How To / Internet

How to Clear Browser Cache in Chrome, Edge, Firefox on Your Desktop or Phone

  • Learn how to clear the cache for Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, on your computer or mobile phone.
  • While you don’t normally have to clear the browser cache this is something that can help fix a weird issue or free up some space on your device.
  • To some degree cleaning the cache can improve user privacy, but don’t get your hopes up.
clear browser cache

Caching is the best and the worst thing when it comes to computers and the Internet in particular.

The Best: because it can speed up repetitive website visits significantly and can lower server resource usage.

The Worst: because there are so many cache levels sometimes leftover data, that should have been refreshed, causes weird issues that are very difficult to diagnose.

Other than fixing tech problems, cache poses some privacy threats, because anyone who has access to your computer can find out what websites you have visited in the past few weeks.

There are tons of criminals who have been caught by browsing through their web history. Oh, and in each criminal case, I’m sure there’s at least one non-criminal situation when someone got burned because of their browsing history.

That was in the past. Now, depending on where you live, your ISP could collect that data, your VPN provider and, if you use Google don’t be fooled into thinking they’re erasing your history when you ask them to.

Clearing your browser history today to protect your privacy is pretty pointless. It’s easier to use Incognito Mode. The results are the same, unimpressive, to say the least. You should consider using a safer browser like Brave, which I’ve reviewed here.

For these two reasons, I took a deep breath and put together this guide about how to clear your browser cache. I’ve tried to cover the main browsers, both mobile and desktop scenarios.

How to Clear Cache in Chrome for Desktop

  1. Open the three-dot browser menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings page that opens navigate on the left-side menu to Privacy and security.
  3. On the right side of the page, click on Clear browsing data.
  4. A new overlay will show up, with two tabs:
    • Basic – you need to (1) check the items you wish to delete, browsing history, cookies and site data, cached images, and (2) the period of time you want to erase, with options ranging from last hour to all time.
    • Advanced – you get a bit more granular control, so you can pick autofill data, passwords, download history, and a few other options.
  5. After selecting the items you want to erase, then click on Clear data to confirm.

Note: the downloads history can also be accessed and cleared separately.

Chrome: Clear Data for a Specific Website

On the desktop, you also have the option to delete data for a specific website, not the entire cache. This is how you do it:

  1. Open the three-dot browser menu again and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings page navigate to the left-side menu to Privacy and security.
  3. On the right side of the page, click on Cookies and other site data.
  4. A new page opens, navigate to See all cookies and site data.
  5. Use the search box on top to find the website you’re looking for. You’ll see a summary of what’s stored.
  6. Click on the trash icon next to a result to remove all contents.

Interested about increasing productivity in Chrome? Learng the most important Chrome keyboard shortcuts.

Chrome Mobile: How to Clear Browsing Data

For the mobile version of Chrome, the steps you need to follow are pretty similar. Find below the steps for Android:

  1. Open the three-dot browser menu and select Settings.
  2. In the Settings page that opens navigate on the left-side menu to Privacy and security.
  3. On the right side of the page, click on Clear browsing data.
  4. A new page will open up, with the same two tabs and options as on the desktop: Basic and Advanced.
  5. Select the items you want to clear and click on Clear data to confirm.

How to Clear Cache in Edge for Desktop

For a while, Edge was my default browser in Windows 10, but slowly it became bloated with features I didn’t really care about. I still use it from time to time, so here’s how to deal with browsing data in Edge:

  1. Click on the three-dot menu then select Settings.
  2. Use the left-side menu to navigate to Privacy, search, and services.
  3. On the right-side panel scroll to the Clear browsing data section.
  4. Click on Choose what to clear.
  5. An overlay will open. Its contents mimic the Advanced tab in Chrome. Don’t forget to select the date range you wish to erase data for.
  6. Pick what you want to erase and confirm by clicking on the Clear now button.

Edge: Only Erase Data for a Specific Website

As with Chrome, you’re also able in Edge to delete all data related to one website, so you don’t need to clear the entire cache. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Click on the three-dot menu then select Settings.
  2. Use the left-side menu to navigate to Cookies and site permissions.
  3. On the right side, find the Cookies and data stored section and click on Manage and delete cookies and site data.
  4. Use the top search box to find the website you’re targeting.
  5. Once found click on the trash icon to delete locally stored data for that website.

Edge Mobile App: How to Clear Browsing Data

Clearing cache in the Android Edge app is pretty simple. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Open the three-dot menu from the bottom of the browser.
  2. Tap on Privacy and security entry.
  3. Find and tap on Clear browsing data.
  4. Select what you want to erase and the date range.
  5. Confirm by pressing the Clear data button.

Note: Edge is a Chromium-based browser, and so are Brave, Vivaldi, and a few other forks. That’s why if you use some of these less popular browsers you can pretty much follow the same instruction from Chrome.

How to Clear Cache in Firefox, Desktop Version

Firefox is the underdog browser, and I don’t see this changing anytime soon. In case you’re one of the Firefox diehards here’s how to clear your browsing cache:

  1. Click on the hamburger menu icon and select Settings.
  2. Use the left-side menu to select Privacy & Security.
  3. Click on Clear Data…
  4. Select what you want to delete. There are only two options: cookies and site data, or cached content.
  5. Confirm by pressing on Clear.

Firefox: Clear Data for a Single Website

On the desktop, you also have the option to only clear data for a specific website/domain.

  1. Click on the hamburger menu icon and select Settings.
  2. Use the left-side menu to select Privacy & Security.
  3. Find the Manage Data… button.
  4. In the next popup (1) use the search box to find the desired website, (2) click to select, and (3) confirm by pressing the Remove Selected button.

Firefox Mobile: How to Clear Browsing Data

Yes, there’s an Android version of Firefox, and one for iOS. This is how you clear the cache for the former.

  1. Click the three-dot menu from the bottom browser bar.
  2. Scroll to the Privacy and security section.
  3. Click on Delete browsing data.
  4. Select everything you want to erase.
  5. Confirm by pressing the Delete browsing data button at the bottom.
When Should You Clear the Browser Cache?

I would do it each time a website doesn’t work properly. It might not be the cache’s fault, but clear that old data, just in case. You’d be surprised how often it solves your problem.

There you have it, now you know how to clear browser cache in all major web browsers. Even if you do, I’d appreciate it if you’d share this article with your parents, less knowledgeable friends, or clients who say “it doesn’t look right on my computer”. It might help them solve little annoying cache-related problems.

Avatar for Ionuț-Alexandru Popa
I'm a writer and Editor-in-Chief at BinaryFork. I am passionate about technology, science, space exploration, and movies. I started writing about tech more than 20 years ago, after graduating in Computer Science.
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