In Summary
- Much like any other web browser, Chrome too can be subject to various loading and formatting issues on sites that often lead to a sluggish browsing experience.
- Clearing Chrome’s cache and cookies is the easiest way to fix a lot of such internet browsing problems.
- When you clear browser cache and cookies, all its temporary internet files (along with a few other information) get deleted, and your browser effectively gets refreshed.
Google Chrome is one of the widely used web browsers worldwide. However, much like other browsers, it too can be subject to loading or formatting issues on sites, among several other problems.
Clearing Chrome’s cache and cookies is the easiest way to resolve these problems. In this guide, we’ll show you the steps to clear Chrome’s cache and cookies on different devices.
Table of Contents
What Does Clearing Chrome’s Cache and Cookies Do?
Before clearing Chrome’s cache and cookies, you should know what each of these is and what deleting them does to the browser.
A browser cache is a temporary storage in system memory or disk that saves downloaded web pages to speed up the website loading process and, in turn, the web browsing experience. On the other hand, a browser cookie is a piece of information stored on your computer to serve certain functions, such as storing your shopping cart contents, remembering your form feed entries, and instant logging on the web.
When you delete your browser’s cache and cookies, all your saved pages and website data get deleted. As a result, if you’re logged in to a website, you’ll be logged out of it immediately and will be required to enter your credentials again to log back in. Similarly, visiting a website would take a little longer than it used to—albeit not in a noticeable way. And, any browsing issues you have with the browser—slow page loading or bad content/page formatting—would likely get resolved.
How to Clear Chrome’s Cache and Cookies on Mac and Windows
Clearing Chrome cache and cookies is quite straightforward on Mac and Windows. Follow the steps below to do this. These steps are common for all versions of macOS and Windows.
- With Chrome open, click on the ellipsis button in the toolbar and select More Tools > Clear Browsing Data. Alternatively, you can hit the Command+Shift+Delete (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows) keyboard shortcuts to directly view the Clear browsing data window in the Settings menu. Or, you can also navigate to chrome://settings/clearBrowserData to access it.
- In the Clear browsing data prompt, check off the checkboxes next to Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files.
- Click on the dropdown menu next to Time range and choose a time range during which you would like to clear the cache and cookies.
- Hit the Clear data button to clear Chrome’s cache and cookies on Mac and Windows.
How to Clear Chrome Cache and Cookies on Android and iOS
Unlike Mac and Windows, clearing Chrome’s cache and cookies on Android and iOS involves a different set of steps. Here’s how you can do it on your device.
Clear Chrome Cookies and Cache on Android
- With the Chrome app open, hit the ellipsis button in the upper-right corner in Chrome and select Settings.
- Scroll down and select Privacy and security under Basics.
- Click on Clear browsing data.
- Tick the checkboxes next to Cookies and site data and Cached images and files on the following screen.
- Tap the dropdown menu for Time range and choose the time period for which you want to delete Chrome’s cookies and cache.
- Hit the Clear data button at the bottom to clear Chrome’s cookies and cache on your Android device.
Clear Chrome Cookies and Cache on iOS
- In the Chrome app, click the ellipsis button at the bottom toolbar in Chrome and select Settings.
- Scroll down and select Privacy.
- Select Cookies, Site Data and Cached Images and Files on the Clear Browsing Data window.
- Hit the Clear Browsing Data button at the bottom to clear Chrome’s cache and cookies on your iPhone.
Related Read: How to Clear Instagram Cache on iPhone and Android
Fix Internet Issues and Speed Up Web Browsing
Cleaning browser cache and cookies is one of the easiest ways to resolve internet problems. It’s also effective at speeding up your browser, which tends to become bogged down due to a lot of temporary internet files that it accumulates over time.
By following the instructions in this guide above, you should be able to clear Chrome’s cookies and cache on your desktop and mobile phones, and in turn, restore its functionality and speed up your browsing experience.
However, if clearing browser cookies and cache doesn’t fix internet issues on your browser or if you’re experiencing speed issues, you may want to check out our guide on how to speed up your web browser for more solutions.