored cookies and data: Click Remove All Website Data, or click Details, select one or more websites, then click Remove.

Removing the data may reduce tracking, but may also log you out of websites or change website behavior.

See which websites store cookies or data: Click Details.

Ask websites not to track you: Some websites keep track of your browsing activities when they serve you content, which enables them to tailor what they present to you. You can have Safari ask sites and their third party content providers (including advertisers) not to track you.

With this option turned on, each time Safari fetches content from a website, Safari adds a request not to track you, but it’s up to the website to honor this request.

How-To Geek

How to clear history, cache, and cookies in safari on iphone or ipad.

We're going to assume that most How-To Geek writers know how to delete the history, cookies, and cache in Mobile Safari, but just in case you don't know, here is how to do it.

Open up the Settings app and find Safari in the left-hand list, and then scroll down the right side until you find the "Clear History and Website Data" button.

You'll be prompted to verify that you really want to do this, and it will point out that this is also going to delete the history from other devices using your iCloud account to sync Safari.

Related: How to Clear Cookies / Cache for a Single Website on iPhone or iPad

Perhaps this is a good time to point out that you should use private browsing mode if you don't want history being saved on your device!

How to Delete Cookies and Stored Website Data in Safari

Websites and advertisers use cookies to identify you and follow you around the internet, and they might also save other website data to remember you by. In Safari, you can delete these cookies and other data. Let's head to Safari's privacy settings.

safari cookies details

Stored content can include a history of your site visits or information you provided the site, such as your name and email address. You can delete all of the website data at once or for individual sites.

Delete Cookies and Saved Data on the Mac

1. Select Preferences from the Safari menu or hold down the Command key and the comma key at the same time (Command+,).

safari preferences

2. Go to the Privacy tab.

safari privacy tab

3. Click the Remove All Website Data button to remove all stored website data, or skip to step 5 to remove data on a site-by-site basis.

safari delete website data

4. Click Remove Now to confirm. Note, as Safari warns you, this could log you out of sites and perhaps also change how they function. For example, instead of getting tailored ads on the site, you'll be served generic ones.

safari delete website data confirm

5. To remove stored data by site, click the Details button.  

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safari details

6. Select the sites with stored data you want to remov e. Hold down the Command key to select multiple sites.

safari cookies selected

7. Click Remove.

8. Click Done.

Alternatively, you can click the Remove All button to delete all of the sites' cookies and stored data. Safari will ask you to confirm your choice:

safari cookies confirm

Delete Cookies and Web History in Safari in iOS

Clear your history, cookies, and browsing data from Safari on your iPad or iPhone .

1. Open the Settings app and tap Safari.

safari ios settings 2847971455037662

2. Tap Clear History and Website Data. If you're using iOS 7 or earlier, the menu is slightly different: Tap "Clear History" and "Clear Cookies and Data".

safari ios clear history

3. Tap Clear to confirm.

safari ios clear confirm

4. Tap Advanced back in the Safari Settings window to clear other stored website data.

safari ios advanced

5. Tap Website Data.

safari ios advanced website data

6. Tap Remove All Website Data . Alternatively, you can click the Edit link at the top right and then delete individual sites' data by tapping the minus sign next to the site names.

safari ios advanced remove

Doing this will not only help protect your privacy. It can also clear out precious space on your device.

Looking to learn more about your Mac — or buy a new one? Check out our how to reset a MacBook guide for more details about what to do before you sell your laptop (or other macOS machine) and our MacBook Pro 2019 rumors roundup for details on what to expect in next year's model.

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purge cookies safari

How to clear cache on Mac in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox

Avatar for Michael Potuck

Looking to tidy up the browser on your Mac or fix some issues you’re seeing with websites? Read on for how to clear cache on Mac, as well as history, and cookies in Safari , Chrome, and Firefox.

It’s a straightforward process to clear cache on Mac in Safari as well as third-party browsers like Chrome and Firefox. While the button in the menu bar for Safari is labeled “Clear History,” it also clears cookies and your cache.

For Chrome and Firefox, you get more detailed control of what data you’re deleting.

Whether you’re just wanting to do some regular maintenance or having some issues with browsing that you want to clear up, follow along below…

For how to clear your cache, history, and website data on iPhone and iPad, check out our tutorial here .

Table of contents

Google chrome, how to clear cache on mac.

  • Open Safari
  • In the menu bar (top left of your screen) click History
  • You can also choose Safari > Clear History…
  • Use the drop-down menu to pick what timeframe you want to clear history and cookies from Safari
  • One last time, click  Clear History
  • Keep in mind that means you may be logged out of websites, etc.

Site default logo image

Now look at the bottom of the menu and click “Clear History…”

To fully clear your history, cache, and cookies, click the drop-down and select “all history.”

  • For Google Chrome on Mac, click Chrome in the menu bar (top left corner)
  • Choose “Clear Browsing Data”
  • Pick a time range, or “All time”
  • Choose what data to clear with the checkboxes
  • Click Clear data
  • For Firefox on Mac, click History in the menu bar (top left of your screen)
  • Click Clear Recent History…
  • Change the timeframe to what you’d like
  • Choose what data to remove

Read more 9to5Mac tutorials: 

  • Best USB-C and Thunderbolt displays for Mac
  • Here’s how the new 14″ and 16″ MacBook Pro compare to other MacBook models
  • Find the battery percentage of your iPhone 13 (and earlier iPhones too )
  • Here’s how Background Sounds work in iOS 15

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How to clear cookies on your Mac in Safari and other web browsers

  • To clear cookies on a Mac, you need to delete cookies in all web browsers you use.
  • You can clear all cookies, or choose to remove specific cookies.
  • When you delete cookies, you erase information saved in your browser, including passwords and other settings.

HTTP cookies , also known as web cookies or browser cookies, serve an important role on the internet.

Cookies remember website configurations, login details, search history, products added to your shopping cart, and other browsing data — all with the practical purpose of storing your preferences so you can have a personalized browsing experience.

But cookies can also be used to track and identify you. They're the reason why some online ads seem eerily specific to you and only you, based on your past web history. These cookies are known as third-party cookies.

When you clear cookies on a Mac, you erase all that saved information from your browser. There are a few reasons why you should regularly clear your cookies:

  • They can slow your browser down: Deleting your cookies frees up space on your device, so it can improve its overall performance, including browsing speed.
  • They store your personal information: If privacy is a concern, you should regularly clear your cookies. This is especially important if you share your device with others. 
  • They are susceptible to hackers: The fact that cookies store personal information makes them a prime target for hackers to steal your data. 

The good news is that clearing cookies is a straightforward process in Safari on a Mac, and other third-party browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. Below, we'll show you how to clear cookies on all of them.

What happens when you clear cookies?

After you clear cookies, sites will take longer to load the next time you visit them, because content needs to load again. For some sites, you may also need to sign in again or re-enter your login information. If you were about to purchase an item, your shopping cart may be empty. Likewise, the ads you see online may no longer be catered to your interests.

purge cookies safari

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iGeeksBlog

You may want to clear Safari history, cache, and website data on Mac to prevent others from seeing what you were browsing. Removing these helps make the browser responsive . It also comes handy when Safari lags or takes ages to load webpages. The steps to delete website data of Safari in macOS is easy. Let us see how.

Consequences of clearing Safari History and Website Data

  • Records of visited web pages are deleted.
  • A list of the frequently visited sites is also cleared.
  • It may reduce tracking by websites. (a good thing)
  • You may be logged out of websites.
  • Records of blocked or allowed location access, notification, etc. are also reset. So, if you visit a website, it will again ask your permission for these.
  • The download list is deleted. (Actual downloaded files are not.)
  • If you have several Apple devices that sync via iCloud, the changes will reflect on all.

How to clear Safari history on Mac

You can choose to clear all history in a few clicks. Or choose to delete them date-wise or by specific pages. Let me show you how.

  • Open Safari on Mac.
  • Click on History from the top menu bar

Open Safari, tap on History at top menu bar, select Clear History

  • Dropdown menu will show all history . Click on it if you want to select another option, like the last hour, today, today, and yesterday.

Select All history, tap on Clear history

Now, if you don’t want to clear the entire history but just a few specific pages, here’s what you need to do.

How to delete specific webpage from Safari history on Mac

  • From the top menu bar, click on History .

Tap on History, select Show All History

  • Or, click on the tiny triangle arrow ▶ to expand.

Tap dropdown arrow, right click on particular page, select Delete

How to clear Safari cache and cookies on Mac

To clear cache and cookies of your existing Safari profile, you need to delete all of its Website Data. Here’s how you can do that:

  • Launch the Safari browser .

Choose Safari in menu bar and select Settings

The above-mentioned method will only delete website data for a particular profile in Safari.

If you’re like me and enjoy using multiple profiles on Safari to maintain a separation between your personal and professional activities, then I’d like to notify you about something.

However, if you wish to clear the cookies and cache for all your Safari profiles, then you must employ the following method.

How to clear cache of all Safari profiles on Mac

  • Launch Safari → Click Safari in the menu bar → Select Settings .

Head to Advanced tab and tick the checkbox next to Show features for web developers

How to block all cookies for Safari on Mac

Cookies are tiny data packets that a website saves on your device. It helps the site know that you are revisiting it. (If this is your first visit to iGeeksBlog, you might have seen a banner at the bottom asking for your cookie consent.)

When you clear history and website data, cookies are also deleted. However, here is how you can remove cookies (cache, etc. too) individually and how you can block them from accumulating further.

  • Launch Safari browser → Click Safari in the menu bar → Select Settings .

Click Advance and enable Block all cookies

No, clearing your Safari history will not lead to the removal of your bookmarks or saved passwords.

Yes, clearing cookies will log you out from websites and services where you were previously signed in. This process removes stored login credentials.

Yes, clearing cache, history, and cookies might have a temporary impact on your browsing experience. Websites could a bit slowly.

If you want to remove the Safari cache, history, and cookies on your Mac, just follow the instructions above. Furthermore, I’d highly recommend our complete guides if you’re thinking of changing your default search engine for normal and private windows in Safari.

Did you find this guide helpful? Let me know in the comments!

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Ankur

I have been an Apple user for over seven years now. At iGeeksBlog, I love creating how-tos and troubleshooting guides that help people do more with their iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods, and Apple Watch. In my free time, I like to watch stand up comedy videos, tech documentaries, news debates, and political speeches.

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How to Delete Cookies from Safari on Your iPhone & iPad

purge cookies safari

When you delete cookies from Safari on your iPhone or iPad, you free up storage space and improve your device's performance speeds. Clearing the cache and deleting cookies can also help safeguard your online privacy! We'll show you how to clear your cache and cookies, plus how to disable cookies for future browsing if you choose to do so.

iPhone Life

What Are Cookies on the iPhone or iPad?

  • How to Delete Cookies from Safari on iPhone or iPad

How to Clear Cookies & History on iPhone or iPad

How to disable cookies on iphone or ipad.

Cookies are pieces of data placed on your iPhone or iPad (or any other device on which you browse the internet) by the websites you visit in order to enhance your browsing experience and collect your data. From helping you retain login information to tracking what sites you typically visit or what items you are interested in on Amazon, cookies and their associated data can make your web experience quicker, smoother, and more intuitive. They can also be used to track you in ways you don't want, though, and after a while, cookies and their saved data can take up valuable storage space on your iPhone or iPad and diminish overall performance. To learn other ways to improve your Apple devices' performance, sign up for our free Tip of the Day newsletter.

Keep in mind, though, that clearing cookies on your iPhone will delete saved logins and other website information.

How to Delete Cookies from Safari on iPhone or iPad

If you're ready to clear cookies from Safari, here's what to do:

purge cookies safari

When you clear cookies along with your Safari browsing history, you'll be able to save additional storage space. Also, if you ever have issues with Safari, clearing the cookies and history is beneficial in helping you troubleshoot. If you're ready to free up storage space on your iPhone by deleting cookies and clearing your Safari browsing history, here's how to go about it:

Tap Safari

And that's it! Remember that after you delete cookies on your iPhone or iPad, you will be logged out of any accounts you were signed into.

You can also permanently disable cookies on iPhone or iPad if you wish. Keep in mind that permanently disabling cookies may prevent websites from working properly. For example, you will likely be unable to log in to a website when entering your correct username and password. You might receive messages that will tell you to enable cookies or that cookies are turned off. Plus, some features may not work on a website. A good alternative to permanently disabling cookies on iPhone or iPad, if you want to prevent cookies from accumulating, is to  turn on Private Browsing from within your Safari browser. But if you'd like to try disabling all cookie collection, here's how:

Block all cookies

Now that you know why cookies matter and how to clear storage space by deleting saved cookies and your Safari browsing history, you might also like to learn  how to hide apps on your iPhone .

Author Details

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As Senior Gear Editor at iPhone Life, Dig reports on the latest and greatest accessories built for the iOS ecosystem. From rugged gear and Bluetooth speakers, to headphones, unique iDevice cases, and iOS remote controlled vehicles, Dig's articles cover a wide range of great gear for the iPhone and iPad. A core gamer for over three decades, Dig also writes iPhone Life's Game Centered column, which focuses on the best iOS games and game related news. Additionally, Dig's company, iDoc Tech Support, offers web design and administration services as well as iPhone and iPad repairs. When not at his work desk, Dig loves spending time with family and enjoying the wonders of nature. You can follow him on Twitter @idoctech

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How to Clear Safari Browsing History and Cache

Whenever you browse the web in Safari, the browser stores website data so that it doesn't have to download it again each time you revisit a site. In theory this should speed up your browsing experience, but there are some scenarios where you might want to clear the cache and start anew. Keep reading to learn how it's done on Mac, iPhone , and iPad .

safari macos icon banner

If a site you regularly frequent has elements that have stopped working, or if a site has stopped loading completely, there may be a conflict between an older version of it that Safari has cached and a newer one.

Or perhaps you simply want to protect your privacy by wiping the slate clean and removing all the data associated with websites you've visited. Either way, here's how it's done on macOS and iOS.

How to Clear Safari's Cache on Mac

There are two ways to clear Safari's cache on a Mac. The first method outlined below deletes everything relating to a website you've visited, including not only the cached versions of the site, but also cookies and any other related data. The second method described offers a more targeted approach and clears only Safari's cache, but it does involve enabling a hidden menu.

  • Launch Safari browser on your Mac.

safari

How to Clear Safari's Cache on iPhone and iPad

Note that the following steps clear all history, cookies and website data on your device, regardless of when the sites were accessed.

  • Launch the Settings app on your iOS device.
  • Scroll down and select Safari .
  • Scroll down and select Clear History and Website Data .
  • Choose the timeframe to clear ( Last hour , Today , Today and yesterday , or All history ), choose the profile or select All Profiles , then tap Clear History .

settings

For another way to protect your privacy while browsing the web, be sure to check out our guide on how to use Safari's Private Browsing Mode .

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How to Delete Cookies on a Mac Desktop & MacBook

Last Updated: June 26, 2023 Tested

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This article was co-authored by Chiara Corsaro and by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd . Chiara Corsaro is the General Manager and Apple Certified Mac & iOS Technician for macVolks, Inc., an Apple Authorized Service Provider located in the San Francisco Bay Area. macVolks, Inc. was founded in 1990, is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) with an A+ rating, and is part of the Apple Consultants Network (ACN). The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. This article has been viewed 733,878 times.

This wikiHow article teaches you how to delete your Mac's Safari, Chrome, and Firefox cookies. Cookies are temporary files related to sites that you've visited. Keep in mind that while clearing cookies from your browser may speed it up, doing so will also sign you out of most websites on which you were signed in.

Things You Should Know

  • In Safari, go to "Safari" > "Preferences" > "Privacy" > "Manage Website Data…" and click "Remove All.
  • In Google Chrome, go to "Chrome" > "Clear Browsing Data…", select "Cookies and other site data," then click "Clear browsing data."
  • In Firefox, go to "Firefox" > "History" > "Clear Recent History…", select "Cookies," then click "Clear Now."

Step 1 Click the Safari menu.

  • Click the Safari menu item.
  • Click Preferences...
  • Click the Advanced tab.
  • Check the Show Develop Menu in Menu Bar box.
  • Click the Develop menu item.
  • Click Empty Caches

Chiara Corsaro

Chiara Corsaro

This is a safe way to clear cookies from your Mac. While it's safe to empty your cookies from the Safari app, it is not recommended to go directly into the macOS system library to clear out cookies unless you have experience in doing so. Accidentally deleting the wrong file in your system library can result in functionality issues with the application and/or operating system.

Step 1 Click the Chrome menu.

  • the past hour
  • the past day
  • the past week
  • the past 4 weeks
  • the beginning of time

Step 4 Check the

  • Last Two Hours
  • Last Four Hours

Step 4 Check the

Community Q&A

Liza Gaylord

  • You shouldn't have to clear your Mac's Safari cache regularly, but doing so once in a while will help keep your Mac running quickly. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

purge cookies safari

  • Cookies can be detrimental to your web browsing experience, but they're also what allows you to sign in to sites without re-entering your username or password every single time. Deleting cookies will sign you out of most websites. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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How to Clear Safari History, Cache, and Cookies on your iPhone

Safari App Icon on iPad

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Safari stores your browsing history as well as cached files and cookies from every website you visit. Clearing Safari history, cookies, and cached data on your iPhone can be beneficial for various reasons, including performance improvement, privacy, troubleshooting, and general maintenance.

Sometimes, you also may simply want a fresh start and prefer to clear your history regularly to minimize your digital footprint.

Clearing your history ensures others can’t see which websites you’ve visited or what information you’ve searched for. This is mostly applicable if you share your iPhone with others or search for sensitive information.

Over time, cached files and cookies from sites you visit can accumulate and take up a significant amount of storage space on your iPhone. Clearing them will free up storage capacity. Excessive data accumulation, including history, cookies, and cache, can slow down Safari’s performance. Clearing this data could speed up your browsing experience.

Also, if a website isn’t loading properly, clearing your browsing history, cache, and cookies will force Safari to download fresh data and could help resolve the issue.

How to Clear Safari History

safari 1

To clear your Safari history and website data such as cookies and caches, follow these steps:

  • Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
  • Scroll down to Safari and tap it.
  • Find Clear History and Website Data and tap it.
  • On the next screen, you’ll have the option to clear history from the Last Hour , Today , Today and Yesterday , or All history. Select whichever one you prefer.

How to Clear Safari Cache and Cookies

safari 2

The steps above will clear all of your browsing history, plus cookies, cache, and other browsing data (this is what “website data” refers to). However, you can preserve the history of the sites you’ve visited while clearing out only your cookies and other stored browsing data such as caches and stored preferences for individual websites.

Here’s how to clear your Safari cache and cookies, but keep your history:

  • Open the Settings app.
  • Scroll all the way down to Advanced and tap it.
  • Tap Website Data . Depending on how much data is stored, this screen might take a few seconds to load.
  • To flush the data for an individual site, locate it in the list and swipe right-to-left to delete it. You can also select Show All Sites to expand the list.
  • To delete all cookies and caches, select Remove All Website Data at the bottom of your screen and then tap Remove Now to confirm.

Clearing Safari’s history and website data is a straightforward process that can protect privacy, improve performance, and help manage valuable storage space effectively. Whether or not you’ve been thinking about it, give it a try to see if you notice a difference.

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COMMENTS

  1. Clear the history, cache, and cookies from Safari on your iPhone, iPad

    Learn how to delete your history, cookies, and cache in Settings. Delete history, cache, and cookies. Clear cookies and cache, but keep your history. Delete a website from your history. Block cookies. Use content blockers. Delete history, cache, and cookies. Go to Settings > Safari. Tap Clear History and Website Data.

  2. Manage cookies and website data in Safari on Mac

    Always allow cookies: Deselect "Block all cookies.". Websites, third parties, and advertisers can store cookies and other data on your Mac. Remove stored cookies and data: Click Manage Website Data, select one or more websites, then click Remove or Remove All. Removing the data may reduce tracking, but may also log you out of websites or ...

  3. How to clear Safari cache and cookies on a Mac

    Cleaning cookies and the cache data for individual sites can be done via Safari's Settings/Preferences. Open Safari. Click on Safari in the menu at the top of the screen. Click on Settings or ...

  4. How to Delete Cookies Using the Safari Web Browser: 13 Steps

    5. Tap Remove All Website Data. This is at the bottom of the page. Your cookies and cache will be deleted. [2] If you want to delete your history along with your cookies and cache, return to the Safari settings page. Scroll down and tap Clear History and Website Data, select a timeframe, and then tap Clear History. 6.

  5. Clear the history, cache and cookies from Safari on your iPhone, iPad

    Delete a website from your history. Open the Safari app. Tap the Show Bookmarks button, then tap the History button. Tap the Edit button, then select the website(s) that you want to delete from your history. Tap the Delete button. Block cookies. A cookie is a piece of data that a site puts on your device so that site can remember you when you ...

  6. How to Clear Safari Browser Cache on Mac, iPhone, or iPad

    Clear your cache. 1. Click on the Safari tab at the top left of your screen and choose Preferences from the dropdown menu. Navigate to the Preferences section. Stefan Ionescu/Insider. 2. Click the ...

  7. How to Clear Safari's Browsing History and Cookies on macOS

    If you simply want to clear part of your history, you can click "Show History" ("Command + Y"). Click on the site or use the "Command" key to select several sites, then press the "Delete" key. You can also click "Clear History" in the upper right corner to remove everything all at once. You can also right-click a history entry to delete it.

  8. Manage cookies and website data using Safari

    Always allow: Safari lets all websites, third parties, and advertisers store cookies and other data on your Mac. Remove stored cookies and data: Click Remove All Website Data, or click Details, select one or more websites, then click Remove. Removing the data may reduce tracking, but may also log you out of websites or change website behavior.

  9. How to Delete Cookies in Safari

    The following steps show you how to delete cookies from Apple's Safari browser on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. How to Delete Cookies in Safari on iOS.

  10. How to Clear History, Cache, and Cookies in Safari on ...

    Open up the Settings app and find Safari in the left-hand list, and then scroll down the right side until you find the "Clear History and Website Data" button. You'll be prompted to verify that you really want to do this, and it will point out that this is also going to delete the history from other devices using your iCloud account to sync ...

  11. How to Delete Cookies and Stored Website Data in Safari

    1. Open the Settings app and tap Safari. 2. Tap Clear History and Website Data. If you're using iOS 7 or earlier, the menu is slightly different: Tap "Clear History" and "Clear Cookies and Data ...

  12. How to clear cache on Mac in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox

    Open Safari. In the menu bar (top left of your screen) click History. At the bottom of the menu, choose Clear History…. You can also choose Safari > Clear History…. Use the drop-down menu to ...

  13. Clear Cookies on Mac: Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge

    Open Mozilla Firefox and in the menu bar click History. Select Clear Browsing Data. Select a time range and choose what data to clear. Click Clear data . For more control of your cookie settings ...

  14. How to clear Safari cache, history, and cookies on Mac

    However, if you wish to clear the cookies and cache for all your Safari profiles, then you must employ the following method. How to clear cache of all Safari profiles on Mac. Launch Safari → Click Safari in the menu bar → Select Settings. Proceed to the Advanced tab → Tick the checkbox adjacent to Show features for web developers.

  15. How to Delete Cookies from Safari on Your iPhone & iPad

    Tap Safari. Scroll down and tap Advanced. Tap Website Data. If you want to delete cookies for particular sites, tap Edit. Then, tap the minus sign to the left of a website's name. Tap Delete. Tap Done. If you want to delete all cookies, tap Remove All Website Data. Then, tap Remove Now.

  16. How to Clear Safari Browsing History and Cache

    Scroll down and select Safari. Scroll down and select Clear History and Website Data. Choose the timeframe to clear ( Last hour, Today, Today and yesterday, or All history ), choose the profile or ...

  17. How to Clear Cookies on a Mac in Safari, Firefox, and Chrome

    Clear Safari's cache to get rid of persistent cookies. If you still see cookies popping up after deleting your Mac's stored cookies, you can clear Safari's cache, which will remove all of Safari's input information except for settings and bookmarks. To do so: Click the Safari menu item. Click Preferences... Click the Advanced tab.

  18. How to Clear Safari History, Cache, and Cookies on your iPhone

    To clear your Safari history and website data such as cookies and caches, follow these steps: Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Scroll down to Safari and tap it. Find Clear History and Website ...

  19. How To Clear Cookies in Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox

    After you clear your recent browser data, you can also set Chrome to automatically clear cookies by going to Third-party cookies and checking the box next to Block third-party cookies. However, Google is planning to remove third-party cookies from Chrome soon. How To Clear Cookies in Safari