Clear Cookies and Cache in Firefox

Web browsers have a cache to store information such as images from the sites you visit. By caching content on your browser, web pages load faster. Your browser also stores cookies, small files that do things like store login information, and track you on the sites you've visited. You can clear the cache and cookies from Firefox in the privacy settings menu of both the desktop and mobile versions of the Firefox browser.

Steps

Firefox for Desktop or Laptop

  1. Open the Firefox browser.
  2. Open the “Clear Recent History” window. This is useful if you want to immediately remove any stored data from Firefox. Accessing this window may differ depending on your operating system.
    • On Windows and Linux, click on “History” from the menu bar and select "Clear Recent History."
    • On Mac OS X, click on “Tools” from the menu bar and select “Clear Recent History.”[1]
    • If you do not see the menu bar at the top of the screen, you can either right click a blank space on the tab bar and choose “Menu Bar” to show the bar. Or click on the ☰ icon then click on History>Clear Recent History.[2]
  3. Specify the history to clear out. Click on the drop down menu labeled “Time range to clear” to specify a desired range.
  4. Click on the arrow labeled “Details.” This will show a list of data to remove.
  5. Place check marks next to the data you want to remove. This will remove data collected from all websites from your computer.
    • You can also choose to remove your browsing history, downloaded files, offline website data and any saved logins.
  6. Clear the specified content from your computer. Once you’ve chosen the content to remove, click on “Clear Now” to remove the content from your web browser.
  7. Protect your future browsing activity. After clearing your data, be sure to take care of your web browsing activity to protect your personal information and your computer.
    • Removing your history will hide your activity from anyone who may track your information on your computer.
    • Avoid websites that may be suspicious of causing harm to your computer.
    • Deleting your information when Firefox shuts down may be useful if you share the computer with others or you are browsing in a public environment.
  8. Consider other solutions for removing malicious content. Clearing your browsing data removes some but not all traces of websites that you’ve visited. You'll need to contact your internet service provider or format your hard drive in order to erase everything.
    • Any personal information you have given to a website will still exist after you clear your cache (in the records of the site itself). They also track your activity for security reasons. Contact the webmaster for assistance in removing your content and activity from their site.
    • Contact your internet service provider for more information on how your activity is tracked and how it may be possible to remove the activity. Your internet service provider may also track your activity for security and compliance with their terms of service.
    • Viruses or malware may not be removed from your device even after clearing your settings. The best method of removing this content is formatting your device. Make sure to backup important documents before attempting to format your device.

Firefox for iPhone and iPad

  1. Open your Firefox browser.
  2. Tap on the "tab" icon. Firefox’s settings can be accessed in the tabs menu. This icon is a box with a number inside of it and can be found in the top right corner of your screen
  3. Open the settings menu.[3]Tap the cogwheel icon in the upper left to open the Firefox Settings menu.
  4. Clear your cache or cookies. Under the privacy section, tap Clear Private Data to bring up a list of items to remove.
  5. Choose which data to clear. Toggle on cache or cookies (or both), then tap on Clear Private Data to remove the content. "On" is represented on the switch by the color orange.
    • You can also choose to remove your browsing history, offline website data, and any saved logins.
    • Firefox mobile does not allow you to delete cache or cookies from individual websites.
    • This action will close any active tabs on your web browser.
  6. Clear all of your browsing data. Toggle every option "on" and then tap Clear Private Data
    • This action will close any active tabs on your web browser.
  7. Confirm your private data clear. A dialog will pop up and ask you to confirm this choice, warning you that the action cannot be undone. Select "OK" to proceed with the clear.
  8. Consider other solutions for removing malicious content. Clearing your browsing data removes some but not all traces of websites that you’ve visited. You'll need to contact your internet service provider or format your hard drive in order to erase everything.
    • Any personal information you have given to a website will still exist after you clear your cache (in the records of the site itself). They also track your activity for security reasons. Contact the webmaster for assistance in removing your content and activity from their site.
    • Contact your internet service provider for more information on how your activity is tracked and how it may be possible to remove the activity. Your internet service provider may also track your activity for security and compliance with their terms of service.
    • Viruses or malware may not be removed from your device even after clearing your settings. The best method of removing this content is formatting your device. Make sure to backup important documents before attempting to format your device.

Firefox for Android

  1. Open the Firefox browser.
  2. Open the settings menu. The Android version of Firefox allows you to clear out your cache and cookies individually. Tap on the ☰ icon and tap on “Settings.”
    • If you do not see the ☰ icon, it may be located on the hardware menu located at the bottom of your screen.[4] Otherwise tap and hold on any of the hardware buttons to bring up the Firefox menu.
    • You may need to tap on “More” first before the “Settings” option appears.
  3. Locate the "Clear Private Data" menu. This menu allows you to specify which data to remove from your phone. To bring up this menu, tap on “Clear Private Data” and tap on “Clear Now”.
  4. Choose which data to clear. Tap on the check boxes next to “Cache” and “cookies & active logins” then tap on Clear data. You will receive a notification that says “Private data cleared” once the process is completed.
    • You can also choose to remove your browsing history, downloaded files, offline website data and any saved logins.
  5. Clear private data when Firefox closes (optional). You can set Firefox to automatically clear specified data when you close Firefox.[5] In the Settings menu, tap “Privacy” and tap on “Clear private data on exit.” A pop-up window will appear.
  6. Choose the browsing data to clear when Firefox closes. In the pop-up dialog, place check marks next to the types of data you would like to clear then tap Set.
    • You can also choose to remove your browsing history, offline website data, and any saved logins.
  7. Quit Firefox to clear private data. Return to the main browser window by tapping the “Back” button on your device to get to the main browser window. Tap on ☰ and scroll down to “Quit.” Firefox will perform the actions specified to clear your private data.
    • You may need to tap on “More” or slide the menu down to show the option.
    • This option will not appear if the “Clear Private Data on Exit” option is not activated.
  8. Consider other solutions for removing malicious content. Clearing your browsing data removes some but not all traces of websites that you’ve visited. You'll need to contact your internet service provider or format your hard drive in order to erase everything.
    • Any personal information you have given to a website will still exist after you clear your cache (in the records of the site itself). They also track your activity for security reasons. Contact the webmaster for assistance in removing your content and activity from their site.
    • Contact your internet service provider for more information on how your activity is tracked and how it may be possible to remove the activity. Your internet service provider may also track your activity for security and compliance with their terms of service.
    • Viruses or malware may not be removed from your device even after clearing your settings. The best method of removing this content is formatting your device. Make sure to backup important documents before attempting to format your device.

Adjusting Cache and Cookie Settings

  1. Navigate to web browser options or preferences. The way to get to the options menu may differ on your operating system.
    • For Windows users, activate the menu at top by right clicking on a blank space on the tab bar then click on “Menu Bar” then click Tools>Options. You can also click on the ☰ icon then click on Options.
    • For Mac and Linux users, on the menu bar click on Edit>Preferences or click on the ☰ icon, then click on Preferences.
  2. Switch to the Privacy Tab. A list of tabbed settings appear on the left-hand side of the window.
  3. Set Firefox to “Use custom settings for history.” Firefox will allow you to adjust how it communicates with websites on the internet. Under the History section, change the drop down action for “Firefox will” and change to “Use custom settings for history.”
  4. Adjust the cache settings. There are several options and closing the window will save your chosen specifications.
    • “Always use private browsing mode” will prevent websites from storing your information.
    • “Remember my browsing and download history” will keep track of websites and downloads performed in Firefox
    • “Remember search and form history” enables and disables auto complete in text fields and search fields which can store your personal information such as your address and website URLs.
    • “Accept cookies from sites” can be specified to allow to use third party cookies, or cookies that are used from websites accessed from the website you are currently viewing, you can also set a life span by adjusting them to expire or to clear out when you close the browser.
    • “Clear history when Firefox closes” will allow you to remove cached content when the browser closes. Clicking on the “Settings” button allows you to specify what kind of content gets cleared when the browser closes such as cookies, cache, browsing history and more.[6]
  5. View the cookies stored in Firefox. Click on the Show Cookies button.
  6. Remove cookies stored in Firefox. In this new window you will see a list of cookies. Click on the cookie to remove from the list then click on Remove Selected to remove the selected cookie.[7]
    • Scroll up and down or search for a specific cookie ID by using the search bar at the top of the window and typing in a cookie you are looking for.
    • You can also delete all stored cookies by clicking on “Remove All.”
  7. Keep cookies for trusted websites. There are certain sites where storing your cookies may be useful.
    • Cookies can be used to track your habits on websites such as online stores.
    • Online forms can become easier to fill out if you preserve cookies. Keep in mind that stored form information can contain your personal information and may be visible to people that use the same computer or device.
    • Some services use cookies that are used to quickly log-in online can become easier to access if you use other security measures to protect your information such as lock screens on computers or devices.
  8. Avoid cookies from untrusted sources. If you are not familiar with the source, it may be wise to remove the content.
    • Websites cannot share cookie information. Each cookie is created for each website that uses them.[8]

Tips

  • Once data has been cleared out, you will not be able to retrieve the data again. Be careful when deleting data.
  • If you use any other web browser, you will have to clear the content out using the settings from the other web browser instead.
  • Avoid websites that may be suspicious of causing harm to your device.
  • Be careful when sharing your device with people you don’t know.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.cox.com/residential/support/internet/article.cox?articleId=b18c2ca0-5805-11e1-e56f-000000000000
  2. ↑ https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/delete-browsing-search-download-history-firefox
  3. ↑ https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/clear-browsing-history-firefox-ios
  4. ↑ https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-menu-icon-missing-android-how-access-menu
  5. ↑ https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/clear-your-browsing-history-and-other-personal-data
  6. ↑ https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-clear-firefox-cache#w_automatically-clear-the-cache
  7. ↑ https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/delete-cookies-remove-info-websites-stored#w_delete-all-cookies
  8. ↑ http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12370495/share-a-cookie-between-two-websites
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