Have you ever tried clearing your iPhone browser cache and cookies? Most users tend to overlook this type of “maintenance,” but it can improve performance, free up storage space, and fix bugs – all without much effort on your part.
If you’ve been noticing errors or slowdowns while browsing, take this as your sign to clear your cache and cookies. In this guide, we’ll briefly cover a more detailed breakdown of how exactly it can improve your iPhone’s health and performance, then demonstrate the process on the most popular iPhone browsers and apps.
Table of Contents
What are Caches and Cookies on the iPhone?
Your iPhone’s cache is responsible for storing temporary data from apps and websites. This allows said apps and websites to launch faster or run more smoothly because they don’t have to load everything from scratch.
Cookies, on the other hand, are records of your browsing history and preferences, login credentials, settings, and more. This allows users to keep their settings after closing the browser and/or stay logged into certain websites, but it gives advertisers more information about you.
Should I Clear Cache and Cookie Data?
There are multiple reasons to clear cache data that affect everything from storage space to user privacy. Let’s break them down:
| Reason | Description |
| 📦 Free up space | Unless you delete the cache on your iPhone, the data it stores accumulates over time (especially on iPhones with a lot of apps). Cache data may take up space that could otherwise be used for apps or media files. Your iPhone may clear browser cache data automatically if it needs more storage and it also overwrites old data once the cache is full – but manually clearing it is a great way to quickly get back more storage space. |
| 🚀 Improve website loading and functionality | Cache data from websites may become corrupted due to poor internet connectivity, lack of storage, browser incompatibilities, and more. This may cause websites to perform poorly or fail to load at all. |
| 📱 Troubleshoot app issues | If you are experiencing issues with a certain app, it’s possible that its cache data has been corrupted. This may be caused by bugs, conflicting software updates, installation issues, and more. |
| 🛡️ Enhance user privacy | Aside from cache data, consider clearing cookies on your iPhone – cookies not only track your browser history, it also logs your online behavior, sensitive information like login details, and more. When you remove cookies from your iPhone, you remove your consent to have your online activity tracked. This data may also be corrupted or outdated, which may cause slower loading times, broken links, and other on-site issues. |
So if you’re experiencing issues with storage, website loading and functionality, malfunctioning apps, or you’re concerned about your privacy, clearing the cache and cookies on your iPhone might be a good move.
How to Clear Browser Cache on iPhone
While cache management is handled the same across all browsers, the way to access this function varies depending on which one you’re using. In this section, we’ll demonstrate the different ways each browser manages its browser cache and how to clear it.
Safari
To clear Safari cache on your iPhone:
Step 1. Open the Settings app. Then, scroll down to the very bottom of the menu and tap Apps.
Step 2. Locate and select Safari.
Step 3. Scroll down to the HISTORY AND WEBSITE DATA section Then, tap Clear History and Website Data.
Step 4. Choose a timeframe for the data you want to delete. If you have several profiles for Safari, choose the appropriate one as well or select All Profiles. Then, tap Clear History.
Google Chrome
To clear cache data on your iPhone’s Google Chrome browser:
Step 1. Open the Chrome app and tap the 3 dots at the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Step 2. Tap History.
Step 3. Tap Clear Browsing Data…
Step 4. Select Cached Images and Files and tap Clear Browsing Data.
Step 5. Click Clear Browsing Data again to confirm the deletion.
Mozilla Firefox
To clear the browser cache for Mozilla Firefox on your iPhone:
Step 1. Open Firefox on your iPhone. Then, tap the menu button (3 lines) in the bottom-right corner of the screen > Settings.
Step 2. Scroll down to the PRIVACY section and tap Data Management.
Step 3. Enable the toggle beside Cache and tap Clear Private Data.
Step 4. Tap OK to confirm the action.
Microsoft Edge
To clear the browser cache for Microsoft Edge on your iPhone:
Step 1. Open the Microsoft Edge app on your iPhone and tap the hamburger menu icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.
Step 2. Tap Settings.
Step 3. In the Settings menu that appears, tap Privacy and security.
Step 4. In the Privacy and security menu, tap Clear browsing data.
Step 5. Keep Cached images and files selected (tap it if it’s not selected by default). Then, tap Clear now.
Step 6. Tap Clear now again to confirm the action.
Opera Browser
To clear the browser cache for Opera Browser on your iPhone:
Step 1. Open the Opera Browser app on your iPhone.
Step 2. Tap the kebab menu on the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Step 3. At the bottom of the menu that appears, tap Settings.
Step 4. In Opera’s Settings menu, tap Clear Browser Data.
Step 5. Select Cached Images and Files and specify the Time Range you want to scan for cached data. Then, tap Clear.
Step 6. Finally, tap Clear Selected Data to confirm the action.
Brave
To clear the browser cache for Brave on your iPhone:
Step 1. Open the Brave app and tap the meatball menu in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Step 2. The Brave Features menu will appear. Scroll down to the very bottom and tap All Settings.
Step 3. Under FEATURES, tap Shields & Privacy.
Step 4. Scroll down until you find the CLEAR PRIVATE DATA section. Activate the toggle switch beside Cache. Then, tap Clear Data Now.
Step 5. In the dialogue box that appears, tap Yes, Delete to confirm the action.
How to Clear the Cache of Other Apps
Just like browser caches, third-party app caches can be tedious to clean up because this functionality can be found anywhere in any given app’s Settings menu. To at least give you a better idea of where to look first, we’ll demonstrate how to clear the cache of 3 different third-party apps.
Telegram
Telegram’s cache management menu resides in the app’s storage settings:
Step 1. Open the Telegram app. Then, tap the Settings button in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Then, scroll down a bit and tap Data and Storage.
Step 2. Tap Storage Usage.
Step 3. Finally, tap Clear Entire Cache.
Spotify
For Spotify, access to the cache management function is also in the storage menu:
Step 1. Open the Spotify app on your iPhone. Then, tap the profile button in the top-left corner of the screen.
Step 2. In the pop-out sidebar menu, tap Settings and privacy.
Step 3. Tap Storage.
Step 4. In Spotify’s Storage menu, tap Clear cache.
Step 5. When prompted, tap Clear cache again to confirm the action.
Discord
Discord’s cache management feature is a bit more hidden and requires Developer Mode to be activated:
Step 1. Open the Discord app on your iPhone and tap the You button at the bottom-right corner of the screen to open your profile page. Then, tap the settings button (gear icon) in the top-right corner of the screen.
Step 2. In the Settings menu, scroll down to the App Settings section. Then, tap Advanced.
Step 3. Activate the toggle beside Developer Mode. Then, tap the back arrow in the top left corner of the screen to return to the main Settings menu.
Step 4. This time, scroll down to the very bottom of the menu to see new options. Tap Cache Actions.
Step 5. Tap Clear Caches.
How to Clear Browser Cookies on iPhone
Finding and managing browser cookies depends on which browser app you’re using. Some apps also let you manage other site data separately, like permissions, stored logins, session information, etc.
These are data types that may not have been considered by that specific app as traditional cookies, but clearing them out can provide similar benefits (such as fixing login errors). Fortunately, you can find them all on the same menu across all apps.
Safari
To clear browser cookies in Safari on iPhone:
Step 1. Open the Settings app and tap Apps.
Step 2. Select Safari.
Step 3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and tap Advanced.
Step 3. Tap Website Data.
Step 4. Swipe left on the website whose cookies you want to clear and tap Delete. Repeat this step for all the websites you want to clean up (or tap Remove All Website Data to clear them all).
Google Chrome
To clear browser cookies in Google Chrome on iPhone:
Step 1. Open Google Chrome on your iPhone and tap the menu button (3 dots) in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Step 2. Tap Clear Browsing Data.
Step 3. Select Cookies, Site Data and tap Clear Browsing Data.
Step 4. Tap Clear Browsing Data again to confirm the action.
Mozilla Firefox
To clear browser cookies in Mozilla Firefox on iPhone:
Step 1. Open Firefox on your iPhone and tap the menu button (3 lines) in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Then, tap Settings.
Step 2. Under PRIVACY, tap Data Management.
Step 3. Enable the toggle beside Cookies and tap Clear Private Data.
Step 4. Tap OK to confirm the action.
Microsoft Edge
To clear browser cookies in Microsoft Edge on iPhone:
Step 1. Open the Microsoft Edge app on your iPhone and tap the hamburger menu icon in the bottom right corner of the screen.
Step 2. Tap Settings
Step 3. In the Settings menu that appears, tap Privacy and security.
Step 4. In the Privacy and security menu, tap Clear browsing data.
Step 5. Keep Cookies and other site data selected (tap it if it’s not selected by default). Then, tap Clear now.
Step 6. Tap Clear now again to confirm the action.
Opera Browser
To clear browser cookies from Opera Browser on an iPhone:
Step 1. Open the Opera Browser app on your iPhone. Then, tap the kebab menu on the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Step 2. At the bottom of the menu that appears, tap Settings.
Step 3. In Opera’s Settings menu, tap Clear Browser Data.
Step 4. Select Cookies and Site Data and specify the Time Range you want to scan for cached data. Then, tap Clear.
Step 5. Finally, tap Clear Selected Data to confirm the action.
Brave
Step 1. Open the Brave app and tap the meatball menu in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Step 2. The Brave Features menu will appear. Scroll down to the very bottom and tap Settings.
Step 3. Under FEATURES, tap Shields & Privacy.
Step 4. Scroll down until you find the CLEAR PRIVATE DATA section. Activate the toggle switch beside Cookies and Site Data. Then, tap Clear Data Now.
Step 5. In the dialogue box that appears, tap Yes, Delete to confirm the action.
Brave is a privacy-focused browser, so it provides a lot of customization in terms of browser data management. Aside from Cookies and Site Data, you may also want to clear Saved Logins if you’re experiencing login errors.
How to Block Cookie Collection on iPhone
Individual cookie files typically take up less space than browser cache files, as they only store information like login credentials or online shopping cart items. However, left alone, these files add up over time and may even get corrupted. This affects not only the performance of a website but it may cause broken links and/or login errors.
Safari
To clear cookie collection in Safari on your iPhone:
Step 1. Open the Settings app. Then, scroll down to the very bottom of the menu and tap Apps.
Step 2. Locate and select Safari.
Step 3. Scroll down to the bottom of this menu and tap Advanced.
Step 4. Activate the toggle switch beside Block All Cookies.
Step 5. In the dialogue box that appears, tap Block All to confirm the setting.
Google Chrome
To block cookies on Google Chrome:
Step 1. Open the Settings app. Scroll down to the very bottom and tap Apps.
Step 2. Locate and select Chrome.
Step 3. Deactivate the toggle switch beside Allow Cross-Website Tracking.
Mozilla Firefox
To prevent Firefox on iPhone from collecting cookies:
Step 1. Open the Firefox app and tap the hamburger menu on the bottom right corner of the screen.
Step 2. In the menu that appears, tap Settings.
Step 3. Scroll down to the PRIVACY section and tap Tracking Protection.
Step 4. Activate the toggle switch beside Enchances Tracking Protection. Consider choosing the Strict protection level to block out as much data collection functionality as possible.
Microsoft Edge
To prevent Microsoft Edge on iPhone from collecting cookies:
Step 1. Open the Edge app and tap the hamburger menu.
Step 2. In the dialogue menu that appears, choose Settings.
Step 3. Tap Privacy and security.
Step 4. Tap Cookies.
Step 5. Select Block all cookies.
Step 6. In the confirmation dialogue that appears, tap Block all to confirm the setting.
Opera Browser
To block cookies on Opera Browser:
Step 1. Open the Opera Browser app and tap the kebab menu.
Step 2. Tap Settings.
Step 3. Select Ad Blocking.
Step 4. Turn ON Block Cookie Dialogs and Turn OFF Automatically Accept Cookies.
Brave
Brave already blocks cookies automatically. To go a bit further, you can block the actual consent popups:
Step 1. Open the Brave app and tap the meatball menu.
Step 2. Tap All Settings.
Step 3. Select Shields & Privacy.
Step 4. Activate the toggle switch beside Block Cookie Consent Notices.
Simple Tips to Prevent Browser Clutter Buildup
Clearing up browser clutter after a long period of buildup is oddly satisfying, but it can also be tedious. After all, you’ll have to reload site assets and log in again, even on websites you used regularly. Aside from blocking all cookies, we prepared 3 more tips to prevent further building based on your needs.
First, regularly clear the cache and cookie data for rarely-used websites (e.g., Safari lets you delete site data from specific domains). Second, enable auto-clearing features on browsers that offer them. Finally, consider using Private Browsing (a.k.a. Incognito Mode) for sessions where you don’t want any cache or cookie data saved.
FAQ
- Browser cache – Safari browser caches can be found in the Settings app > Safari. Google Chrome’s caches can be found in the History section of the settings menu (3 dots) within the app itself.
- Browser cookies – Just like browser caches, it depends on the browser. For Safari, it’s found in the Settings app > Safari. For Google Chrome, it’s found in the Settings app > Chrome (this only disables third-party cookies, but not Goole Chrome’s own cookies).
- App cache – You can find app caches by opening each individual app in the first Settings menu.
- Close all apps.
- Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button.
- Once you see the power slider on-screen, release the Sleep/Wake button and press and hold the Home button until you return to the home screen. This will have reset the cache on your iPhone.
- Open the Settings app > General.
- Tap iPhone Storage > Messages.
- Tap either Offload App or Delete app, which will clear out the message cache.
Expect some temporary performance issues until the Messages app rebuilds the cache.
