Over time, your browser will store a lot of temporary files, cookies, and a record of the websites you've visited, which can impact the performance of your computer.
You can delete your browsing data data at any time, which will clear any history stored on your computer, smartphone, or tablet.
How to clear your browsing data in Google Chrome for Desktop
- Open the Chrome menu by clicking the three dots in the top right corner.
- Choose More Tools and then click Clear Browsing Data. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+Delete in Windows or press Command+Shift+Delete on a Mac.
- To delete your browser data, select All time in the box at the top of the screen and then check all the boxes.
You can also delete specific data from here, including your browsing history, download history, cookies, and browser cache.
How to clear your browsing data in Google Chrome on Android or iOS
- Tap Menu and then tap Settings.
- Tap Privacy and then Clear Browsing Data.
- Android: You'll need to choose how much data you want to delete at the top of the screen on an Android device. Select All time to clear everything.
- iOS: Chrome will clear all your browsing data by default on an iPhone or iPad and won't allow you to make any changes.
- Ensure the Browsing history option is checked and then tap the Clear Data button.
You can also uncheck options and only delete certain data from here, including cookies, your download history, or cached files.
How to clear your browsing data in Safari on iOS
- Open the Settings app and then scroll down and tap Safari.
- Select Clear History and Website Data and then tap Clear History and Data. This will clear all your browsing data, including your cookies and cache.
How to clear your browsing data in Mozilla Firefox
- Open the Firefox menu and then click History > Clear. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+Delete in Windows or press Command+Shift+Delete on a Mac.
- To delete your browsing data, select Everything and check Browsing & Download History in the list of items to clear.
You can also uncheck options and only delete certain data from here, including cookies, offline website data, your download history, or cached files.
How to clear your browsing data in Microsoft Edge
- Open the Edge menu by clicking the three dots in the top right corner and then click Settings. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+Delete to open the clear browser data options.
- Click Privacy, search, and services.
- Scroll down to Clear browsing data now and click Choose what to clear.
- Check all the boxes and then click Clear now.
You can also uncheck options and only delete certain data from here, including cookies, your download history, or cached files.
How to clear your browsing data in Safari on a Mac
- Within Safari, click History and then click Clear History.
- Select the period that you want to delete and then click Clear History. To remove everything, select All history.
Safari will delete your browsing history, cookies, cached files, and other browsing-related data.
How to clear your browsing data in Internet Explorer
- Within Internet Explorer, Click menu and then click Safety > Delete Browsing History. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+Delete to open this tool.
- Internet Explorer will keep cookies and temporary Internet files for websites you've saved as favorites by default. Uncheck Preserve Favorites website data to ensure Internet Explorer deletes everything.
- Click Delete to delete your browser data.
You can also delete other types of private data from this page, such as temporary Internet files, download history, and cookies.
How to clear your browsing data in other browsers
If you're using another browser, you should be able to find a Clear browsing history option in the menus or on the settings screen. In Opera, for example, this option is located in Menu > More tools > Clear browsing data.
