Browser Cache and Cookies
- Cache: Your internet browser temporarily collects and stores data from and about webpages when you first visit them. This allows you to access webpages more quickly in subsequent visits, as your browser does not need to download a large number of files each time you visit a webpage.
- Cookies: These are simple text files that a website can store on your browser which identify users, save site login details, or saved webpage customisation preferences you may have selected.
To keep your browser running optimally, it’s a good idea to periodically clear your cache and cookies, for several reasons:
- The cache can also cause issues when viewing new versions of previously visited webpages, in particular where system updates on a website have occurred.
- Depending on your settings, the cache can grow quite big and use a lot of disk space on your computer, which can slow your web browsing.
Deleting your browser cache and cookies regularly helps with problem troubleshooting, helps to increase webpage loading times, helps load new versions of webpages, and can increase the performance of your computer.
Chrome
1. Click the Tools menu (three dotted lines in the upper-right corner).
2. Select History.
3. Select Clear Browsing Data from the left-hand side. Set the Time Range set to All Time. Check-mark Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files and select Clear Data.
4. If on a Windows computer, close and re-open Chrome to save your changes. If on an Apple computer, go to the Chrome menu on the top menu bar and select Quit for the changes to take effect.
Please Note: Be sure and close/quit the browser and restart it after clearing the cache and cookies.
Firefox
1. Click on the Tools bar.
2. Click Settings (On Mac, it’s labeled Preferences).
3. On the menu to the left, select Privacy & Security.
4. Under the Cookies and Site Data option, click the Clear Data… button.
5. Select only the two options and hit Clear Now.
6. If on a Windows computer, close and re-open Firefox to save your changes. If on an Apple computer, go to the Firefox menu on the top menu bar and select Quit for the changes to take effect.
Please Note: Be sure and close/quit the browser and restart it after clearing the cache and cookies.
Edge
1. Click the Tools menu (three dotted lines in the upper-right corner), and open the Settings menu.
2. Click Privacy, search, and services on the left-side menu.
3. Under the section Clear browsing data, Click Choose what to clear.
4. Select Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files.
5. Click Clear Now.
6. Close Microsoft Edge completely for your changes to take effect.
Please Note: Be sure and close/quit the browser and restart it after clearing the cache and cookies.