Clear all your cookies at once in Firefox

Open Firefox and press Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows or Command+Shift+Delete on Mac. This opens the Clear Recent History window. At the top, change the dropdown from "Last Hour" to "Everything" so you remove all cookies, not just recent ones. Make sure the checkbox next to "Cookies" is checked — it usually is by default. Leave other options unchecked unless you want to clear your browsing history, cached images, or other data at the same time. Click "Clear Now" and you're done.

If the keyboard shortcut doesn't work on your computer, you can reach the same window through the menu: click the three horizontal lines in the top right corner, select "Settings," then go to "Privacy & Security" on the left side. Scroll down to "Cookies and Site Data" and click "Clear Data." A smaller window will appear — make sure "Cookies and Site Data" is checked, select "All" for the time range, and click "Clear."

Key Takeaways

  • The fastest way to clear all cookies is pressing Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows) or Command+Shift+Delete (Mac), then selecting "Everything" and clicking "Clear Now."
  • You can also clear cookies through Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Clear Data, choosing "All" for the time range.
  • Clearing cookies removes stored login information, so you will need to sign back into websites you use regularly.
  • You can set Firefox to clear cookies automatically every time you close the browser if you want ongoing privacy without manual clearing.

What happens when you clear cookies

When you clear cookies, Firefox deletes the small files that websites store on your computer to remember you. This means you will be logged out of most websites — Gmail, social media, banking sites, shopping carts, and anything else that kept you signed in. The next time you visit those sites, you will need to enter your username and password again.

Clearing cookies also removes tracking cookies that advertisers and analytics companies use to follow your browsing across different websites. This is why many people clear cookies regularly: it disrupts the ability of third parties to build a profile of your online behavior. However, it does not hide your activity from your internet service provider or from the websites you visit directly — it only removes the stored data on your computer.

Clear cookies from specific websites only

If you want to clear cookies from just one or two websites instead of everything, Firefox lets you do that. Press Ctrl+Shift+Delete (or Command+Shift+Delete on Mac) to open Clear Recent History, then change the dropdown to "Everything." Instead of clicking "Clear Now," look for the link that says "Manage Data" or navigate to Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data and click "Manage Data."

A window will open showing all the websites that have stored cookies on your computer. Type the website name in the search box — for example, "facebook.com" or "amazon.com" — and Firefox will filter the list. Click the website name to select it, then click "Remove Selected" to delete only that site's cookies. This is useful if you want to clear tracking from one advertiser or log out of one account without losing your login information everywhere else.

Set Firefox to clear cookies automatically

You can tell Firefox to clear all cookies automatically every time you close the browser. Open Firefox, click the three horizontal lines in the top right, select "Settings," and go to "Privacy & Security." Under "Cookies and Site Data," check the box that says "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed." From that point forward, every time you fully close Firefox (not just a single tab), all cookies will be removed.

If you use this setting, you will be logged out of websites each time you close Firefox, which can be inconvenient if you sign into the same sites daily. A middle ground is to use Firefox's Private Browsing mode for sensitive activities: press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Command+Shift+P on Mac) to open a private window, and Firefox will not store cookies from that session at all. When you close the private window, nothing is saved.

The difference between clearing cookies and clearing cache

Cookies and cache are two different things, and clearing one does not clear the other. Cookies are small text files that store login information and tracking data. Cache is the collection of images, scripts, and other files that websites download to your computer so they load faster the next time you visit. Clearing cache frees up disk space and can speed up your browser, but it does not affect your privacy the way clearing cookies does.

When you open the Clear Recent History window, you will see checkboxes for both. If you only want to clear cookies, uncheck everything except "Cookies." If you want to clear both at once — which some people do for a more thorough cleanup — check both boxes before clicking "Clear Now."

Why websites ask you to clear cookies

If a website is not loading correctly, behaving strangely, or showing you old information, support staff often suggest clearing cookies for that specific site. This works because a corrupted or outdated cookie can confuse the website about who you are or what settings you have. Clearing the cookie forces the website to create a fresh one the next time you visit, which usually fixes the problem.

You do not need to clear cookies as routine maintenance — Firefox handles them fine on its own. But if you notice a website acting broken, or if you want to reduce tracking by advertisers, clearing cookies is a straightforward step that takes less than a minute.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will clearing cookies delete my saved passwords?

No. Cookies and saved passwords are stored separately in Firefox. Clearing cookies will not affect your passwords. If you want to delete saved passwords, you need to go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Passwords and remove them individually or click "Remove All."

Can I clear cookies from just one website without clearing all of them?

Yes. Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Manage Data, search for the website name, select it, and click "Remove Selected." This deletes only that site's cookies while leaving the rest intact.

What if I clear cookies and then close Firefox — will they come back?

No. Once you clear cookies, they are gone. If you have set Firefox to "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed," new cookies created during your browsing session will be removed when you close the browser, but cookies you cleared manually will not return.

Does clearing cookies hide my browsing from my internet service provider?

No. Your internet service provider can see which websites you visit regardless of whether you clear cookies. Clearing cookies only removes data stored on your computer by those websites. To hide your browsing from your ISP, you would need to use a VPN or Tor Browser.

Why do some websites ask me to enable cookies?

Websites need cookies to remember you between visits and to keep you signed in. If you have set Firefox to never accept cookies, or if you clear cookies very frequently, some sites may not work properly. You can allow cookies for specific websites you trust while blocking them elsewhere through Firefox's site permissions settings.