How to Clear Cookies and Cache on Mac (and Why You Should Do It)
Every website you visit leaves breadcrumbs in your browser. Small information files called cookies that are stored by your browser to create a more personalized experience (for example, saving items you have placed in your shopping cart) and are also used for authentication. Your browser also stores information, such as images, in its cache so that pages load faster the next time you visit. However, this stored information can cause formatting and loading problems, so sometimes you will have to delete it from the browser.
How to clear cache on Mac
The steps to clear cookies on your Mac vary slightly depending on which browser you use. Below are instructions for Safari, Google Chrome and Firefox.
How to Clear Cache in Safari
To clear the Safari cache on Mac, open History from the top menu bar and select Clear History . From the drop-down menu that pops up, select how much time you want to clear (Last Hour, Today, Today and Yesterday, or All History) and click Clear History . This will delete your browsing history, cache and cookies for the selected period. Please note that Safari does not have the ability to selectively delete this data.
How to clear cache in Google Chrome
To clear the cache in Google Chrome on Mac, tap Chrome in the main menu bar and select Clear browsing data . This will open a new settings tab where you can select the period to clear (from last hour to all data) and what you want to delete (browsing history, cookies and/or cached images and files). Then click Clear Data . The Advanced tab has options to clear passwords and passwords, as well as download history and autofill data.
How to clear cache in Firefox
To clear the cache in Firefox on Mac, click History in the top menu bar and select Clear Recent History . From the pop-up menu, check the boxes for what you want to clear, select a time range (last hour to entire history) from the drop-down list, and click Clear Now . Firefox lets you choose between browsing and download history, cookies, cache, active logins, and form and search history. You can also delete site settings and offline site data.
Please note that if you clear your browser’s cache and cookies, you may be required to re-login to certain sites, and page loading may initially be slow due to reloading of previously stored data.