Clearing Your Android Web Browser's Cookies, Cache Helps Clean Up Your Phone - CNET

1 year ago 29

Your Android phone is online constantly, and your web browser successful peculiar is picking up information from each the antithetic websites you visit. Much of that information builds up successful your web browser app -- whether you are utilizing Google Chrome, Firefox oregon Samsung Internet -- storing it arsenic portion of the cookies and cache wrong those apps. This information tin beryllium adjuvant for websites you regularly frequent, letting them load faster with your accounts already logged in.

While information for the websites you predominant is surely convenient, the cache and cookies are besides wherever information from websites you visited arsenic a one-off on with random information trackers besides physique up. Some of the cookies successful peculiar can track your browsing history, and it could beryllium helping service up personalized advertizing based connected your web history. For instance, the mode you extremity up seeing advertizing for a merchandise that you mightiness person viewed concisely connected a buying website.

Because of this, each truthful often it's bully to wide retired your cache. This mode you tin region information that you simply don't request connected your phone, particularly if it's a information tracker that you aren't adjacent alert is portion of your phone's cookies. This volition pb to a insignificant convenience of having to log backmost into immoderate of your favourite websites, but it's a tiny terms successful bid to marque definite your telephone isn't stocking up connected extraneous data.

The steps disagree somewhat depending connected the benignant of telephone and web browser app you're using, truthful beneath we'll spell implicit however to wide this information for Google Chrome browser (often the default for galore Android phones similar the Google Pixel line), Samsung's Internet browser (often the default connected the Galaxy telephone series) and Mozilla's Firefox browser. You tin besides cheque retired our abstracted usher connected however to clear your cache connected an iPhone web browser successful lawsuit you person a fewer Apple devices to tidy up, too.

The "Clear browsing data" paper successful Chrome connected Android.

Screenshot by Mike Sorrentino/CNET

Google Chrome

You tin delete your cookies and cache from wrong the Android mentation of Google Chrome by archetypal tapping the More button successful the apical close country of the browser, indicated by a file of 3 dots, past tapping History, past Clear browsing data. You tin besides entree this from the Chrome Settings menu, tapping Privacy and Security and past Clear browsing data.

Chrome besides offers Basic and Advanced settings for clearing your Browsing history, Cookies and tract data and Cached images and files. You tin usage the Time range drop-down to prime whether you privation to delete the full past oregon a enactment of anyplace from the past 24 hours up to the past 4 weeks. Tapping Advanced volition besides springiness you entree to deleting Saved passwords, Autofill signifier data and Site settings. After selecting what you privation to delete, pat the bluish Clear data button. You mightiness person an further punctual successful the lawsuit Chrome deems definite websites arsenic being "important" to you, and if truthful you'll get the accidental to corroborate earlier clearing. Otherwise if you bash not person that prompt, Chrome volition instantly proceed to wide arsenic you instructed.

Samsung Internet

The "Clear data" and "Clear cache" options for Samsung Internet.

Screenshot by Mike Sorrentino/CNET

There are 2 antithetic ways you tin wide your Samsung Internet browser's cache and cooky data. You tin wide from wrong the browser itself, oregon you tin spell done your phone's Settings app.

To wide portion successful the Samsung Internet browser app, archetypal pat the Options button successful the bottommost close country represented by 3 horizontal lines, past Settings; scroll down to and pat Personal Data, past pat Delete browsing data to get a paper of options to delete. You tin wide your Browsing history, Cookies and tract data, Cached images and files, Passwords and Autofill forms successful immoderate combination. After tapping Delete data, you'll past person a punctual asking for you to corroborate your choices earlier deleting.

Going done the browser app itself provides the astir customization of what you privation to delete. However, if you privation to entree akin options from your phone's settings menu, unfastened the Settings app and pat connected Apps, past scroll down to and pat Samsung Internet and past Storage.

At the bottommost of Storage, you get abstracted options to Clear cache and Clear data. Tapping Clear cache volition instantly delete the cache, but Clear data brings up a punctual that warns you that each of the application's information volition beryllium deleted permanently, including files, settings, accounts and databases. While it doesn't specify cookies, this "going nuclear" attack should zap each remaining data, letting you restart the Samsung Internet browser arsenic if it were brand-new.

Mozilla Firefox

Much arsenic with Google Chrome, you tin wide the cache from wrong the Mozilla Firefox Android app. To entree this function, pat the More button connected the close of the code bar, again symbolized by 3 vertically aligned dots. Then pat Settings and scroll down to Delete browsing data.

The "Delete browsing data" paper successful Mozilla Firefox connected Android.

Screenshot by Mike Sorrentino/CNET

Of the 3 browsers we're discussing here, Firefox gives you the astir options nether the Delete browsing data menu, allowing you to besides delete immoderate existing Open tabs, your Browsing history and tract data, Site permissions and adjacent your Downloads folder alongside Cookies and Cached images and files.

While you can't prime a clip scope arsenic you tin for Chrome, you tin beryllium much circumstantial regarding what benignant of information you would similar to remove.

And Firefox has an further enactment for those who ne'er privation to support their browsing information aft they're done utilizing the app. Inside of Settings is simply a Delete browsing information connected quit option, which instructs Firefox to hitch immoderate operation of these aforesaid settings each clip you discontinue the application. It's a utile diagnostic if you'd similar to support the browser tidy and, say, debar accidentally handing disconnected your browser past to idiosyncratic who whitethorn person stolen oregon different gained entree to your phone.

For more, cheque retired everything to cognize astir Google's caller operating system, Android 13, including how to download the beta. Also, instrumentality a look astatine CNET's database of the best Android apps and immoderate settings you'll privation to change connected your existent phone.