Delete Temporary Internet Files

This article teaches you how to remove temporary Internet files and data, such as saved passwords and website cookies, for a variety of different browsers. Clearing temporary Internet files will often speed up your computer or mobile device.

Steps

Safari (iPhone)

  1. Open Settings. It's a grey app with a gear icon that's typically on the Home Screen.
  2. Scroll down and tap Safari. You'll find this option near the middle of the "Settings" page.
  3. Scroll down and tap Clear History and Data. It's near the bottom of the "Safari" page.
  4. Tap Clear History and Data when prompted. This option will pop up at the bottom of the page. Doing so clears the temporary files cache on your iPhone's Safari browser.

Google Chrome (Desktop)

  1. Open Google Chrome. It's an app with a red, green, and yellow icon encircling a blue sphere.
  2. Click ⋮. You'll see this option in the top-right corner of the Google Chrome window.
    • On some older versions of Chrome, you'll see ☰ instead.
  3. Select History. This option is near the top of the drop-down menu here.
  4. Click History. It's at the top of the pop-out menu to the left of the "History" section.
  5. Click Clear browsing data. It's on the middle-left side of the page.
  6. Check each type of file you wish to delete. Any checked items will be erased when you clear the cache, while unchecked items will remain untouched. You'll see several types of temporary files listed here:
    • Browsing history - The list of pages you've visited. Excludes pages visited in incognito mode.
    • Download history - The list of things you've downloaded.
    • Cookies and other site and plugin data - Stored pieces of your information that help pages load faster when you visit them again.
    • Cached images and files - Traditional "temporary files"; these items are remnants of items you've viewed or downloaded.
    • Passwords - Saved passwords for websites you've allowed to save your password.
    • Autofill form data - Saved answers to text fields (e.g., "Name").
    • Hosted app data - Data from any Chrome apps you use.
    • Media licenses - Certificates that allow apps and plugins to access aspects of Google Chrome.
  7. Click Clear browsing data. It's near the bottom-right of the "Clear browsing data" window. Any selected Chrome temporary Internet files are now gone.

Safari (Desktop)

  1. Open Safari. It's the blue app with a compass on it.
  2. Click Safari. It's typically near the top or left side of your toolbar, depending on where it is docked and if you've moved it to a new location.
  3. Click Preferences. This option is in the "Safari" drop-down menu.
  4. Click the Privacy tab. It's at the top of the "Preferences" window.
  5. Click Remove All Website Data. This option is in the middle of the "Privacy" page.
  6. Click Remove Now when prompted. Doing so will clear Safari's cached temporary files and history.

Chrome (Mobile)

  1. Open Chrome. It's the white app with the green, red, yellow, and blue Chrome icon on it.
  2. Tap ⋮. You'll see this icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
  3. Tap Settings. It's at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
  4. Tap Privacy. This option is near the bottom of the screen.
  5. Tap Clear Browsing Data. It's at the bottom of the page.
  6. Tap each type of data you wish to clear. Any temporary file types with checkmarks next to them will be deleted when you erase the data. The temporary file types are as follows:
    • Browsing History - The list of pages you've visited in the Chrome app.
    • Cookies, Site Data - Saved pieces of data that help load your frequently visited sites faster.
    • Cached Images and Files - Traditional "temporary files"; these items are remnants of items you've viewed or downloaded.
    • Saved Passwords - Any passwords Chrome has stored.
    • Autofill Data - Saved answers to universal text fields (e.g., "Name" or "Address").
  7. Tap Clear Browsing Data. It's below the list of temporary file types.
  8. Tap Clear Browsing Data when prompted. Doing so will remove all selected types of temporary Internet files, both from your device and from any synchronized mobile accounts.

Android Stock Browser

  1. Open the Android stock browser. It's the blue globe-shaped icon.
  2. Tap ⋮. It's in the top-right corner of the screen.
  3. Tap Settings. This option is at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
  4. Tap Privacy & security. It's near the top-left side of the screen.
  5. Tap Clear cache. It's at the top of the screen. Doing so will remove all cached files and temporary data from your Android's browser.

Microsoft Edge

  1. Open Microsoft Edge. It's the blue icon with a white "e" on it.
  2. Click the "..." button. You'll see this button in the top-right corner of the page.
  3. Click Settings. This option is at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
  4. Click Choose what to clear. It's below the "Clear browsing data" heading on the right side of the page.
  5. Click each item you wish to delete. Any checked items will be deleted when you clear your files' cache, while any unchecked items will remain in your browser's cache.
    • Browsing history - Any pages you've visited in Microsoft Edge.
    • Cookies and saved website data - Files saved to improve website performance.
    • Cached data and files - Traditional "temporary files"; these items are remnants of items you've viewed or downloaded.
    • Download history - A list of your downloaded files.
    • Form data - Saved autofill data from commonly filled-out fields (e.g., "Name" or "Phone Number").
    • Passwords - Saved passwords for accounts.
    • You can also click Show more to view a list of additional items you can clear such as notifications permissions and location settings.
  6. Click Clear. This button is below the checked items on this page. Clicking Clear will remove all checked items from your Microsoft Edge browser.

Internet Explorer

  1. Open Internet Explorer. It's a blue "e" with a yellow circle around it.
  2. Click ⚙️. This icon is in the top-right corner of the webpage.
  3. Click Internet options. It's at the bottom of the Settings drop-down menu.
  4. Check each option you wish to delete. Any checked items will be deleted when you clear your files' cache, while any unchecked items will remain in your browser's cache.
    • Preserve Favorites website data - Saves all data for your favorited (starred) sites.
    • Temporary Internet files and website files - Your browser's temporary Internet files.
    • Cookies and website data - Files saved to improve website performance.
    • History - List of your visited sites.
    • Download History - List of all downloaded files.
    • Form data - Saved autofill data from commonly filled-out fields (e.g., "Name" or "Phone Number").
    • Passwords - Any saved passwords.
    • Tracking Protection, ActiveX Filtering and Do Not Track - Any websites exempt from most of the above options.
  5. Click Delete. It's at the bottom of the "Delete Browsing History" page.
  6. Click OK. This option is at the bottom of the "Internet Options" window. Your Internet Explorer's temporary Internet files are now gone.

Firefox (Mobile)

  1. Open Firefox. The app looks like a red fox encircling a blue globe.
  2. Tap ☰. This icon is at the bottom of the screen.
  3. Tap Settings. You'll see this option in the bottom-right side of the screen.
  4. Scroll down and tap Clear Private Data. It's beneath the "Privacy" heading.
  5. Tap Clear Private Data. It's the last option on this page.
    • You can slide the switches next to any of the options on this page to the "off" (left) position to avoid deleting the data for them.
  6. Tap OK when prompted. Doing so will remove all selected temporary browsing data from your Firefox app.

Firefox (Desktop)

  1. Open Firefox. It's the red fox encircling a blue globe.
  2. Click ☰. This option is in the top-right corner of the Firefox window.
  3. Click Options. It's in the middle of the drop-down window.
  4. Click Advanced. This option is at the bottom of the menu on the left side of the page.
  5. Click the Network tab. It's near the top of the "Advanced" page.
  6. Click Clear Now. It's on the right side of the page, directly to the right of the "Cached Web Content" heading. Doing so will immediately remove any temporary Internet files from your Firefox browser.
    • You can also see how much data your cached content is taking up next to this heading (e.g., "300 bytes").

Tips

  • If your phone, tablet, or computer browser is running slower than usual, try clearing the cache to free up some disk space.

Warnings

  • Clearing your history or passwords will prevent you from being automatically signed into services like email or bank accounts.

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