How to Clear Your Browser's Cache

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: March 29, 2022 Tested

While your browser cache usually helps websites load faster, it can sometimes prevent you from seeing the most up-to-date version of a webpage. In some cases, an old or corrupted cache can even cause a webpage to load improperly or prevent it from loading at all! Fortunately, it's easy to clear your web cache on any platform, whether you're using a computer, phone, or tablet. This tutorial will teach you the easiest ways to clear the cache on all popular browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari.

Method 1

Method 1 of 8:
Google Chrome on a Computer

1
Open Google Chrome
. Its app icon resembles a red, yellow, green, and blue sphere.
2
Click ⋮. It's in the top-right corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.

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3
Select More tools. This option is near the bottom of the drop-down menu. Selecting it prompts a pop-out menu to appear.
4
Click Clear browsing data…. It's in the pop-out menu. Doing so opens a window with data-clearing options.
5
Select a time range. Click the "Time range" box, then click All time in the drop-down menu to ensure that all cached images and files are cleared.
- You can also select a different option (e.g., Last hour) if you like.
6
Check the "Cached images and files" box. It's in the middle of the window.
- If this box is already checked, skip this step.
- You can uncheck every other box on this page if you're only trying to clear the cache.
7
Click CLEAR DATA. This blue button is in the bottom-right corner of the window. Doing so clears Google Chrome's cache.

Method 2

Method 2 of 8:
Google Chrome on Mobile

1
Open Google Chrome
. Tap the Chrome app icon, which resembles a red, yellow, green, and blue sphere icon.
2
Tap ⋮. It's in the top-right corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
3
Tap History. This option is in the drop-down menu.
4
Tap Clear Browsing Data…. It's in the lower-left corner of the screen.
- On Android, this option is near the top of the screen.
5
Tap Cached Images and Files to check it. You should see a blue checkmark appear next to it.
- If there's already a blue checkmark next to this option, skip this step.
- You can uncheck every other box on this page if you're only trying to clear the cache.
6
Tap Clear Browsing Data. It's at the bottom of the screen.
- On Android, tap CLEAR DATA here.
7
Tap Clear Browsing Data when prompted. Doing so will clear the cache for Chrome.
- On Android, tap CLEAR when prompted.

Method 3

Method 3 of 8:
Firefox on a Computer

1
Open Firefox. Its app icon resembles an orange fox wrapped around a blue globe.
2
Click ☰. It's the three horizontal lines the top-right corner of the window. A drop-down menu will appear.
3
Click Options. It's the option with a gear icon.
4
Click Privacy & Security. It's in the left panel.
5
Click the Clear History button. It's under the "History" header in the right panel.
6
Select a time range. Click the "Time range to clear" drop-down box, then click Everything in the drop-down menu.
7
Choose what to delete. You'll definitely want to check the "Cache" checkbox, but everything else is optional.
- You can uncheck every other box in this section if you only want to clear the cache.
8
Click OK. It's at the bottom of the window. Doing so will clear your Firefox browser's cache.

Method 4

Method 4 of 8:
Firefox for Android

1
Open Firefox. Tap the Firefox app icon, which resembles an orange fox wrapped around a blue globe.
2
Tap the three-dot menu. It's at the bottom-right corner of the screen. A menu will expand.
3
Tap Settings on the menu.
4
Tap Delete browsing data. It's under the "Privacy and security" header.
5
Choose what to delete. To delete just the cache, check the box next to "Cached images and files" and remove the other checkmarks.
6
Tap Delete browsing data. A confirmation message will appear.
7
Tap Delete to confirm. Your cache is now removed.

Method 5

Method 5 of 8:
Firefox for iPhone/iPad

1
Open Firefox. Tap the Firefox app icon, which resembles an orange fox wrapped around a blue globe.
2
Tap the menu ☰. It's the three horizontal lines at the bottom-right corner.
3
Tap Settings. It's the bottom of the menu.
4
Tap Data Management. It's under the "Privacy" header.
5
Choose what to delete. If you just want to delete the cache, make sure the "Cache" switch is blue and the others are white or gray.
6
Tap Clear Private Data. It's at the bottom of the screen.
7
Tap OK when prompted. Doing so will clear the cached files from your Firefox browser.

Method 6

Method 6 of 8:
Microsoft Edge for Windows

1
Open Microsoft Edge. It's the blue-and-green "e" icon in the Start menu.
2
Press Control+⇧ Shift+Delete. This brings up the "Clear browsing data" window.
- You can also get here by clicking the menu at the top-right corner, selecting History, and then clicking "Clear browsing data."
3
Choose a length of time. Select how much data to clear from the "Time range" menu at the top.
4
Choose what to clear. If you just want to clear the cache, check the box next to "Cached images and files" and remove the other checkmarks.
5
Click the blue Clear now button. Doing so will clear your Edge cache.

Method 7

Method 7 of 8:
Safari for macOS

1
Open Safari. It's the blue compass icon on the Dock at the bottom of your desktop.
2
Enable the Develop menu. If you already see a "Develop" menu in the menu bar at the top of the screen you can skip this step. Otherwise, here's how to enable this menu.^{[1]
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- Click the Safari menu.
- Click Preferences.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- Check the box next to "Show Develop menu in menu bar."
3
Open the Develop menu. Now that you've enabled it, it's in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
4
Click Empty Caches. This deletes your cache from your Mac.

Method 8

Method 8 of 8:
Safari on Mobile

1
Open your iPhone's Settings
. Tap the grey app with gears on it. This opens your iPhone's Settings page.
2
Scroll down and tap Safari. It's about a third of the way down the Settings page.
3
Scroll down and tap Clear History and Website Data. You'll find this near the bottom of the Safari page.
4
Tap Clear History and Data when prompted. Doing so will clear all of your iPhone's Safari data, including the cached files and pages.

Community Q&A

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Question

How can I figure out which version of Firefox I have installed?

Community Answer

Right click the top of the Firefox window, click Menu Bar, click Help, About Firefox. Under the Firefox logo, it will say Firefox and then a number. That is the version you have.

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Question

How do I clear my cache on my iPad?

Community Answer

Settings -> Safari -> Clear History and Website Data -> Clear History and Data.

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Question

I am using Firefox 45, so how do I clear the Cache?

Community Answer

From the History menu, select Clear Recent History. If the menu bar is hidden, press Alt to make it visible. From the Time Range to Clear: drop-down menu, select the desired range; to clear your entire cache, select Everything. Next to "Details", click the down arrow to choose which elements of the history to clear; to clear your entire cache, select all items. Click Clear Now. Exit/quit all browser windows and re-open the browser.

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Question

How do I clear my cache on my iPhone 6s?

Community Answer

Open settings, then go to Safari, then select clear browser history.

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Question

How do I refresh a web page?

Community Answer

This depends on your web browser, but most have a small icon that looks like an arrow somewhere near the address bar.

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Question

How do I delete an account on my browser?

Community Answer

This depends entirely on what account you're trying to delete. Some websites don't provide an easy option for deleting an account and require contacting support. Some will have "punishments" for deleting an account (intended to encourage you to keep the account). Others will simply have a "Delete Account" option in your account settings or at the bottom of the emails they send you.

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Question

How do I clear the cache on Opera?

Community Answer

Click on the Opera button in the top left corner, then choose "Settings," then "Delete private data."

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Question

How can I clear the browser cache off of my Android phone?

Community Answer

Click on the Opera button in the top left corner, choose "Settings," then "Delete private data."

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Question

How can I clear my search history if my parents have blocked it?

Community Answer

On an iPhone, you can still clear your history. First pull up your history in Safari (the book icon in the bottom right). There should be three tabs and the one on the right should be your browsing/search history. When you switch to the history tab after pressing the book icon, the “clear” button in the bottom right is actually blue for half a second even if it doesn’t look like it. Quickly switch to another tab and back to the history tab over and over and spam the “clear” button while doing so with your other hand until your history clears. This may take a couple of tries.

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Question

How can I clear the browser cache on an iMac?

Community Answer

If prompted to confirm your choice, click Empty Caches (or OK, etc.).

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Tips

When clearing any form of data from your browser, it's best to close and re-open the browser after the clearing is complete in order to finalize the process.

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Deleting your browser's cache is not the same thing as deleting cookies.

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