Cookies, which are files created by websites you’ve visited, and your browser’s cache, which helps pages load faster, make it easier for you to browse the web.
These can, however, affect the running of programs and web pages sometimes so we would always recommend clearing these once in a while to ensure they are running correctly.
Clearing your browser’s cache and cookies means that some website settings (like usernames and passwords)will be deleted and some sites might appear to be a little slower because all of the images have to be loaded again.
Here is how you clear/remove them in the four main browsers:
Chrome
Open Chrome.
On your browser toolbar, click More the 3 vertical dots.
Point to More tools, and then click Clear browsing data.
In the Clear browsing data box, click the Advanced tab.
Select the time range as All time to delete everything.
Click the checkboxes for Cookies and other site data, Cached images and files, Hosted app data and Media licenses.
Microsoft Edge
Open Edge.
On your browser toolbar, click the three dots then Settings.
Click Privacy, search, and services.
Click Choose what to clear.
Select the time range as All time to delete everything.
Click the checkboxes for Cookies and other site data, Cached images and files, and Media Foundation Data.
Click Clear now to confirm.
Firefox
From the History menu, select Clear Recent History.
If the menu bar is hidden, press Alt to make it visible.
From the Time range to clear: drop-down menu, select the desired range; to clear the entire cache, select Everything.
Next to Details, click the down arrow to choose which elements of the history to clear; to clear your entire cache, select all items.
Click Clear Now.
Exit/quit all browser windows and re-open the browser.
Safari
This is valid for Safari 9 (and later versions):
From the Safari menu, select Clear History and Website Data...
Select the desired time range, and then click Clear History.
Go to Safari, Quit Safari, or press Command-Q to exit the browser completely.
This is valid for Safari 7 (and earlier versions):
From the Safari menu, select Reset Safari...
Select the items you want to reset, and then click Reset. Note: As of Safari 5.1, Remove all website data including both cookies and cache.
Go to Safari, Quit Safari, or press Command-Q to exit the browser completely.
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