How to Clear Cache, Cookies, History and Bookmarks

Body

What is Cache, Cookies, and History and How Do You Clear Them...

Each time you use a web browser (Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari, etc), the browser saves (or caches) your information so it won't have to retrieve the same files or images each time you click Back or Forward. You should periodically clear the cache to allow your browser to function more efficiently.

A cookie is a file created by a web browser, at the request of a web site, that is stored on a computer. These files typically store user-specific information such as selections in a form, shopping cart contents, or authentication data. Browsers will normally clear cookies that reach a certain age, but clearing them manually may solve problems with web sites or your browser.

A browser's history is a log of sites that you visit. When you press a browser's Back button, you are moving back one entry in the history log. Browsers will normally clear history at regular intervals, but you may want to clear it manually for privacy reasons.

See below on how to delete cache, cookies and history for your browser version. To find out what browser version you are on, select the Help button at the top of your browser window and select the About option.

How to clear cache in Firefox:

Click the Menu buttonin the top right corner of your Firefox browser window. Select "Settings".
Select the "Privacy and Security" Panel on the left side of the screen
Scroll down to the "Cookies and Site Data" section, select "Clear Data"
With "Cookies and Site Data" and "Cached Web Content" checked, click the "Clear" button
For more information, visit: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-clear-firefox-cache

How to clear cache in Chrome:

Click the Menu buttonin the top right corner of your Chrome browser window.
Select "Clear browsing data"
At the top of the 'Clear Browsing Data' box, choose a time range from the drop-down. To delete everything, select "All time"
Next to the "Browsing History", "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files", check the boxes.
Click "Clear data"
For more information, visit: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/32050?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en&oco=0

How to clear cache in Microsoft Edge:

Click the three dotsin the upper right corner
Click on History
Click on the three dots ... to the right of the History tab
Select Open History Page
Select Clear Browsing Data
Click the dropdown for Time Range and select All Time
Select all boxes: Browsing History, Download History, Cookies and other site data and Cached Images and files
Click on Clear Now
For more information on clearing Edge data, visit: https://support.microsoft.com/en-US/search/results?query=clear+edge+cache&isEnrichedQuery=false

How to clear cache in Safari on Mac

In the Safari app on your Mac, choose "History", select "Clear History", click the pop-up menu
Choose how far back you want your browsing history cleared.
For more information, visit https://support.apple.com/

How to clear cache in Internet Explorer (IE)

Support for Internet Explorer 11 has ended on June 15, 2022

Internet Explorer 11 will no longer be accessible after February 14, 2023. If any site you visit needs Internet Explorer 11, you can reload it with Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge.

Select the Tools button in the upper right corner of your screen.
Select Safety and then select Delete browsing history
Choose the types of data or files you want to remove from your PC, then select Delete
For more information, visit https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/view-and-delete-your-browsing-history-in-internet-explorer-098ffe52-5ac9-a449-c296-c735c32c8678

How To Clear/Delete Bookmarks

Chrome Browser

To remove bookmarks in Chrome:

Click the 3-dot menu in the upper-right corner of Chrome > Bookmarks and Lists > Show Bookmarks Bar.
Right-click on the bookmark and select delete. You can also delete bookmarks by going to the page, click the solid star in the URL bar and select Remove

Note: You can also delete bookmarks by going to the page, click the solid star in the URL bar and select Remove.

To use the bookmark manager, go to chrome://bookmarks/ > ⋮ to the right of the bookmark you want to delete > Delete. To delete all bookmarks, go to the bookmark manager, select all, and click Delete.