How to Clear Your Internet Cache and Why You Should

The internet cache provides temporary storage space for content you’ve accessed from websites, such as images. Storing this information means you enjoy quicker loading times when revisiting your favorite sites. It might be convenient, but when your cache builds up, you can experience online privacy concerns, outdated data and performance issues. Learn how to clear your internet cache to free up space and improve online security.

Overview of Clearing Internet Cache

1. What Is an Internet Cache?
2. How to Clear Your Internet Cache on Desktop
3. How to Clear Your Internet Cache on Mobile Devices
4. Managing Cookies and Browser History

What Is an Internet Cache?

Your internet cache is a feature loaded into your favorite web browser that temporarily stores parts of a website, such as images, scripts and HTML files. This process reduces load times and saves bandwidth, so your pages load more quickly. Data from the cache is retrieved when you revisit websites rather than downloading it all over again.

Two other types of information often associated with the internet cache are cookies and browsing history, which serve different purposes. Cookies are small files that track your online preferences to create a personalized experience, such as login information or shopping cart history. Browsing history keeps a record of websites you’ve visited so you can easily revisit them. Unlike cache and cookies, which increase functionality, browsing history is just a chronological list of web activity.

How to Clear Your Internet Cache on a Desktop

Desktop web browsers feature varied steps for deleting your cached data. Follow the steps below to learn how to clear your internet cache based on your preferred browser.

Google Chrome

1. Select the three vertical dots in the right corner of your browser.
2. Hover over and select History. This will open a new window.
3. Navigate to the left menu and select Delete Browsing Data, which will open another new window.
4. Select the box beside Cached images and folders.
5. Select Delete Data.

Safari

1. Navigate to the Safari app on your Mac desktop.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Select the Privacy tab and choose Manage Website Data.
4. On the bottom, select Remove All to clear all cached website data. Or select specific websites and select Remove.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Select the Menu button and then select History.
2. Select the drop-down menu in the Time range to choose how far back you want to delete your history.
3. Next to Details, select the arrow to choose which information you want to clear.
4. Select Clear Now.

Microsoft Edge

1. Navigate to Settings and more and select Settings.
2. Choose Privacy, Search and Services.
3. Select Clear Browsing Data and choose which data to clear.
4. Select a time range for deletion from the Time range list.
5. Select the box next to Cached images and files and choose Clear Now.

Vivaldi

1. Navigate to Menu and select Tools.
2. Select Delete Browsing Data.
3. Choose a time range.
4. Select which data you’d like to delete.
5. Select Delete.

Opera

1. Navigate to the Start page and select History.
2. Select the three-dot menu and choose Clear History.
3. Check the prompt and select Clear Data.

How to Clear Your Cache on Mobile Devices

The steps for clearing your mobile internet cache will vary depending on which browser and device you’re using. Some phones, such as iOS devices, allow you to delete cache, along with cookies and browsing history, in your Settings. On Android devices, clearing your cache can be completed within your browsing app. You’ll find this information under Privacy and Security across other popular browsers.

Google Chrome

1. Navigate to your Google Chrome app.
2. Select your Profile icon.
3. Select Privacy and Security.
4. Select Delete browsing data.
5. Check off which information you want to delete.
6. Select Delete browsing data.

Safari

1. Open your Settings and select Apps.
2. Scroll down to Safari. 
3. Navigate to Clear History and Website Data.
4. Select a time range and confirm the deletion.

Managing Cookies and Browsing History

Similar to your internet cache, cookies and browsing history provide an efficient browsing experience. Cookies are small pieces of data stored by websites that save your preferences but may also track user behavior across sites. Browsing history records all visited sites, making it convenient for revisits but potentially exposing your online activities.

Clearing Cookies

Clearing cookies removes site-specific data such as login states, preferences and other stored information. This potentially logs you out of websites but helps protect your privacy and reduce targeted advertising. Clearing this information will reset website preferences and remove stored data across different browsers. In most browsers, you can choose to clear cookies using the same steps as you would for clearing your cache.

Clearing Browsing History

Deleting browsing history removes records of visited websites, making it harder for others to see your browsing habits and keeping your recent activity private. However, it won’t log you out or remove saved site data like cookies do. You can still remove this information while keeping your experience seamless by saving preferences and login information.

Most browsers, with the exception of Safari, follow the same process for removing browsing history as clearing your cache. You’ll likely need to check a different box next to browsing history to have this information removed from your browser.

Frequently Asked Questions About Internet Cache

Is it OK to delete internet cache?

Deleting your internet cache is beneficial. When you clear out your cache, you free up storage space, fix website loading issue, and ensure you’re using only the most up-to-date versions of websites. Regularly deleting this information protects your privacy, too, because it removes locally stored content that other people could access.

Is there a downside to clearing the cache?

Clearing your cache temporarily removes stored data, which could make websites load more slowly the next time you visit while your browser redownloads content. You may also be logged out of certain websites or have to reset your preferences. These are minor inconveniences given the benefits of improved performance and privacy.

Is clearing browsing history the same as clearing cache?

While browsing history and cache are related to your online activity, clearing one doesn’t clear both. Your browsing history is simply the record of websites you’ve visited, which helps protect your privacy but doesn’t affect how quickly sites load. Clearing your cache removes stored files like images and scripts. To clear both, you’ll have to do them separately.

How often should I clear my internet cache?

For most people, clearing their cache every few weeks or once a month is sufficient to ensure their browsing experience runs smoothly, but the frequency depends on their browsing habits and device performance. If they notice websites are slow or they see outdated content, they may need to clear their cache more often.

Does incognito mode store information in the cache?

Your activity can be stored in a temporary cache even when using incognito mode or private browsers. However, information from the cache is only saved during your session and is automatically deleted once you close the browser. Remember that while incognito mode prevents your browser from saving data, it doesn’t hide your activities from websites or your internet service provider like a virtual private network (VPN) can.