How to Clear Cache and Cookies on Chrome: Step-by-Step Guide

If you encounter browser or website issues in Chrome, you may choose to clear the cache and cookies in the browser to see if it helps you fix the issue. This post offers detailed instructions for how to clear cache and cookies on Chrome.

Table of contents Hide

1 Understanding Browser Cache and Cookies

2 Why You Need to Clear Cache and Cookies on Chrome?

3 How to Clear Cache and Cookies on Chrome

4 What Happens After Clearing Cache and Cookies on Chrome?

5 How to Clear Cache and Cookies on Chrome – FAQs

6 Conclusion

Understanding Browser Cache and Cookies

Cache: Store some parts of web pages like images, aiming to load pages faster for repeated visits. If you clear the cache in Chrome, some sites may load slowly on your next visit.
Cookies: Store user-specific information like site login credentials and other site preferences. If you clear cookies on Chrome, you need to log into websites by entering your account login credentials again.

Why You Need to Clear Cache and Cookies on Chrome?

Fix Chrome browser issues:

If your Chrome is not working properly, clearing cache and cookies may help fix Chrome issues and improve your browsing experience.

Fix website loading or login issues:

Outdated or corrupted cached data or cookies may lead to site loading or login problems like the “this site can’t be reached” error, unable to log into a site, etc. Still, the web pages may display old content due to the cache and cookies and not reflect the most recent changes.

Clearing the cache and cookies may help fix these issues and force the browser to display the latest version of pages.

Free up storage space and speed up Chrome:

Cache and cookies will accumulate over time. They will take up much storage space on your device and may slow down the Chrome browser. Clearing them can improve the browser’s performance and free up storage for your device.

Protect your privacy and security:

Cookies and cache store your site login information and browsing habits. Clearing them can help protect your privacy and account safety.

Tip:

If you are unable to open Chrome in your country, you may try a VPN tool. LightningX VPN is a top VPN for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, TV, etc. You can use it to access Chrome, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, ChatGPT, and more. It features fast speed, stable connection, strong encryption, stick no-log policy, and ease of use.

Get LightningX VPN

How to Clear Cache and Cookies on Chrome

Tip:

Before you clear cache and cookies in Chrome, make sure your important information like account login passwords is saved and remembered. Back up important data. Make sure all your needed tabs are bookmarked or saved.

Step 1. Open the “Clearing browsing data” window in Chrome.

Launch the Google Chrome browser. Use one of the 4 ways below to launch the “Delete browsing data” window.

Click the three-dot icon in the upper-right corner and select “Delete browsing data”.
Press the Ctrl + Shift + Delete shortcut to quickly open it.
Enter “chrome://settings/clearBrowserData” in the address bar and press Enter to open it.
Click the three-dot icon in the top-right corner > Settings > Privacy and security > Delete browsing data.

Open the “Clearing browsing data” Window in Chrome

Step 2. Select which data you want to clear in Chrome

Basic:

Select the time range you want to clear the data. You can select Last Hour, Last 24 Hours, Last 7 Days, Last 4 Weeks, or All Time.
Select “Browsing history” to delete your browsing history including the search box history.
Select “Cookies and other site data” to delete Chrome cookies and sign out of most websites.
Select “Cached images and files” to clear the Chrome cache.

Advanced:

Select the time range you want to clear the data. You can select Last Hour, Last 24 Hours, Last 7 Days, Last 4 Weeks, or All Time.
Browsing history.
Download history.
Cookies and other site data.
Cached images and files.
Passwords and other sign-in data.
Autofill from data.
Site settings.
Hosted app data.

Step 3. Clear cookies and cache in Chrome.

After you select the data you want to clear, click the Delete Data button, and it will start removing your selected data from Chrome.

Tip:

To delete cache and cookies on Chrome on Android or iPhone/iPad, you can launch the Chrome app on your device and follow the similar operation above.

What Happens After Clearing Cache and Cookies on Chrome?

You will be logged out of most websites in your Chrome browser.
Any site-specific settings or preferences like language or dark mode settings will be reset to default.
You may have an improved performance of Google Chrome. Your Chrome may run faster than before.
After you clear the Chrome cache and cookies, some websites may load slowly the first time you visit them. They need to load all necessary files again. However, the subsequent visit should be faster.
The Chrome browser can fetch and display the latest version and content of pages and websites.
Clearing cookies and cache in Chrome can free up more space for your device.
The previous browsing issues like the site not loading or browsing errors may be fixed.
Some browser extensions that rely on the cookies for functionality may need to be set up again.

How to Clear Cache and Cookies on Chrome – FAQs

Q. Will clearing cache and cookies log me out of websites?

Yes. You will be logged out. You need to enter your login information to log into those websites again.

Q. Can clearing cache and cookies fix browser-related issues?

Yes. This action can help fix many browser-related issues.

Q. How often should I clear cache and cookies in Chrome?

It depends on what you do online and how often you need to visit the same websites in Chrome.

Q. What is the shortcut to clear the cache in Chrome?

Ctrl + Shift + Delete.

Conclusion

This post mainly introduces how to clear cache and cookies on Chrome. The step-by-step guide is provided. Regularly clearing cookies and cache of your Chrome browser can improve your browsing experience, improve security, speed up Chrome, fix site loading or login errors, etc.

If you can’t access and use Chrome in your region, you may use a VPN like LightningX VPN to easily bypass the regional restrictions to access and download Chrome and many other websites/apps.