Your phone remembers more about your browsing than you may realize. Websites can store cookies and other site data that help remember logins, preferences, shopping carts, and activity. If you’re using a shared phone, troubleshooting a browser, or simply want to clean up old browsing data, knowing what to delete—and what not to delete—is worth learning.
The good news is that clearing this information takes only a few minutes. The exact steps depend on whether you’re using Chrome on Android or Safari on an iPhone, and there are a few important differences between the two.
What Are Cookies, Anyway?
Cookies are small pieces of information that websites save in your browser.
They can be useful. For example, they may help a website remember:
- Your preferences
- Items in a shopping cart
- Certain login or session information
- Website settings
- Other browsing-related data
But cookies are only one part of what your browser can store.
Depending on the browser and what you select, clearing browsing data can also remove browsing history, cached files, site storage, saved form entries, and other website data. Chrome, for example, lets you choose specific categories rather than automatically deleting everything.
That distinction matters because “clear cookies” and “clear everything” are not necessarily the same thing.
Before You Clear Anything, Know What Will Happen
Clearing cookies and website data can make some websites forget your preferences and may sign you out of individual websites.
It can also affect websites that rely on locally stored information.
So if you don’t want to wipe everything, look carefully at the options before tapping the final confirmation.
And remember: clearing cookies is a privacy-maintenance step, not a magic button that makes you anonymous online. It doesn’t erase information that a website, search engine, internet provider, or account provider may already have stored elsewhere.
How to Clear Cookies on an Android Phone
If you’re using Chrome on Android, Google provides a built-in Delete browsing data option.
Step 1: Open Chrome
Open the Chrome app on your Android phone.
Step 2: Open the Menu
Tap the three-dot menu near the address bar.
Then choose Delete browsing data. Google also provides a shortcut by typing “Clear browsing data” into the address bar.
Step 3: Choose a Time Range
Chrome lets you choose how much browsing information to remove.
Depending on your goal, you might choose a recent period rather than deleting everything.
If you’re trying to completely clean out old browsing information, choose the broader time range available to you.
Step 4: Choose What to Delete
Tap More options if necessary.
You’ll see different types of browsing information that can be selected, including:
- Browsing history
- Cookies and site data
- Cached images and files
- Saved form information
- Other available browsing data
Google specifically notes that deleting cookies removes cookies and site data, including several types of browser storage such as web storage and IndexedDB data.
Step 5: Tap Delete Data
Review your selections one more time.
Then tap Delete data.
That’s it.
If you’re signed into Chrome with your Google Account, pay attention to Google’s syncing behavior. Google says that data saved to your Google Account can be removed from other devices where you’re signed in as well, depending on the data and sync settings.
How to Clear Cookies on an iPhone
For iPhone users browsing with Safari, Apple puts the main controls inside the Settings app.
Step 1: Open Settings
Open Settings on your iPhone.
Step 2: Open Safari
On current versions of iOS, go to:
Settings → Apps → Safari
Apple’s current instructions place Safari under the Apps section of Settings.
Step 3: Find Clear History and Website Data
Scroll down and tap:
Clear History and Website Data
Step 4: Choose the Timeframe
Safari allows you to choose the timeframe you want to clear.
Select the period you want and then confirm by tapping Clear History.
Apple notes that this doesn’t change your AutoFill information.
What If You Don’t Want to Delete Everything?
This is where many people make a mistake.
You don’t necessarily need to wipe your entire browser every time you want to remove information from one website.
Chrome allows users to delete individual items, including a particular website’s cookies, a visited page, a downloaded file, or an individual Autofill entry.
That can be a better option if one website is behaving strangely or you simply want to remove data associated with that particular site.
Clearing Cookies vs. Clearing History
These aren’t identical.
Browsing history is essentially your browser’s record of pages you’ve visited.
Cookies and site data are information websites store in your browser.
Cached files are locally stored copies of certain website resources that can help pages load faster.
You can often clear one category without clearing every other category, depending on the browser.
That’s why it’s worth reading the options rather than automatically choosing the biggest “delete everything” button.
Does Clearing Cookies Protect Your Privacy?
It can help reduce the amount of information stored locally on your phone, but it has limits.
For example, deleting cookies doesn’t mean a website suddenly forgets everything associated with your account. If you’ve created an account and logged in, information associated with that account can still exist on the company’s servers.
It also doesn’t erase information that has already been collected elsewhere.
So think of clearing cookies as cleaning up your browser, rather than completely erasing your online history.
A Better Privacy Habit: Don’t Just Clear Everything Once
If privacy is your goal, a few simple habits can be more useful than occasionally deleting your entire browser history.
Review Website Permissions
Check which websites have been allowed to access things such as location or other browser capabilities.
If a website doesn’t need a permission anymore, consider removing it.
Use Private Browsing When Appropriate
Private browsing can be useful when you don’t want a particular browsing session saved in your normal browser history.
But don’t confuse private browsing with complete anonymity.
Your activity can still be visible to websites, network administrators, or other services depending on the situation.
Keep Your Phone Locked
A strong device passcode protects information stored directly on your phone far better than simply deleting cookies once in a while.
For anyone concerned about privacy, the lock screen is one of the most important protections to get right.
Keep Your Browser Updated
Browser updates often contain security fixes as well as new features.
Keeping your phone’s operating system and browser current is a much better long-term habit than relying only on periodically clearing browsing data.
When Should You Clear Cookies?
There’s no universal schedule that says you need to clear cookies every week or every month.
Instead, consider doing it when:
