How to Clear Cache and Cookies on Microsoft Edge

If Microsoft Edge has been feeling sluggish, logging you out unexpectedly, or showing you outdated versions of websites, your cache and cookies are likely the culprit. Clearing them is one of the most effective browser maintenance steps you can take — and Edge makes it reasonably straightforward once you know where to look.

What Are Cache and Cookies, and Why Do They Build Up?

Before jumping into steps, it helps to understand what you're actually deleting.

Cache is stored data that Edge saves from websites you visit — things like images, scripts, and style sheets. The idea is that the next time you visit that site, the browser can load saved assets locally instead of downloading them again, which speeds things up. Over time, though, cached data can become stale or bloated, causing pages to display incorrectly or the browser to slow down.

Cookies are small files websites place on your device to remember information — your login status, preferences, shopping cart contents, or tracking identifiers. They're useful, but they accumulate quickly, and some can cause conflicts or privacy concerns depending on how they're used.

Both cache and cookies are stored in your browser's local data folder, and neither will survive a manual clear — which is exactly the point.

How to Clear Cache and Cookies in Microsoft Edge

Method 1: Through the Settings Menu

This is the most common approach and gives you the most control over what gets deleted.

1. Open Microsoft Edge
2. Click the three-dot menu (⋯) in the top-right corner
3. Select Settings
4. In the left sidebar, click Privacy, search, and services
5. Under the Clear browsing data section, click Choose what to clear
6. A dialog box will appear with several checkboxes — make sure Cached images and files and Cookies and other site data are both checked
7. Use the Time range dropdown to select how far back you want to clear (options range from the last hour to all time)
8. Click Clear now

Edge will process the request and clear the selected data. Depending on how much data has accumulated, this can take anywhere from a second to a minute.

Method 2: Keyboard Shortcut

If you prefer speed over navigation, Edge supports a direct shortcut:

• Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Windows) or Command + Shift + Delete (Mac)

This opens the Clear browsing data panel immediately, skipping the Settings menu entirely. From there, the steps are the same as above.

Method 3: Clear Data for a Specific Site Only

Sometimes you don't want to wipe everything — just one problematic website.

1. Navigate to the site in question
2. Click the padlock or info icon in the address bar
3. Select Cookies or Site permissions
4. From here you can view and delete cookies stored specifically by that site

This is useful when a single site is behaving oddly but you don't want to lose saved sessions elsewhere.

What Gets Deleted — and What Doesn't 🗂️

Clearing cache and cookies has real consequences worth understanding before you click that button.

The most noticeable effect for most users: you'll be signed out of every website that used a cookie to maintain your session. That includes email, banking, social media, and any subscription services. Have your passwords ready, or make sure they're saved in Edge or a password manager before clearing.

Variables That Affect Your Experience

How often you should clear cache and cookies — and how much of a difference it makes — depends on factors specific to your situation.

How much you browse plays a significant role. A user who spends hours daily across dozens of tabs will accumulate far more cached data than someone who checks a handful of sites occasionally. Heavy browsing sessions can generate gigabytes of cached content over months.

Your device's storage and memory matter too. On a machine with limited RAM or a near-full drive, a bloated cache can noticeably degrade browser performance. On a high-spec machine with plenty of headroom, the impact may be subtler.

Your Edge version and operating system affect where data is stored and how the clearing process behaves. Edge on Windows 10, Windows 11, and macOS each handle local storage slightly differently, though the in-browser steps are largely consistent across versions.

Sync settings are another consideration. If you're signed into Edge with a Microsoft account and have sync enabled, some data — like favorites and passwords — is stored in the cloud and won't be touched. But cookies and cache are local-only and will be cleared regardless of sync status.

Managed or work devices may have policies in place that restrict what users can clear, or IT departments may push scheduled clears automatically. If you're on a corporate machine, check with your IT team before making changes.

Edge's Built-In Automation Options 🔧

Edge includes a setting to handle this automatically if manual clearing feels like too much overhead.

Under Settings → Privacy, search, and services, there's an option labeled Choose what to clear every time you close the browser. Enabling this lets you set specific data types — including cookies and cache — to clear automatically on each browser close, mimicking a persistent private-browsing state without actually using InPrivate mode.

Whether this makes sense depends entirely on how you use Edge. For someone who prioritizes privacy and doesn't rely on staying logged into sites between sessions, it's a clean solution. For someone who values convenience and persistent logins, it creates more friction than it solves.

That balance — between privacy, performance, and convenience — is ultimately determined by how your own browsing habits, device setup, and tolerance for re-authentication line up.