Delete cookies through Safari settings

The fastest way to delete all cookies on your iPhone is through the Safari app settings. Open Settings, scroll down and tap Safari, then scroll to the bottom and tap Clear History and Website Data. A popup will appear asking what time period to clear — select All time to remove everything, then tap Clear History and Data again to confirm.

This single action removes your browsing history, cookies, and cached website data at once. Safari will not ask you again or show a progress bar — the deletion happens immediately. After you do this, websites you visit will no longer have access to the cookies they previously stored on your phone.

If you want to clear cookies but keep your browsing history, Safari does not offer that option directly. You would need to use a different browser like Chrome or Firefox, which have separate controls for history and cookies.

Key Takeaways

  • Open Settings, tap Safari, scroll to the bottom, and tap Clear History and Website Data to remove all cookies at once.
  • Select All time from the popup to delete cookies from your entire browsing history, not just the last hour or day.
  • Safari deletes cookies, history, and cached data together — you cannot remove only cookies without also clearing history.
  • Other browsers like Chrome and Firefox let you clear cookies separately from history if you need that control.
  • Deleting cookies does not affect your saved passwords or autofill information unless you specifically choose to clear those too.

What happens after you delete cookies

Once you clear cookies, websites will treat you as a new visitor the next time you go to them. You may notice that sites no longer remember your login information, shopping cart contents, or language preferences. This is because cookies store that data, and deleting them removes it.

Some websites will ask you to log in again immediately after you clear cookies. Others will let you browse normally but forget who you are once you close the browser tab. If a site has a "Remember me" checkbox, checking it after you log back in will create a new cookie to store that information.

Your saved passwords in Safari are separate from cookies and will remain intact. If you want to keep passwords but delete cookies, you have to use a browser other than Safari, since Safari's clear function removes both together.

Clear cookies from specific websites only

If you want to delete cookies from just one or two websites instead of everything, open Safari and tap the Bookmarks icon (it looks like an open book at the bottom of the screen). Tap History at the bottom, then tap Edit in the upper right corner.

Scroll through your history to find the website you want to remove cookies from, swipe left on it, and tap Delete. This removes that site from your history and clears its cookies from your phone. You can repeat this for multiple sites without touching cookies from other websites.

This method is slower than clearing everything at once, but it is useful if you only want to log out of one account or remove cookies from a specific site you do not trust.

Use Chrome or Firefox if you need more control

Safari does not let you clear cookies without also clearing history and cached data. If you need finer control — for example, to delete cookies but keep your browsing history — download Chrome or Firefox from the App Store instead.

In Chrome, open the app, tap the three-dot menu icon in the bottom right, tap Settings, then Privacy, then Clear Browsing Data. Check only the Cookies and site data box, leave the others unchecked, and tap Clear Browsing Data. Firefox works similarly: tap the menu icon, go to Settings, tap Data Management, and toggle on Delete Browsing Data to choose what to remove.

Both browsers also let you set them to automatically delete cookies every time you close the app, which Safari cannot do. If privacy is a regular concern for you, switching to one of these browsers gives you more options.

Prevent cookies from being stored in the future

You can tell Safari to block cookies from being stored in the first place, though this may break some websites. Open Settings, tap Safari, and look for Privacy. Under Block All Cookies, toggle the switch on.

With this setting enabled, Safari will refuse to store cookies from any website. Some sites will still work fine, but others may not load properly or may not let you log in. If you turn this on and a website stops working, go back to the same setting and toggle it off to allow cookies again.

A middle ground is to use Intelligent Tracking Prevention, which is on by default in Safari. This blocks cookies from advertisers and data brokers while still allowing websites you visit to store cookies for login and preferences. You do not need to change any settings for this — it works automatically.

Cookies and private browsing mode

If you use Safari's Private Browsing mode, cookies are still created while you browse, but they are deleted automatically when you close the private tab. To turn on private browsing, open Safari, tap the tabs icon (two overlapping squares) at the bottom right, then tap Private in the lower left corner.

Private browsing mode does not hide your activity from your internet provider or the websites you visit — it only prevents Safari from storing cookies and history on your phone. Websites can still see who you are and track your activity; they just cannot use cookies stored on your device to recognize you later.

If you want to browse without cookies at all, private mode is a quick option. But if you need to log into accounts or use websites that require cookies to work, you will need to switch back to regular browsing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will deleting cookies log me out of everything?

Yes, deleting cookies will log you out of most websites because cookies store your login session. You will need to log back in to email, social media, banking apps, and other sites that require authentication. If a site has a "Remember me" option, checking it when you log back in will create a new cookie so you stay logged in longer next time.

Do I need to delete cookies regularly?

No, deleting cookies regularly is not necessary for your iPhone to work properly. Cookies take up very little storage space. The main reasons to delete them are privacy (so websites cannot track you across visits) or to fix a website that is not working correctly. Most people only need to clear cookies when they notice a problem or want to log out of an account.

What is the difference between clearing cookies and clearing cache?

Cookies store information about you and your preferences, while cache stores copies of web pages and images so they load faster next time. Clearing both together (which is what Safari does) removes both types of stored data. Clearing only cache will not log you out of websites, but clearing only cookies will not speed up your browsing.

Can I delete cookies from just one website without clearing everything?

Yes, you can delete history from individual websites through Safari's History menu, which also removes their cookies. Swipe left on the website name in your history and tap Delete. This is slower than clearing everything at once, but it leaves cookies from other sites untouched.

Does deleting cookies delete my saved passwords?

No, passwords are stored separately from cookies in Safari's password manager. Deleting cookies will not affect your saved passwords. If you want to delete passwords, you have to do that separately through Settings > Passwords and Accounts.