Where to find the cookie settings on Samsung phones

On a Samsung phone, cookies live in your browser — usually Samsung Internet or Google Chrome. To clear them, you open your browser's settings menu, not your phone's main settings. The exact path depends on which browser you use, but both take less than a minute once you know where to look.

Samsung Internet is the default browser on most Samsung devices. If you use Chrome instead, the steps are slightly different but the result is the same. Either way, you are looking for a menu option labeled "Clear browsing data" or "Delete data".

Key Takeaways

  • Cookies are stored in your browser app, not in your phone's main settings, so you must open Samsung Internet or Chrome to delete them.
  • Samsung Internet: tap the three-line menu, select Settings, then tap Delete browsing data and check the Cookies box.
  • Chrome: tap the three-dot menu, select Settings, tap Clear browsing data, and check Cookies and site data.
  • You can choose to clear cookies from the last hour, day, week, or all time — clearing all time removes cookies from every website you have visited.
  • Clearing cookies will log you out of most websites and may slow down pages you visit often, since sites use cookies to remember your preferences.

Clearing cookies in Samsung Internet

Open the Samsung Internet app on your phone. At the bottom right of the screen, tap the three horizontal lines (called the menu button). Scroll down and tap Settings.

In Settings, look for Delete browsing data or Clear browsing data — the exact wording varies by phone model and software version. Tap it. A window will appear with several checkboxes: Cookies and site data, Cached images and files, Browsing history, and others. Make sure Cookies and site data is checked. You can leave the other boxes checked or unchecked depending on what else you want to remove.

At the top of the window, you will see a dropdown menu that says something like "All time" or "Last hour". Choose the time range you want. If you select All time, every cookie from every website will be deleted. If you select Last hour or Last day, only recent cookies are removed. Tap Delete or Clear to finish.

Clearing cookies in Google Chrome

Open the Chrome app. At the bottom right, tap the three vertical dots (the menu button). Tap Settings.

In Settings, tap Privacy, then tap Clear browsing data. A window will open. At the top, you will see a dropdown showing a time range — it usually defaults to "All time". You can change this to Last hour, Last 24 hours, Last 7 days, Last 4 weeks, or All time. Below that, make sure the box next to Cookies and site data is checked. Other boxes like Cached images and files and Browsing history can be checked or unchecked as you prefer. Tap Clear data to finish.

What happens after you clear cookies

Once cookies are deleted, you will be logged out of most websites. The next time you visit Facebook, Gmail, your bank, or any other site that remembers you, you will need to sign in again. This is the main side effect and the reason some people clear cookies only occasionally.

Websites may also load slightly slower the first time you visit them after clearing cookies, because the site has to send you information it previously stored on your phone. This slowdown is usually not noticeable. After a few visits, the site will store new cookies and load at normal speed again.

When to clear cookies

You might clear cookies if you share your phone with someone else and do not want them to see your logged-in accounts. You might also clear them if a website is not working properly — old cookies sometimes cause login problems or display issues, and clearing them often fixes the problem.

Some people clear cookies regularly for privacy reasons, though cookies themselves are not inherently dangerous. Cookies are small text files that store information like your login status and your preferences. Tracking cookies, which follow you across multiple websites, are more of a privacy concern. Clearing all cookies removes both types at once.

You do not need to clear cookies often unless you have a specific reason. Clearing them once a month or once every few months is typical for most users.

Clearing cookies automatically

Both Samsung Internet and Chrome can be set to clear cookies automatically when you close the app. In Samsung Internet, go to Settings, tap Privacy, and toggle on Delete browsing data on exit. In Chrome, go to Settings, tap Privacy, and toggle on Delete cookies and site data when you close all tabs. With this setting on, you do not have to manually clear cookies — they disappear every time you fully close the browser.

This is useful if you share your phone or use public Wi-Fi often. The downside is that you will be logged out of websites every time you close the browser, which can be inconvenient if you visit the same sites daily.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will clearing cookies delete my passwords?

No. Cookies and saved passwords are stored separately. Clearing cookies will log you out of websites, but your saved passwords remain on your phone. The next time you visit a site, you can use the saved password to log back in quickly.

Can I clear cookies from just one website?

Samsung Internet and Chrome do not have a built-in option to delete cookies from a single website. You can only clear all cookies or cookies from a specific time range. If you want to log out of one site without clearing all cookies, straightforward log out manually on that website instead.

What is the difference between clearing cookies and clearing cache?

Cookies are small text files that store login information and preferences. Cache is a larger collection of images, videos, and other files that websites store to load faster next time. Clearing cache frees up more storage space, but clearing cookies affects your login status. You can clear either one independently.

Will clearing cookies speed up my phone?

Clearing cookies will not noticeably speed up your phone's overall performance. Cookies are tiny files and do not consume much storage. If your phone is slow, clearing cookies is unlikely to help. Clearing cache or restarting the phone is more likely to improve speed.

Do I need to clear cookies if I use private browsing?

No. Private browsing mode (called Incognito in Chrome) does not store cookies at all. When you close a private browsing tab, all cookies from that session are automatically deleted. You only need to manually clear cookies if you use regular browsing mode.