Where cookies live and why you might want them gone

Cookies are small files your browser stores when you visit websites. They remember your login information, shopping cart contents, and browsing preferences. Most of the time they are useful — they let you stay logged into email without typing your password every visit.

You might want to delete them if you share your computer with other people, if you are concerned about tracking, or if a website is behaving oddly and clearing cookies fixes it. Deleting cookies will log you out of most websites, so plan to re-enter passwords afterward.

Key Takeaways

  • Cookies are stored in your browser, not your operating system, so you delete them through your browser settings, not Windows or Mac settings.
  • You can delete all cookies at once or delete cookies from specific websites only.
  • Clearing cookies will log you out of websites you are currently signed into.
  • The steps differ between Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge, but all four browsers let you delete cookies in under one minute.

Deleting all cookies in Google Chrome

Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top right corner. Select Settings from the menu. On the left side, click Privacy and security, then click Clear browsing data.

A window will appear with several checkboxes. Make sure Cookies and other site data is checked. At the top, choose the time range — All time will delete every cookie, while Last hour, Last 24 hours, or Last 7 days will delete only recent ones. Click Clear data and you are done.

Deleting all cookies in Mozilla Firefox

Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the top right corner. Select Settings. On the left, click Privacy & Security. Under the Cookies and Site Data section, click Clear Data.

A small window will pop up. Make sure both Cookies and Site Data and Cached Web Content are checked if you want to clear both. Click Clear. Firefox will delete the cookies when ready.

Deleting all cookies in Safari

Open Safari and click Safari in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Click Settings (or Preferences on older versions). Go to the Privacy tab. Click Manage Website Data.

A list of websites and their stored data will appear. Click Remove All at the bottom right to delete all cookies at once, or select individual websites and click Remove to delete only those. Click Done when finished.

Deleting all cookies in Microsoft Edge

Open Edge and click the three dots in the top right corner. Select Settings. On the left, click Privacy, search, and services. Under Clear browsing data, click Choose what to clear.

A window will appear. Check the box next to Cookies and other site data. At the top, select your time range — All time deletes everything. Click Clear now and the cookies are gone.

Deleting cookies from one website only

If you want to keep most cookies but remove them from a single website, you can do that in any browser. In Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, click the lock icon or information icon next to the website address in the address bar. Look for Cookies or Site data, click it, and select the cookie you want to delete. In Safari, go to Manage Website Data (as described above), find the website in the list, and click Remove.

This method is useful if one website is misbehaving or if you want to clear login information from a shared computer without logging out everywhere else.

What happens after you delete cookies

You will be logged out of most websites. The next time you visit a site that required a login, you will need to enter your username and password again. Websites may also forget your preferences — for example, a news site might reset to its default layout instead of showing your customized version.

Some websites may load slightly slower the first time you visit after clearing cookies, because they have to rebuild your preferences from scratch. This is temporary and normal. If you notice a website is broken or behaving strangely after clearing cookies, try clearing cookies from that site specifically rather than all cookies at once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will deleting cookies delete my passwords?

No. Passwords stored in your browser are kept separately from cookies. If you want to delete saved passwords, you must do that in a different menu — usually under Passwords or Autofill in your browser settings. Deleting cookies alone will not touch your passwords.

Can I delete cookies automatically every time I close my browser?

Yes. In Chrome, go to Settings > Privacy and security and turn on Clear cookies and site data when you quit Chrome. In Firefox, go to Settings > Privacy & Security and set History to Firefox will use custom settings for history, then check Clear history when Firefox closes. Safari and Edge have similar options in their settings.

What is the difference between clearing cookies and clearing browsing history?

Browsing history is a list of websites you visited. Cookies are files websites store on your computer. Clearing history removes the list of sites, but cookies remain. Clearing cookies removes the stored files, but your browser may still remember you visited those sites. Most browsers let you clear one, the other, or both at the same time.

Do I need to delete cookies regularly?

Not unless you want to. Cookies take up very little space on your computer. Most people only delete them when a website is not working right, when they share a computer with others, or when they want to reduce tracking. There is no technical reason to delete them on a schedule.