How to Clear Your Browser Cache
This guide will help you to clear your browser’s cached information on computer and mobile platforms. Cached information can help websites load faster, but it can also prevent you from seeing the most up-to-date version of a webpage. Additionally, it can also cause the webpage to load improperly or fail to load at all. You can clear the cache on all popular browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari.
Instructions
Method 1: Google Chrome on a Computer (Chromium)
Open Google Chrome (red, yellow, green, and blue sphere).
Click on the 3 vertical dots on the top right corner of the browser. A drop-down menu will appear.
Select “More Tools” near the bottom of the drop-down menu. This will prompt a pop-out menu to appear.
Click “Clear Browsing Data…” in the pop-out menu. This will open a window with data-clearing options.
Select a time range by clicking the “Time range” box, then click “All time” in the drop-down menu to make sure that all cached information is cleared.
Check the “Cached images and files” box. If this box is already checked, skip this step. All other boxes on the page can be unchecked if you only want to clear the cache.
Click “CLEAR DATA” by clicking the blue button at the bottom-right corner of the window. This will clear Google Chrome’s cache.
Method 2: Google Chrome on Mobile
Open Google Chrome. This is the red, blue, yellow, and green sphere.
Tap the 3 vertical dots at the top corner of the screen. This will make a drop-down menu appear.
Tap “History”.
Tap “Clear Browsing Data…” on the lower-left corner of the screen.
On Android, this option is near the top of the screen.
5. Tap “Cached Images and Files”. You should see a blue checkmark appear next to it.
If there is already a blue checkmark, skip this step.
You can uncheck all the other boxes on the page if you only want to clear the cache.
6. Tap “Clear Browsing Data” at the bottom of the screen.
On Android, tap “CLEAR DATA” in this location.
7. Tap “Clear Browsing Data” when prompted. This will clear the cache from Google Chrome.
On Android, tap “CLEAR” when prompted.
Method 3: Firefox on a Computer
Open Firefox (orange fox around a blue globe).
Click the 3 horizontal lines at the top-right corner of the window. This will prompt a drop-down menu to appear.
Click “Settings”. This will bring you to a new page.
Click “Privacy and Security” in the left panel.
Scroll down to “History”. Click the “Clear History” button under the “History” header in the right panel.
Select a time range. Click the “time range to clear” drop-down box, then click “Everything” in the drop-down menu.
Make sure the “Cache” checkbox is checked. You can uncheck the others if you only want to delete the cache.
Click “OK” at the bottom of the window. This will clear Firefox’s cache.
Method 4: Firefox on Android
Open Firefox (orange fox around a blue globe).
Tap the 3-dot menu at the bottom right corner of the screen.
Tap “Settings” on the menu.
Tap “Delete browsing data.” This is under the “Privacy and security” header.
Choose what to delete. To delete the cache, check the box next to “Cached images and files”. If you only want to delete the cache, uncheck all other options.
Tap “Delete browsing data”. A confirmation will appear.
Tap “Delete” to confirm.
Method 5: Firefox on iPhone/iPad
Open Firefox (orange fox around a blue globe)
Tap the 3 horizontal lines at the bottom-right corner of the screen. A pop-up menu will appear.
Tap “Settings” at the bottom of the menu.
Tap “Data Management” under the “Privacy” header.
Choose what to delete. If you only want to delete the cache, make sure the cache switch is blue and the others are grey.
Tap “Clear Private Data” at the bottom of the screen.
Tap “OK” when prompted. This will clear your cache from Firefox.
Method 6: Microsoft Edge for Windows
Open Microsoft Edge (blue-green “e” in the Start menu).
Click the menu at the top-right corner, select “History”, and then click “Clear browsing data”.
Note: you can also do this step by using the shortcut by pressing [Control]+[Shift]+[Delete] on your keyboard. This will bring up the “Clear browsing data” window.
3. Choose a length of time. Select how much data to clear from the “Time range” menu at the top.
4. Choose what to clear. If you only want to clear the cache, check the box next to “Cached images and files” and remove the checkmarks from all other options.
5. Click the blue “Clear now” button. This will clear your Edge cache.
Method 7: Safari for macOS
Open Safari (blue compass icon on the dock at the bottom of the screen).
2. Enable the “Develop” menu. If you already see this in the menu bar at the top of the screen then you can skip this step. Otherwise, enable it with the following steps:
Click the Safari menu
Click “Preferences”
Click the “Advanced” tab
Check the box near “Show develop menu in menu bar”
3. Open the “Develop” menu. Now that you have enabled it, it is located in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
4. Click “Empty Caches”. This will delete your cache from your Mac.
Method 8: Safari on iPhone/iPad
Open your iPhone’s Settings by tapping on the grey app with the gears. This will bring you to the Settings page.
Scroll down and tap “Safari”. It is approximately 1/3 of the way down the Settings page.
Scroll down and tap “Clear History and Website Data”. This will be found near the bottom of the Safari page.
Tap “Clear History and Data” when prompted. This will clear all of your iPhone’s data, including the cached files and pages.
