At a Glance
As you browse the web, your web browser saves files related to your web browsing. These files can include entire webpages, text files, image files, and more. While these locally saved files come in handy the next time you visit a website, as your device no longer needs to download these files, they do take up space on your device’s storage and even more importantly, can be used to determine what you’ve been doing on the internet.
Luckily, no matter which popular web browser you use, there is a way to quickly clear your cache, removing those files clogging up your device’s storage drive or space. Clearing your cache also helps keep your previous browsing sessions private.
Note: While the step-by-step instructions and associated screenshots were created on a Mac running macOS Ventura with the latest version of each browser installed, the instructions are similar for Windows and Linux users. When there are major differences, I will note them.
How to Clear Your Cache on Google Chrome
To clear your Google Chrome browser’s cache, do the following.
Click the icon that looks like three vertical dots, which is found in the upper-right-hand corner of your browser’s window (to the right of the address bar).
When the drop-down menu appears, find the “History” menu option. Hover your mouse pointer over the History option and another list will appear. Find “History” in the new menu and click your mouse on it.
This will take you to the main browser History page. Here, you’ll see a list of all of the websites that you’ve visited previously. In the menu on the left side of this page, you will see a “Clear browser data” button. Click it with your mouse.
The following window will appear:
If you simply want to clear your browser’s cache – while retaining your browsing history, cookies, passwords, and more – uncheck any other boxes in the list, leaving only “Cached images and files” checked.
Once you’ve selected everything you want to delete, click the “Clear data” button in the lower-right-hand corner and the cached materials will be deleted.
If you’re deleting cached information because you’re having issues logging into a website, you can use the “Time range” pull-down menu at the top of the window to control how far back you wish to delete your cache files.
How to Clear Your Cache on Microsoft Edge
To clear your Microsoft Edge browser’s cache, do the following.
Click the icon that looks like three horizontal dots, which is found in the upper-right-hand corner of your browser’s window, (to the right of the address bar). This will bring up a pull-down menu. Here, you need to find and click the “History” menu item.
In the next menu that appears, you’ll see your browsing history. Click the trash can icon, found at the top of the list.
Once you’ve clicked the trash can icon, you’ll see the screen shown below, with boxes that can be checked or unchecked to control the type of browser data that you’ll be cleaning off your device.
Since we want to delete only cached images and files, make sure every other box in the list is unchecked except for the one labeled “Cached images and files.”
Click the Clear button, and the cached images and files will be deleted.
Remember, if you’re logged into your Microsoft account in your browser, doing the above will also clear the data in the Edge browser on any other device that you’re logged into. So, if you want to only delete the cached information on the device you’re currently using, log out of your Microsoft account first. Then you can follow the steps above and log in again.
You can also have your Edge browser automatically delete your Cached images and files when the browser is closed by going into Settings, and then clicking “Privacy, Search, and Services” in the left-hand menu. Then, in the right-hand pane, click on “Choose what to clear every time you close the browser.”
Then toggle on everything that you would like cleared from your browser when it is closed.
How to Clear Your Cache on Firefox
To clear your Firefox browser’s cache, do the following.
While in Firefox, click the three horizontal line “hamburger” menu icon, found in the upper-right-hand corner of the browser window, to the right of the address bar. (This all sounds eerily familiar…)
In the drop-down menu that appears, click on the “Settings” menu option, near the bottom of the pull-down menu.
In the left-hand menu pane, click on “Privacy & Security.” Then, in the right-hand pane, scroll down until you see the section called “Cookies and Site Data.” In that section, click on the “Clear Data…” button.
A new dialog box will open. Here, you can designate whether you want to clear just cookies and site data or just cached web content, or to clear both. Once you’ve designated the data to be cleared, click the “Clear” button.
How to Clear Your Cache on Safari
macOS users can clear their Safari browser’s cache by doing the following.
While using the Safari browser, click the “Safari” menu option, found in the upper-left-hand corner of the app. (What? No lines or dots on the upper-left-hand side? Shocking!)
In the pull-down menu that appears, click on “Settings…”
In the dialog box that appears, click on the “Privacy” tab at the top of the dialog box. Next, click the “Manage Website Data…” button, found near the bottom of the dialog box.
A new dialog box will open. Here, you can either opt to remove all cache files, cookies, and local storage files, or select individual websites to delete data from.
Either select the websites you wish to delete data from and click the “Remove” button, or simply click the “Remove All” button to delete all data.
Once the deletion process takes place, click the “Done” button.
How to Clear Your Cache on Opera One
To clear your Opera One browser’s cache, do the following.
While using the Opera One browser, click the “Opera” menu option, found in the upper-left-hand corner of the app.
In the pull-down menu that appears, click on “Settings…”
The Settings page will open in the browser. Click “Privacy & Security” in the left-hand menu pane. Then, click “Clear browsing data” in the right-hand panel.
In the Clear Browser Data dialog box, pick the Time range from the pull-down box, then select the data you’d like to delete by making sure the proper checkboxes are checked. Click “Clear Data.
How to Clear Your Cache on Android
To clear your browser cache on your Android device, do the following.
While in the Chrome browser, tap the three buttons in the top-right corner to pull up your menu (Yay! We’re back to the right-hand corner), and find and tap “Settings.”
You’ll be taken to the Chrome browser settings menu. Tap the “Privacy and Security” menu option.
In the next menu, find and tap the “Clear browsing data” menu item. In the next menu select the checkbox labeled “Cached images and files,” then tap the “Clear data” button at the bottom of the screen. (You can also select to delete your browsing history and cookies and site data, if you wish to.)
How to Clear Your Cache on iOS and iPadOS
To clear your browser cache on your iOS or iPadOS device, do the following.
Open the Settings app, then look for the “Safari” menu item. Tap that. Scroll down to the bottom of the menu, where you’ll see the “Advanced” menu item. Tap that.
On the “Advanced” screen, tap the “Website Data” menu item, you’ll find it at the top of the screen. On the “Website Data” screen, tap the “Remove all Website Data” button at the bottom of the screen. Tap the “Remove Now” button at the bottom of the screen.
In Closing
As you can see, you can easily clean your device of old browser cache files with just a few clicks of your mouse or a few taps of your finger. By doing this, you not only regain space in your device’s storage, but you also help protect your privacy by removing any remnants of your past online activities.