What cookies are and why you might want to clear them
Cookies are small files that websites store on your Mac to remember information about you — your login details, what you put in a shopping cart, sites you've visited. Most cookies are harmless, but clearing them can help if a website isn't working right, if you want to remove browsing history that websites can see, or if you're sharing your Mac with someone else and want to log out of your accounts.
The steps differ depending on which browser you use. Safari, Chrome, and Firefox all store cookies in different places and have different menus to clear them. This guide covers the three most common browsers on Mac.
Key Takeaways
- Safari users go to Safari menu > Settings > Privacy tab, then click Manage Website Data and select the sites you want to clear.
- Chrome users open Chrome menu > Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data, check the Cookies box, and set the time range to All time.
- Firefox users go to Firefox menu > Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll to Cookies and Site Data, and click Clear Data.
- Clearing cookies will log you out of most websites, so you'll need to sign back in to accounts you use regularly.
- You can set any of these browsers to clear cookies automatically when you close it, so you don't have to do this manually each time.
Clearing cookies in Safari
Open Safari and click the Safari menu in the top left corner of your screen. From the dropdown, select Settings (or Preferences if you're on an older Mac). A window will open with several tabs across the top.
Click the Privacy tab. You'll see a section called "Cookies and website data" with a button that says Manage Website Data. Click that button. A list of websites will appear — these are all the sites that have stored cookies on your Mac.
You can remove cookies from specific sites by clicking on a site name and then clicking Remove, or you can select multiple sites by holding down the Shift key and clicking the first and last site in a group. To clear everything at once, press Command+A to select all sites, then click Remove All. Click Done when you're finished.
Clearing cookies in Chrome
Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots (the menu icon) in the top right corner of the browser window. From the dropdown menu, select Settings. On the left side of the screen, click Privacy and security.
Click Clear browsing data. A popup window will appear with several checkboxes. Make sure Cookies and other site data is checked. At the top of the popup, you'll see a dropdown that says "Time range" — click it and select All time to clear all cookies, or choose a specific time period if you only want to remove recent ones.
Click the Clear data button. Chrome will remove the cookies and close the popup. You'll be logged out of most websites, and you may need to sign back in to accounts you use regularly.
Clearing cookies in Firefox
Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines (the menu icon) in the top right corner. Select Settings from the dropdown. On the left side, click Privacy & Security.
Scroll down to the section labeled Cookies and Site Data. You'll see a button that says Clear Data. Click it. A popup will appear with two checkboxes — make sure Cookies and Site Data is checked. The Cached Web Content checkbox is optional; checking it will also clear temporary files that speed up website loading.
Click Clear. Firefox will remove the cookies immediately. Like Chrome and Safari, you'll be logged out of websites and will need to sign back in.
Setting your browser to clear cookies automatically
If you want your browser to clear cookies every time you close it, you can turn on automatic clearing. In Safari, go to Safari > Settings > Privacy, and check the box next to "Remove all website data when quitting Safari." In Chrome, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data, and toggle on "Clear cookies and site data when you quit Chrome." In Firefox, go to Settings > Privacy & Security, find "Cookies and Site Data," and click the checkbox next to "Delete cookies and site data when Firefox is closed."
Turning on automatic clearing means you won't have to manually clear cookies, but you'll also be logged out of websites every time you restart your browser. This is useful if you share your Mac or want maximum privacy, but inconvenient if you're the only user and want to stay signed in to your regular accounts.
What happens when you clear cookies
When you clear cookies, you'll be logged out of most websites. The next time you visit a site where you had an account, you'll see the login screen instead of your usual homepage. Websites may also forget your preferences — for example, a news site might reset to its default layout instead of the custom view you had set up.
Clearing cookies does not delete your browsing history, your saved passwords, or your autofill information. If you want to remove those as well, each browser has separate options in its Settings menu. Cookies are also different from cache, which is temporary data that speeds up website loading — clearing cookies won't necessarily make your browser faster, but clearing cache might.
Troubleshooting if cookies won't clear
If you've followed the steps above but a website still seems to remember you, the site may be using a different tracking method that isn't a traditional cookie. Some websites use "local storage" or "fingerprinting" to track users, and these aren't always removed by the standard cookie-clearing process.
If a specific website isn't working right after you clear cookies, try clearing cookies just for that site instead of clearing everything. In Safari, use the Manage Website Data button and select only that site. In Chrome and Firefox, you can often clear data for a specific site by clicking the lock icon next to the website address in the address bar, then clicking Cookies, finding the site, and removing it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will clearing cookies delete my saved passwords?
No. Cookies and saved passwords are stored separately. Clearing cookies will not affect your saved passwords, and you'll still be able to use autofill when you sign back into websites. If you want to delete saved passwords, you'll need to go to your browser's password settings separately.
Do I need to clear cookies regularly?
Not necessarily. Clearing cookies is useful if a website isn't working, if you're troubleshooting a problem, or if you share your Mac with others. For privacy, clearing cookies occasionally can help, but it won't prevent websites from tracking you in other ways. If privacy is a concern, using a private browsing mode or a privacy-focused browser may be more effective.
What's the difference between clearing cookies and clearing browsing history?
Browsing history is a list of websites you've visited, stored on your Mac. Cookies are files websites store to remember information about you. Clearing history removes the list of sites you visited; clearing cookies removes the data those sites stored. You can clear one without clearing the other.
Will clearing cookies speed up my Mac?
Clearing cookies alone won't noticeably speed up your Mac. Cookies are very small files. If you want to free up space or improve performance, clearing your browser's cache (temporary website files) or deleting large files you no longer need will have a bigger effect.
Can I clear cookies from just one website instead of all of them?
Yes. In Safari, click Manage Website Data, find the site you want to clear, and click Remove. In Chrome and Firefox, click the lock icon next to the website address in the address bar, then find and remove the cookies for that specific site. This is useful if you want to stay logged into most sites but log out of one in particular.