In most web browsers, you can clear the cache from the Privacy or History area in the Settings or Options menu, but the exact steps involved in clearing your browser’s cache depend entirely on what web browser you’re using.
Keep reading to find some browser and device specific instructions.
What is Cache?
Your browser’s cache, pronounced like cash, is a collection of web pages, including the text, images, and most other media contained on them, that is stored on your hard drive or phone storage.
Web browsers like Safari, Firefox and Chrome use browser caching to improve the performance of frequently accessed webpages.
The browser can read data from the browser cache faster than it can reread the files from the webpage, so having a local copy of a web page makes for very quick loading on your next visit.
Cached data in the browser sounds great, so why do you ever have to clear it?
Why do you have to clear Cache?
- Clearing your cache forces your browser to retrieve the newest copy available from a visited website, something that usually happens automatically but sometimes does not.
- You might want to clear the cache if you’re experiencing issues like “404 errors” or “502 errors” (among others), which sometimes indicate a corrupted browser cache.
- Deleting cache files is useful to recover disk space; this is especially helpful on mobile devices, since their storage capacity tends to be limited.
Google Chrome: Clear Browsing Data
Follow these steps to clear your browser’s cache in Chrome:
- Open the browser’s menu by clicking on the three vertical dots on the top-right corner of your browser’s window.
- Click Settings to open the menu in a new window, then select the Privacy and Security tab on your left.
- From there, select Clear Browsing Data to open a pop-up window with your available options.
- Select either the Basic or the Advanced tab, and then check the Cached images and files and Cookies and other site data options, as well as any other items you may want to delete.
- Chrome allows you to choose how much data to delete by selecting a Time range that goes from clearing only the files saved in the Last Hour, to clearing the data stored in All Time.
- Click the Clear data button, close the window, and open a website to see its most recent version.
Time saving tip: From a keyboard, the quickest way to Clear browsing data is via the Ctrl+Shift+Del keyboard shortcut.
Google Chrome for iOS (mobile browser)
- Tap the Chrome Menu and then Settings.
- Tap Privacy.
- Choose the types of data you want to clear.
- Tap Clear.
- Exit/quit all browser windows
- Re-open the browser and open a website to see its most recent version.
Microsoft Edge: Clear Browsing Data
Follow these steps to clear your browser’s cache in Edge:
- Open the Settings menu, which can be found by clicking the More icon, which looks like three horizontal dots located on the top-right corner of the browser’s window.
- Click on the Privacy, search, and services tab, and then scroll down to the Clear browsing data section.
- Click the Choose what to clear button to open a pop-up window with your available options.
- Select your desired Time range. This tells the browser how far back to go in deleting the cached files.
- Check Cached images and files and Cookies and other site data options, as well as any other items you may want to delete.
- Click the Clear now button, close the window, and open a website to see its most recent version.
Time saving tip: From a keyboard, the quickest way to Clear browsing data is via the Ctrl+Shift+Del keyboard shortcut.
Mozilla Firefox: Clear Data
Follow these steps to clear your browser’s cache in Firefox:
- Open the Settings menu, which can be found by clicking the hamburger menu (an icon that looks like three horizontal lines) located on the top-right corner of the browser’s window.
- Click on the Privacy & Security tab on your left, and then scroll down to the Cookies and Site Data section.
- Click the Clear Data button and check the Cookies and Site Data and Cached Web Content options.
- Click the Clear button, make sure to read the warning, and then click the Clear Now button.
- Close the window and open a website to see its most recent version.
Tip: Firefox offers an additional option for added privacy. After step 2 above, check the box for Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed, and jump to step 5 above. Now the cache is automatically emptied every time the browser is closed.
Time saving tip: From a keyboard, the quickest way to Clear browsing data is via the Ctrl+Shift+Del keyboard shortcut.
Safari: Manage Website Data
Follow these steps to clear your browser’s cache in Safari:
- With Safari running, click the Safari menu in the menu bar located on the top-left part of your screen.
- Select the Settings menu, which will open a pop-up window.
- Click on the Privacy tab and in the Cookies and Site data section click on Manage Website Data.
- In the pop-up window that appears, search for and select the website(s) for which you want to delete the cache.
- Click on the Remove button, to access the available options, or click on Remove All to delete all browsing data. Make sure to read the warning, and then click the Remove Now button.
- Close the window and open the selected website to see its most recent version.
Tip: Safari offers an additional option for added privacy. In step 2 above, check the box for Block all cookies instead of the Manage Website Data button. This doesn’t delete the data already cached but prevents further data from being stored on your computer, so you may want to do both.
So... Should You Clear Your Cache Regularly?
The short answer is: No.
As a general rule you do not need to clear, delete, or empty your browser’s cache unless there’s a specific issue you’re trying to solve by doing so. The files saved in your cache are there to help you browse the web faster and more efficiently, which is usually a positive thing. What’s more, all browsers will get rid of older or unused files periodically, so don’t worry about the cache taking over all your storage space.
Having said that, clearing the cache is one of the first things you can try when issues arise, and doing it regularly only affects the loading speed of pages you visit often, so there’s also no harm in doing so.
