Clearing your cache and cookies from time to time is good “tech hygiene,” and it can help you troubleshoot when your device is running slowly or you’re having trouble with an app. When you use a browser (like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, etc.), the browser saves some information from websites in its cookies and “cache”—the storage location that collects temporary data to help
websites, browsers and apps load quickly. So if you clear your browser’s cache and temporary internet files regularly, this helps your computer or device run optimally—and doing so can help fix certain problems, like a website loading slowly, or formatting issues on a web page. Before you go ahead and clear your cache, you may wonder if this means you’ll lose the login credentials
and passwords you may rely on to auto-complete for the websites you frequently visit. If you’re concerned about this, pay attention to which checkboxes you choose to select when you complete the cache-clearing process (the steps for which are different for each browser, and are outlined in the Clearing Browser Cache and Cookies KnowledgeBase guide). For example: In Google Chrome, you can uncheck the “Passwords and other
sign-in data” checkbox when you follow the steps outlined in the KB, and you will not lose your passwords. And even though the DoIT Help Desk is always ready to help, you might even save yourself a support call or email if you try clearing your cache first. Use this KnowledgeBase guide to help you learn how to clear your cache and cookies in your desktop and mobile web browsers: How To Clear Your Browser Cache and CookiesWebsite slow to load? It could be your cache
Will clearing my cache delete my passwords?
How-to instructions by browser
Firefox clear cache
- Click the menu button and select Options.
- Select the Privacy & Security panel.
- In the Cookies and Site Data section, click Clear Data…
- Remove the check mark in front of Cookies and Site Data.
- With Cached Web Content check marked, click the Clear button.
- Close the about:preferences page. Any changes you’ve made will automatically be saved.
Tip: Here’s another way to clear the Firefox cache:
Click the Library button
Chrome clear cache
Internet Explorer clear cache
- Click on the gear icon in the top right-hand corner and then click “Safety”. Then choose “Delete browsing history” which will bring up a window that is shown in step 2.
- Make sure that the 1st box is unchecked and that boxes 2 and 3 are checked. Then click delete.
- After the deletion has completed, you should see a message at the bottom of the IE window that looks like below.
Safari clear cache
- Click on the Safari tab at the top right of your screen and choose Preferences from the dropdown menu.
- Click the Advanced tab of the menu that pops up.
- At the end of the tab, select the “Show Develop menu in menu bar” box and close the Preferences menu.
- Click the Develop tab from the Safari menu at the top of the page.
- Click Empty Caches from the dropdown menu.
You may also want to clear your browsing history in addition to emptying your cache. Here’s how to do that.
- Choose the History tab in Safari (pictured above).
- At the very bottom of the dropdown menu, choose Clear History.
- A
box pops up with a choice to clear the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all history. Choose your time frame and click the Clear History button.
If you’re not sure how far back you want to clear your of your browsing data, err on the side of clearing less. You can always go back and clear out more later.
Any tabs you have open at the time you clear your browsing history will remain. You may notice that the Frequently Visited section no longer appears when you open a new tab. As you build up your browsing history again, those sites will reappear.
How to clear the Safari cache on iPhone, iPad, or iPod
You have two choices to clear your cache on Safari’s mobile app.
To clear your entire browsing history and cache:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Safari.
- Tap Clear History and Website Data.
- On the screen that pops up, choose Clear History and Data. Note that, when you clear your cache on your iPhone or iPad,
it will clear your history on your connected devices and computers as well.
To clear your cookies but not your browsing history:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Safari.
- Tap Advanced.
- Tap Website
Data.
- Choose Remove All Website Data.
Before you do this, you might want to check your iCloud settings (see below) to make sure you preserve your passwords.
What happens to saved passwords when you clear your cache
You may have had the experience of clearing your browsing history and cache and then discovering that your browser logged you out of your favorite websites. If you saved passwords in your browser so you could automatically log in to certain sites, clearing your cache can clear your passwords as well.
Happily, Apple has a solution to this problem. If you use iCloud, check your iCloud settings on your phone or computer. Make sure that you’ve checked the box for Safari.
Make sure the Safari box is on under iCloud to retain your passwords in your keychain.
As long as this box is checked, any passwords you save through your browser will stay safe in your keychain.