What cookies are and why you might want to clear them

Cookies are small files that websites store on your tablet to remember information about you — your login details, what you put in a shopping cart, your preferences. They make websites load faster and remember who you are when you come back. Over time, your tablet collects hundreds of them, and clearing them out can free up space and sometimes fix problems with websites that aren't loading properly.

You might also clear cookies if you're selling or giving away your tablet and want to remove your browsing history and saved login information. The steps differ slightly depending on which browser you use — Chrome, Samsung Internet, or Firefox — but the process takes less than a minute either way.

Key Takeaways

  • Cookies are stored in your browser, so you clear them from the same place you browse the web — Chrome, Samsung Internet, or Firefox.
  • In most browsers, you go to Settings, then find Browsing Data or Cache, check the box for Cookies, and tap Clear.
  • You can choose to clear cookies from just today, the last week, or all time — clearing all time removes login information from every site.
  • If a website stops working after you clear cookies, you may need to log in again because the site no longer remembers you.

Clearing cookies in Samsung Internet

Samsung Internet is the default browser on most Samsung tablets. Open the app and tap the three horizontal lines (called a menu button) in the bottom right corner. Scroll down and tap Settings.

In Settings, tap Privacy. You'll see an option that says Delete browsing data — tap that. A window will pop up with several checkboxes. Make sure Cookies and site data is checked. You can leave the other boxes checked or unchecked depending on what else you want to remove. At the top, you'll see a dropdown that says All time — this controls how far back the deletion goes. Leave it on All time unless you only want to clear cookies from today or this week. Tap Delete and you're done.

Clearing cookies in Google Chrome

Open Chrome and tap the three vertical dots in the top right corner. Tap Settings. Scroll down and tap Privacy and security, then tap Clear browsing data.

A window will appear with several options. Make sure the checkbox next to Cookies and other site data is checked. At the top of the window, you'll see a dropdown menu — it probably says All time. You can change this to Last hour, Last 24 hours, Last 7 days, Last 4 weeks, or All time. Choose whichever period you want, then tap Clear data. Chrome will remove the cookies and close the window automatically.

Clearing cookies in Firefox

Open Firefox and tap the three horizontal lines in the bottom right corner. Tap Settings. Scroll down to the Privacy section and tap Delete browsing data.

You'll see checkboxes for different types of data. Check the box next to Cookies. You can also check Cache if you want to free up more space. At the bottom, tap Delete browsing data. Firefox will clear the cookies immediately and take you back to the main menu.

What happens after you clear cookies

After clearing cookies, websites you visit regularly may ask you to log in again because they no longer have your saved login information. This is normal and expected. You'll type in your username and password the same way you did the first time, and the site will create new cookies to remember you.

Some websites may also look slightly different or load more slowly the first time you visit after clearing cookies, because they're rebuilding their memory of your preferences. This usually fixes itself after you visit the site once or twice. If a website stops working entirely after you clear cookies, try closing the browser completely and opening it again — sometimes that solves the problem.

Clearing cookies without clearing other data

All three browsers let you clear cookies alone without touching your browsing history, saved passwords, or cached images. When you reach the screen with checkboxes, simply uncheck everything except Cookies and site data (or just Cookies in Firefox). This way you keep your browsing history and your saved passwords while removing only the cookies.

If you're not sure what each checkbox does, leave them unchecked unless you specifically want to remove that type of data. The safest approach is to check only cookies and leave everything else alone.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will clearing cookies delete my saved passwords?

No. Passwords are stored separately from cookies. When you clear cookies, you'll see a checkbox for Passwords or Saved passwords — if you don't check that box, your passwords stay on your tablet. You can clear cookies without touching passwords at all.

What's the difference between clearing cookies and clearing cache?

Cookies are small files that remember information about you. Cache is a collection of images, videos, and other files that websites store to load faster next time. Clearing cache frees up more space but doesn't remove your login information. You can clear either one alone or both together.

Do I need to clear cookies regularly?

Not unless you're having problems with websites or you're concerned about privacy. Cookies don't slow down your tablet the way they might on an older computer. If a website isn't working right, clearing cookies is worth trying. Otherwise, you can clear them once a year or whenever you feel like it.

Will clearing cookies log me out of everything?

Yes. When you clear all cookies from all time, you'll be logged out of every website that was remembering you. You'll need to log in again the next time you visit those sites. If you only want to clear cookies from today or this week, you can choose that option instead and keep most of your logins intact.

Can I clear cookies from just one website?

In Samsung Internet and Chrome, you can tap and hold on a website in your history, then choose an option to clear data for that site only. In Firefox, this option is less straightforward — it's usually easier to just clear all cookies and log back in to the sites you use most.