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Deleting Browser History & Cookies: A Guide to Staying Private Online

Regularly managing your browser history, cache, and cookies is a key step in protecting your online privacy, especially when using a shared or public computer.

Understanding Web Cookies

Web cookies are small data files that websites store on your computer. They are generally used to provide a smooth user experience, such as:

  • Remembering login status: Keeps you signed in as you navigate a site.
  • Site preferences: Recalls your custom settings, like language or layout.
  • Faster loading times: Stores temporary copies of elements like images and scripts (known as “cache”) so they don’t have to be re-downloaded every time you visit a page.

While many cookies are harmless and beneficial, third-party cookies can be used to track your activity across different websites for advertising purposes, raising privacy concerns.

How to Delete History & Cookies

A universal shortcut for most browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Edge) on a Windows computer is to press Ctrl + Shift + Delete simultaneously to open the “Clear browsing data” or “Delete Browsing History” window directly.

Below are specific steps for major browsers.

Google Chrome

  1. Open Chrome.
  2. Click the More menu (three vertical dots) in the top-right corner.
  3. Select Settings, then go to Privacy and security > Clear browsing data. (Alternatively, type chrome://settings/clearBrowserData into the address bar).
  4. Choose a Time range (e.g., “Last hour” or “All time”).
  5. Ensure Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, and Cached images and files are checked.
  6. Click Clear data.
  7. Note: If you are signed into Chrome, this will not sign you out of your Google Account itself.

Mozilla Firefox

  1. Open Firefox.
  2. Click the Menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top-right corner.
  3. Select History, then select Clear Recent History….
  4. In the “Time range to clear” drop-down menu, select Everything.
  5. Under the details, ensure Cookies and Browsing & Download History and Cache are checked.
  6. Click Clear Now.

Internet Explorer

  1. Open Internet Explorer.
  2. Click the Tools button (gear icon) in the top-right corner.
  3. Point to Safety, and then select Delete browsing history.
  4. In the new window, check the boxes for Temporary Internet files and website files, Cookies and website data, and History.
  5. Click the Delete button.

Apple Safari

On a Mac computer:

  1. Open Safari.
  2. In the top menu bar, click on the Safari menu.
  3. Select Clear History and Website Data….
  4. From the drop-down menu, choose how far back you want to clear (e.g., “all history”).
  5. Click Clear History.

On an iPhone or iPad:

  1. Go to the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down and tap on Safari.
  3. Scroll down again and tap Clear History and Website Data.
  4. Confirm by tapping Clear History in the pop-up.