Why you might want to clear cookies
Cookies are small files that websites store on your phone to remember things about you — your login status, items in a shopping cart, your preferences. Most of the time they're harmless and make browsing faster. But clearing them can help in a few real situations: if a website isn't working right and you want to start fresh, if you're selling or giving away your phone, if you share a device with someone else and want to remove your login information, or if you want to reduce the amount of tracking data stored locally on your device.
Clearing cookies also clears your browsing history and cached images and files — the temporary copies of web pages your phone stores to load them faster next time. When you clear one, you usually clear the others together. This won't affect your saved passwords unless you specifically choose to delete those too.
Key Takeaways
- On iPhone, open Settings, tap Safari, scroll down, and tap "Clear History and Website Data" to remove cookies, history, and cached files.
- On Android, the steps vary by browser — in Chrome, tap the menu icon, go to Settings, then Privacy, and tap "Clear browsing data".
- Clearing cookies will log you out of most websites, so have your passwords ready or use a password manager before you start.
- If you only want to clear cookies from one website rather than everything, most browsers let you do that in their settings under cookies or site data.
Clearing cookies on iPhone
On iPhone, the main way to clear cookies is through Safari settings. Open the Settings app, scroll down and tap Safari, then scroll to the bottom of that screen. You'll see a button that says "Clear History and Website Data" — tap it. A popup will ask you to confirm, and you can choose whether to clear just the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all time. Choose what you want and tap "Clear".
If you use a different browser like Chrome or Firefox on your iPhone, the process is different. In Chrome, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the bottom right, go to Settings, tap Privacy, then "Clear Browsing Data". In Firefox, tap the menu icon at the bottom right, go to Settings, tap Data Management, and tap "Clear Private Data".
Clearing cookies on Android
On Android, the steps depend on which browser you use. In Chrome, tap the menu icon (three vertical dots) at the top right, go to Settings, tap Privacy and security, then "Clear browsing data". A window will pop up — make sure "Cookies and site data" is checked, choose your time range at the top, and tap "Clear data".
In Firefox on Android, tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) at the bottom right, go to Settings, tap Delete browsing data, and check the boxes for what you want to clear. In Samsung Internet (the default browser on many Samsung phones), tap the menu icon at the bottom right, go to Settings, tap Privacy, then "Delete browsing data".
Clearing cookies from a single website
If you only want to remove cookies from one specific website instead of clearing everything, most browsers let you do that. In Chrome on either phone, go to Settings, tap Privacy and security, then "Site settings", then "Cookies and site data". You'll see a list of websites — tap the one you want to clear and tap "Clear and reset".
In Safari on iPhone, you can't easily clear cookies from just one site through settings. Instead, go to that website, tap the address bar, then tap the "aA" icon on the left, and look for a "Website Settings" or similar option — the exact wording varies by iOS version. From there you may be able to clear that site's data.
What happens after you clear cookies
After you clear cookies, you'll be logged out of most websites. The next time you visit a site that required a login, you'll need to enter your username and password again. If you use a password manager like Bitwarden, 1Password, or the built-in password manager on your phone, it can fill those in for you automatically — so you won't have to type them by hand.
Websites may also load slightly slower the first time you visit them after clearing, because your phone no longer has the cached copies of images and files. This slowdown is usually just a second or two. After that first visit, the cache rebuilds and things speed up again.
When to clear cookies versus when not to
Clear cookies if you're troubleshooting a website that isn't loading right, if you're about to sell or give away your phone, if you share a device and want to remove your login information, or if you want to reduce stored tracking data. Don't clear them if you're about to do something that requires staying logged in — like uploading files to an email account or completing an online purchase — because you'll get logged out in the middle.
If you want to clear cookies automatically on a schedule, most browsers have an option for that. In Chrome on Android, go to Settings, tap Privacy and security, and look for "Clear browsing data" — you can set it to clear automatically when you close the app. In Safari on iPhone, go to Settings, tap Safari, and toggle on "Clear History and Website Data" — this clears data when you close Safari.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will clearing cookies delete my saved passwords?
No. Cookies and saved passwords are stored separately. Clearing cookies won't touch your passwords unless you specifically check the "Passwords" box during the clearing process. Most browsers don't check that box by default, so your passwords stay safe.
Can I clear cookies from just one app instead of my whole browser?
Not directly. Cookies are stored by the browser, not by individual apps. If you want to clear data from a specific app (like Facebook or Instagram), you have to go to your phone's Settings, find the app, and tap "Clear Cache" or "Clear Data" — but that's different from clearing browser cookies.
What's the difference between clearing cookies and clearing cache?
Cookies are small files that store information about you and your preferences. Cache is the temporary copies of images, videos, and web pages your phone stores to make loading faster. Most browsers clear both at the same time, but some let you choose which one to clear.
If I clear cookies, will websites still remember me?
No, not right away. Websites use cookies to remember you, so clearing them means you'll have to log back in. However, if you have an account with that website, it will still exist — you just won't be logged in on that device anymore.