How to Delete Cookies (and What Clearing Them Actually Does)

To delete cookies, open your browser’s settings, find the privacy or history section, and choose the option to clear browsing data or manage website data, then select cookies and a time range such as “all time”. Every major browser also lets you delete cookies for a single site. Clearing cookies signs you out of most websites, so check you know your passwords first.

This guide explains how to delete cookies in the main browsers, what cookies actually do, and the settings that stop tracking cookies from building up again, which matters more for privacy than a one-off clean.

What cookies are and why they matter for privacy

A cookie is a small text file a website stores in your browser. Next time you visit, the browser sends it back, so the site recognizes you. That is how a shop remembers your basket and how a site keeps you signed in.

Cookies come in a few types, and they’re not equally concerning:

Type	Set by	What it’s for	Privacy concern
Session cookies	The site you’re on	Keeping you logged in while the browser is open	Low
Persistent first-party cookies	The site you’re on	Remembering logins, language, preferences, basket contents	Low to moderate: the site learns your habits on its own pages
Third-party cookies	Ad networks, analytics and embedded widgets on the page	Recognizing you across many unrelated sites	High: this is how cross-site profiles and targeted ads are built

The privacy issue is mostly third-party cookies. When the same ad network’s code runs on a news site, a pharmacy and a job board, its cookie can link those visits into a profile of your interests. That profile can shape the ads you see and, through data sharing, feed marketing and data broker files.

Some browsers now block many third-party cookies by default, and trackers have shifted to other methods such as device fingerprinting. Deleting cookies is still worthwhile, but it’s one layer, not the whole answer.

Before you clear everything

• Check your passwords. Clearing cookies signs you out of sites. Make sure your passwords are saved in a password manager or you know them, and that you can receive two-factor codes.
• Know what you’ll lose. Saved preferences, items in shopping baskets and “remember this device” settings usually reset. Some banks will ask you to verify your device again.
• Separate cookies from cache. The clear-data screen usually offers cookies, cached images and files, and browsing history as separate boxes. You can clear cookies without wiping your history, or the other way round.
• Consider a targeted clean. If you only want to remove one site’s tracking, or fix one misbehaving site, deleting that site’s cookies avoids signing you out everywhere.

How to delete cookies in each major browser

Browser menus change with updates, so these steps describe where to look rather than exact button names. If a label differs, the browser’s settings search box will find “cookies” or “clear browsing data” quickly.

Google Chrome (computer)

1. Open the three-dot menu and go to Settings.
2. Open Privacy and security, then choose Delete browsing data (older versions say Clear browsing data).
3. Pick a time range, tick cookies and other site data, and confirm.
4. To delete cookies for one site, look for the third-party cookies or site data section in the same area, search for the site and remove its data.

Our Chrome privacy settings guide walks through the rest of that menu, including third-party cookie blocking and ad privacy options.

Chrome on Android and iPhone

1. Open Chrome, tap the menu and go to Settings, then Privacy and security.
2. Choose the option to delete or clear browsing data.
3. Select a time range and cookies and site data, then confirm.

Safari (Mac)

1. Open Safari’s settings from the menu bar and go to the Privacy tab.
2. Choose Manage Website Data. You can remove data for one site or remove all.
3. Clearing history from Safari’s History menu also removes cookies and website data for the chosen period.

Safari (iPhone and iPad)

1. Open the Settings app, not Safari itself, and find Safari (on recent iOS versions it sits under Apps).
2. Choose Clear History and Website Data to remove everything, or open Advanced and Website Data to remove individual sites.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open the menu and go to Settings, then Privacy & Security.
2. Under Cookies and Site Data, choose Clear Data to remove everything, or Manage Data to remove single sites.
3. Firefox also offers an option to delete cookies and site data automatically when the browser closes.

Microsoft Edge

1. Open the menu and go to Settings, then Privacy, search and services.
2. Under the clear browsing data section, choose what to clear, pick cookies and other site data, and set the time range.
3. Edge can also clear chosen data every time you close the browser, which you’ll find in the same section.

Other browsers and in-app browsers

Brave, Opera, Samsung Internet and others follow the same pattern: settings, privacy, clear browsing data. Links opened inside apps such as social media or email apps often use a built-in browser with its own cookies. Look in that app’s settings for an option to clear browser data, since clearing your main browser won’t touch it.

Stop tracking cookies from coming back

Cookies reappear the moment you browse again. These settings do more for privacy than repeated manual clearing:

• Block third-party cookies. Every major browser has a setting for this. Firefox and Safari block many cross-site trackers by default; check Chrome and Edge settings for the current options.
• Auto-delete on close. Firefox and Edge can wipe cookies each time you quit. You can usually add exceptions for sites you want to stay signed in to.
• Turn on Global Privacy Control. This browser signal tells sites you opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, and some US state laws require businesses to honor it. Our Global Privacy Control guide explains how it works and which browsers support it.
• Use private windows for one-off searches. Private or incognito mode discards cookies when you close the window. It doesn’t hide you from your employer’s network, your internet provider or the sites you sign in to.
• Answer cookie banners properly. Where a site offers a “reject all” or “necessary only” choice, use it. It takes seconds and reduces what’s stored in the first place.

Cookies and targeted ads

If the reason you’re here is that ads seem to follow you around, cookies are part of the story, not all of it. Targeted ads draw on several sources:

• Cookies and similar trackers in your browser.
• Your activity while signed in to Google, Meta, Amazon and other large platforms, which doesn’t depend on cookies in the same way.
• Mobile advertising IDs on your phone, which apps use instead of cookies.
• Lists that advertisers upload, such as email addresses from customer or marketing databases.

So after you delete cookies, also review the ad settings in your Google and social media accounts, limit ad tracking on your phone, and consider opting out of data broker marketing lists. Our guide on opting out of targeted ads covers each of these in turn.

A worked example

This scenario is illustrative, not a real client. Marcus researched a sensitive medical condition on his work laptop’s browser and then started seeing related ads on unrelated sites, which he found unsettling on a shared screen.

1. He opened a password manager and confirmed his important logins were saved.
2. He cleared cookies and site data for all time in his browser, leaving his bookmarks untouched.
3. He switched on third-party cookie blocking and set the browser to clear cookies on close, adding exceptions for his email and bank.
4. He reviewed the ad personalization settings in his Google account and turned off personalization for sensitive categories where offered.
5. He started using a private window for future health searches.

The related ads faded over the following days. He accepted that some ads based on his signed-in activity might take longer to change.

Common mistakes

• Clearing cookies without saved passwords. Being locked out of accounts is the most common side effect. Sort out your logins first.
• Thinking incognito means anonymous. It only stops your browser keeping a local record. Sites, networks and signed-in accounts still see activity.
• Forgetting other devices. Cookies are per browser, per device. Clearing your laptop does nothing for your phone or tablet, even if your browser syncs bookmarks.
• Clearing all the time instead of changing settings. Repeated manual clearing is tiring and trackers return within minutes. Blocking third-party cookies and auto-deleting on close lasts.
• Treating cookies as the whole privacy picture. Your name, address and phone number on people-search sites have nothing to do with cookies. Our online privacy tips cover the wider set of steps.

If your concern is personal information about you appearing in search results rather than ads, our content removal service handles removal requests where site policies and the law allow it.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to delete all cookies?

Yes. Deleting cookies doesn’t harm your device or remove files. The main side effects are being signed out of websites and losing saved site preferences, so have your passwords ready.

Should I delete cookies or cache?

They do different jobs. Cookies store identifiers and settings, so deleting them helps privacy. The cache stores copies of page files to load sites faster, so clearing it mainly fixes display problems. You can clear either on its own.

How often should I clear cookies?

There’s no fixed rule. Rather than clearing on a schedule, block third-party cookies and set your browser to delete cookies when it closes, with exceptions for sites you use daily.

Does deleting cookies stop targeted ads?

It reduces ads based on your browsing, but not ads based on activity in signed-in accounts, your phone’s advertising ID or lists advertisers already hold. Review ad settings on those platforms too.

Will deleting cookies delete my saved passwords?

Usually not. Saved passwords are a separate option on the clear-data screen. Check which boxes are ticked before you confirm.