Clear your cookies through your browser settings in under two minutes
Clearing cookies means deleting the small files your browser stores when you visit websites. These files track your activity, remember your login details, and follow you across sites. You clear them through your browser's settings — the exact steps depend on whether you use Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge, but the process is the same shape in all of them: open settings, find the privacy or history section, select cookies, and delete them.
Most people clear cookies to remove tracking, free up storage space, or reset how a website behaves. You can clear all cookies at once or delete them from specific websites. You can also set your browser to clear cookies automatically when you close it.
Key Takeaways
- Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge all let you clear cookies through a keyboard shortcut: press Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows or Command+Shift+Delete on Mac.
- You can choose to clear all cookies or cookies from a specific date range — for example, just the last hour or the last week.
- Clearing cookies will log you out of most websites, so you will need to sign back in afterward.
- You can set your browser to delete cookies automatically every time you close it, which removes the need to clear them manually.
- Clearing cookies does not delete your browsing history, passwords, or autofill data unless you specifically choose to delete those too.
How to clear cookies in Google Chrome
Open Chrome and press Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows or Command+Shift+Delete on Mac. The Clear Browsing Data window opens when ready.
At the top, select the time range you want to clear. The dropdown menu offers "All time", "Last hour", "Last 24 hours", "Last 7 days", "Last 4 weeks", or a custom date range you set yourself. Below that, make sure the checkbox next to "Cookies and other site data" is checked. You can leave the other boxes unchecked unless you also want to clear your cache, history, or autofill information.
Click the blue "Clear data" button. Chrome deletes the cookies when ready and closes the window. You are done.
How to clear cookies in Mozilla Firefox
Open Firefox and press Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows or Command+Shift+Delete Mac. The Clear Recent History window opens.
At the top, the "Time range to clear" dropdown lets you choose "Everything", "Last hour", "Last two hours", "Last four hours", or "Today". Below that, click the dropdown arrow next to "Details" to expand the list of what Firefox can clear. Check the box next to "Cookies". Leave the other boxes unchecked unless you want to clear cache, history, or other data.
Click "Clear Now". Firefox deletes the cookies and closes the window.
How to clear cookies in Safari
Open Safari. Click the Safari menu at the top left of your screen, then select Settings (or Preferences on older versions). Click the Privacy tab.
Click the button that says Manage Website Data. A list of websites and the data they have stored appears. To delete all cookies at once, click Remove All at the bottom right. To delete cookies from specific websites, select the websites you want to remove and click Remove.
Close the window. The cookies are deleted.
How to clear cookies in Microsoft Edge
Open Edge and press Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows. The Clear browsing data window opens on the right side of your screen.
At the top, select the time range from the dropdown: "All time", "Last hour", "Last 24 hours", "Last 7 days", "Last 4 weeks", or a custom range. Make sure the checkbox next to "Cookies and other site data" is checked. Click Clear now.
Edge deletes the cookies and closes the panel.
Set your browser to delete cookies automatically
If you want to clear cookies every time you close your browser, you can turn on automatic deletion in your settings. This removes the need to clear them manually.
In Chrome: Click the three-dot menu at the top right, select Settings, then Privacy and security. Under "Clear browsing data", check the box next to "Clear cookies and site data when you quit Chrome". From now on, Chrome deletes all cookies when you close the browser completely.
In Firefox: Click the three-line menu at the top right, select Settings, then Privacy & Security. Scroll to "Cookies and Site Data" and check the box next to "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed". Firefox will now clear cookies each time you close it.
In Safari: Click Safari at the top left, select Settings, then the Privacy tab. Check the box next to "Block all cookies". Safari will reject most cookies, though some websites may not work properly. For more control, uncheck that box and instead click Manage Website Data regularly to delete cookies manually.
In Edge: Click the three-dot menu at the top right, select Settings, then Privacy, search, and services. Under "Clear browsing data", toggle on "Choose what to clear every time you close the browser". Then click "Choose what to clear every time you close the browser" and check "Cookies and other site data".
What happens when you clear cookies
When you clear cookies, you will be logged out of most websites. The next time you visit a site where you had an account, you will need to sign in again. Websites will not remember your preferences — for example, a news site will not remember that you chose a dark theme, and a shopping site will not remember items in your cart.
Clearing cookies does not delete your saved passwords unless you specifically choose to delete those too. Your browser stores passwords separately from cookies. It also does not delete your browsing history, autofill information, or cached images and files unless you check those boxes during the clearing process.
After you clear cookies, websites will start collecting new cookies as soon as you visit them again. This is normal and expected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will clearing cookies delete my passwords?
No. Passwords are stored separately from cookies. When you clear cookies, your saved passwords stay in your browser. You will need to sign in again after clearing cookies, but your browser can fill in your username and password for you if you have saved them.
Can I clear cookies from just one website?
Yes. In Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, you can right-click on any website and select an option like "Delete cookies for this site" or access the cookie settings for that specific domain. In Safari, open Manage Website Data, find the website in the list, select it, and click Remove.
What is the difference between clearing cookies and clearing cache?
Cookies are small text files that store information about you and your activity. Cache is the collection of images, scripts, and other files your browser downloads and stores to make websites load faster. Clearing cache frees up more storage space but does not affect your login status the way clearing cookies does.
Do I need to clear cookies regularly?
Not necessarily. Cookies take up very little storage space on modern computers. You might clear them if you are concerned about tracking, if a website is not working properly, or if you share your computer with others. Many people set their browser to clear cookies automatically when they close it instead of doing it manually.
Will clearing cookies stop websites from tracking me?
Clearing cookies removes one form of tracking, but websites can track you in other ways — through your IP address, browser fingerprinting, or login accounts. If you want more privacy, consider using your browser's private or incognito mode, which does not store cookies or history during your session.