What Is Browser Cache?
When you browse the Internet on your laptop, tablet, or phone, your browser stores information about the sites you visit and how you interact with them to improve loading speeds and personalize your browsing experience. Caching is one such process. Here’s how it works and why you should clean it regularly.
What is browser cache?
Your browser cache is an area where you temporarily store elements of websites you visit, such as images, fonts, and code. When you first visit a website, your browser downloads and stores this data locally to be loaded the next time you visit that site. When you return, your browser will first check the cache for an existing version of the page, but if the website has been updated since your last visit, it will download and cache any new information it detects as missing or outdated. Websites can also set expiration dates for cached files, forcing your browser to download the latest version and update the cache. The main benefit of caching is faster loading times because your browser won’t have to wait for the page data to be found and reloaded every time you open it.
Caching is different from cookies, which are small pieces of information created by sites you visit that your browser stores to personalize your experience, such as your logins, site preferences, or shopping cart items. A cache is also different from your browser history, which is simply a record of all the sites you’ve visited and when you visited them. However, all this data is stored locally on your device.
Why You Should Clear Your Browser Cache (And When to Do It)
Caching improves your overall browsing experience because you don’t have to wait for every page element to be retrieved and loaded every time you open a frequently visited site. However, sometimes clearing the cache can be useful to fix loading or formatting errors that occur when old files remain saved. Of course, your browsing speed may be temporarily slower as your cache has to store new information for each site.
Browser caching also comes with some privacy and security concerns. Hackers can use cached data to distribute malware or redirect users to fake websites, attacks known as cache poisoning and DNS spoofing. Your cache can also provide browsing information to anyone who has access to your device, be it a family member or someone who stole or confiscated your computer or phone.
Jacob Hoffman-Andrews, senior technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation , recommends that users concerned about keeping their browsing data private use device encryption to prevent anyone with physical access to their device from logging in. You can also clear your cache if you’ve been viewing sensitive material, or use incognito mode, which prevents your browser from storing information (including cookies and history) in the first place, at least on your device.
“Deleting browsing data only affects what’s on your device,” says Hoffman-Andrews. “Your ISP or government may keep a record of what sites you visit. The sites themselves may keep a record of which specific pages you have visited.”
Most browsers allow you to completely clear your cache, cookies, and browser history. However, if you want a more private browser that protects you from snoopers tracking your data and Internet history, the best place to start is to reevaluate which browser you use.