How to Clear Your Cache in Every Browser

Clearing the browser cache and memory: is it hard?

How can you wipe “squeaky clean” your browser cache without leaving any trace?

We don't mean to generalize, but Mona Media is sure that at some point you will open Google and search for answers to these questions. Sooner or later you will read this article or another one with a similar solution.

In this article, Mona Media gives you the clear your browser cache most complete guide for both desktop and mobile browsers, including very popular names such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Safari and more. It is not a long read, about 1,000 words, so you can bookmark it and come back when you need it.

What is cache? What does clearing the browser cache do?

What is browser cache?

If you have never cleared your browser cache and just happened to land here, why not first learn what it is?

Browser cache is a temporary storage area where the browser keeps files from websites you have visited on your computer's memory, using up your local machine's resources. Its purpose is to save you from downloading those files again on a second visit, since they are already on your computer.

Think of it this way: when your computer caches elements such as HTML, CSS, JS and images, the browser cuts load time and noticeably improves server performance. That lets you browse the web smoothly and quickly.

What does clearing the cache mean?

So what does it mean to clear the browser cache? It means deleting all the data stored in the browser's temporary storage. As a result, the first time you return to a website after clearing the cache, it takes longer to load the data, because no files are stored locally any more. Every file has to be downloaded again before you can use the site.

Why do you need to clear your browser cache?

Why clear the browser cache?

At this point Mona Media wouldn't be surprised if you asked: “If the pages load as slowly as a snail after clearing the cache, why do it at all?”

We agree with you! Cache really is a useful tool that makes browsing much faster and more convenient. But everything has a downside, and cache is no exception. It can cause problems for your experience, especially for developers who are editing a website and need to see changes right away.

Some people who visit “sensitive” websites also often “wipe” the browser cache to “whitewash” every trace of themselves =))

Example:

For an easy example, a website's background image is stored in the cache after one visit. On the next visit the site still shows that image, even though on the other side of the screen the developer has already changed the background on web hosting. That is when you need to clear the browser cache, to “purge” the wrong content on the web.

Or say that after a period of use, your browsing becomes “sluggish”, and you accept it as an “unwritten rule”. Many things can cause this slowdown, and if you have a quick way to rule one out, that's good news. So try clearing your browser cache and see how it goes. A browser that stores too many files in the cache may well be slowing down and using more of your local resources.

How to clear the cache in desktop browsers:

Now that you know the basics of browser cache, the section below gives you the standard steps to clear cache on desktop, so you can keep them handy for your PC or laptop:

How to clear cache in Chrome

Step 1:

Open Google Chrome, go to the MENU bar and choose HISTORY

Step 2:

Choose CLEAR BROWSING DATA, then set the time range. To delete everything, select ALL TIME

Step 3:

Next, choose the type of data to delete. We are talking about clearing the CACHE, but you can use this step to clear COOKIES and HISTORY too if you want.

Step 4:

Click CLEAR DATA. That completes clearing the cache in Chrome.

Standard guide to clearing the browser cache in Chrome

Clear the cache in Firefox

Step 1:

After opening Mozilla Firefox, click the “three lines” menu icon at the top right of the screen and choose LIBRARY → HISTORY → CLEAR RECENT HISTORY, in that order.

Step 2:

As in Chrome, Firefox asks you to set the time range to clear. To delete everything, choose ALL TIME.

Step 3:

Choose to clear CACHE, COOKIES or HISTORY, then finish by clicking CLEAR NOW.

Clearing memory in Firefox.

How to clear the cache in Safari

Step 1:

Go to the HISTORY tab in the browser's MENU bar, then choose CLEAR HISTORY.

Step 2:

Choose the time range. To clear everything, select ALL HISTORY.

Step 3:

What sets Safari apart from other browsers is that it gives you no data options. Once you press CLEAR HISTORY, all your history, CACHE and COOKIES are gone!

The “fancy” Safari browser on macOS.

Clear cache in Opera

Step 1:

Choose HISTORY near the bottom of the MENU at the top left, then click the CLEAR BROWSING DATA button.

Step 2:

Choose the time range. You can clear the whole cache by selecting THE BEGINNING OF TIME

Step 3:

Next, choose what to delete: CACHED IMAGES AND FILES or COOKIES, then start clearing with the CLEAR BROWSING DATA button.

In practice, most browsers clear the cache in a very similar way.

Clear the cache in Cốc Cốc

Step 1:

Press CTRL + SHIFT + DELETE and the CLEAR BROWSING DATA panel appears.

Step 2:

Choose ADVANCED, then tick the boxes you want to clear, including COOKIES AND OTHER SITE AND PLUGIN DATA, BROWSING HISTORY, DOWNLOAD HISTORY, CACHED IMAGES AND FILES, and PASSWORDS. Since Cốc Cốc is a Vietnamese-made browser, you will find the steps clear and have no trouble following them.

Step 3:

Choose the TIME RANGE, then finish by clicking CLEAR DATA.

The Vietnamese-made Cốc Cốc browser, with clear instructions.

Clear the cache in Microsoft Edge

Step 1:

Choose the MENU at the top right, then choose SETTINGS.

Step 2:

Choose CHOOSE WHAT TO CLEAR under the CLEAR BROWSING DATA option, then pick the items you want to delete from the DROP-DOWN list.

Step 3:

Click CLEAR and wait until the cache clearing finishes. You can also set the cache to clear automatically every time the browser closes if you need.

Clearing the browser cache in Microsoft Edge.

Tips:

If those steps are too hard to remember, you can use these “secret tricks” to clear your browser cache in a flash. For:

• Windows computers: press CTRL + SHIFT + DELETE

• macOS: press COMMAND + SHIFT + DELETE

How to clear the cache on Android and iOS phones

With the “smartphone era” booming, searching in mobile browsers is more and more common. As on desktop, mobile browsers cache in different ways. Clearing the browser cache on a mobile phone is also simple and takes few steps.

How to clear the cache in Google Chrome (Android)

Step 1:

Open the MENU, then tap HISTORY → CLEAR BROWSING DATA

Step 2:

Set the time range. To clear everything, choose ALL TIME. Chrome on Android follows steps similar to desktop. You also choose what to clear, such as HISTORY, COOKIES or CACHE, to finish.

Step 3:

Tap the CLEAR DATA button to finish.

Clearing the cache in Chrome on Android.

How to clear the cache in Mozilla Firefox (Android)

If you have downloaded the Mozilla Firefox app on your Android phone, you can clear the browser cache in a blink.

It's very simple: open the Menu, choose HISTORY → CLEAR BROWSING HISTORY → OK, and you're done.

Clearing the Firefox cache on Android

Clear the cache in Opera Mini (Android)

Step 1:

In Opera Mini, tap the Opera icon at the bottom of the browser, and a row of icons with different options appears.

Step 2:

Tap the Settings icon to go to SETTINGS → CLEAR BROWSING DATA

Step 3:

Choose which cache items to clear: HISTORY, CACHE or COOKIES, or even all three, then confirm with the OK button.

Clearing the cache in Opera (Android)

Clear the cache in Safari (iOS)

Step 1:

Since Safari is the default browser on “fancy” iOS devices such as the iPad and iPhone, to clear this browser's cache you need to go to your device's SETTINGS.

Step 2:

Find the Safari app and open it. Scroll to the very bottom until you see the CLEAR HISTORY AND WEBSITE DATA option

Step 3:

When the pop-up appears, confirm to let the device start clearing every kind of cache in Safari.

Clearing the cache in Safari (iOS phone)

Simple cache clearing in Google Chrome (iOS)

Step 1:

Open the Menu on the right-hand side and choose HISTORY → CLEAR BROWSING DATA

Step 2:

Choose the type of data to delete (HISTORY, COOKIES, CACHE), then confirm by tapping the CLEAR BROWSING DATA button.

Clearing the cache in Chrome (iOS phone)

Clear the Mozilla Firefox cache (iOS)

Step 1:

Open the Menu at the bottom right and choose SETTINGS

Step 2:

Scroll down and choose CLEAR PRIVATE DATA, then pick the data to delete, such as CACHE, COOKIES or HISTORY.

Step 3:

Tap the red CLEAR PRIVATE DATA button to confirm. A pop-up then appears; tap OK to finish clearing the browser cache in the market.

Clearing the cache in Firefox Focus (iOS phone)

Is there a way to stop websites being saved in the cache?

Yes, there is!

Instead of clearing the cache every time you visit a “less than wholesome” website, why not use a quicker and safer option, such as private browsing with CTRL + SHIFT + N in Google Chrome? In incognito mode, no data or browsing history is saved on your computer, including cache files.

Use private browsing so the cache and cookies are not saved.

Conclusion:

That is everything, from A to Z, on how to clear the browser cache in many browsers on both desktop and mobile, as well as how to clear the local cache on your machine. You don't need to hunt around or piece it together from other sources, and you also get a little background on how cache works to impress your friends.

Mona Media would also like to share a few more thoughts: clearing the cache clear cache browser is not a daily chore, so don't overuse it. Use the trick only when the website doesn't show the information you updated, or when the system is “overloaded”.

Objectively, in many cases, wrong data display doesn't come from the browser cache on your own machine but from the server cache or the local cache of CMS. So if you've tried everything above and it still doesn't work, don't worry. Mona Media will give you specific steps for clearing the cache on a CMS server in a later article.