Delete all cookies at once in Safari
Open Safari and go to the menu bar at the top of your screen. Click Safari, then select Settings (on newer Macs) or Preferences (on older ones). Click the Privacy tab. You'll see a button that says Manage Website Data — click it. A list of websites and their stored data will appear. Click Remove All at the bottom right, then confirm by clicking Remove again. Safari will delete all cookies from every website you've visited.
On iPhone or iPad, the process is slightly different because Safari doesn't have a settings menu inside the app itself. Go to your device's main Settings app, scroll down and tap Safari, then scroll down again and tap Clear History and Website Data. Choose what time period you want to clear — the options are "the last hour," "today," "today and yesterday," or "all time." Tap Clear History and Data. This removes cookies along with your browsing history and cached website files.
Key Takeaways
- On Mac, use Safari > Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data > Remove All to delete all cookies at once.
- On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data and choose your time period.
- You can delete cookies from specific websites only by selecting them in the Manage Website Data list and clicking Remove.
- Clearing cookies will log you out of most websites, so you'll need to sign back in the next time you visit.
- Safari does not have a built-in option to delete cookies automatically when you close the browser, but you can clear them manually as often as you want.
Delete cookies from specific websites only
If you want to remove cookies from just one or two websites instead of everything, Safari lets you do that. On Mac, open Safari, go to Safari > Settings > Privacy, and click Manage Website Data. The list shows every website that has stored data on your device. Type the website name in the search box at the top right, or scroll to find it. Click the website name to select it, then click the Remove button (not Remove All). The cookies for that site will be deleted, but cookies from other websites stay.
On iPhone or iPad, you cannot delete cookies from individual websites through the Settings app. Your only option is to clear all cookies at once using the method described above. If you need more control over which cookies stay and which go, you would need to use a different browser or wait until you're on a Mac.
Understand what happens when you delete cookies
When you delete cookies, you're removing small files that websites use to remember information about you — your login status, items in your shopping cart, your language preference, or tracking data. After you delete them, most websites will treat you as a new visitor the next time you go there. You'll be logged out of your email, social media accounts, and any other sites where you were signed in. You'll need to enter your username and password again.
Deleting cookies does not delete your account information on those websites, and it does not prevent websites from creating new cookies the next time you visit. It simply removes the stored data that was already there. If a website uses cookies to track your browsing across the internet (called third-party cookies), deleting them can reduce the amount of tracking that happens, though Safari already blocks most third-party cookies by default.
Set Safari to limit cookie storage automatically
Safari has a built-in privacy feature called Intelligent Tracking Prevention that automatically limits how much tracking data websites can store. On Mac, go to Safari > Settings > Privacy and look for the section labeled "Cookies and website data." You'll see options for how Safari handles cookies from third parties (websites you're not directly visiting). The default setting is "Block all cookies," which is the most restrictive. You can also choose "Allow only websites I visit" if you want to allow some cookies but block tracking from other sites.
On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Safari and look for Privacy & Security. You'll see a toggle for Prevent Cross-Site Tracking. When this is on (which is the default), Safari blocks cookies and tracking data from websites you haven't visited directly. These settings work alongside manual cookie deletion — they prevent new tracking cookies from being stored in the first place, while manual deletion removes cookies that are already there.
Cookies versus other stored website data
When you clear cookies in Safari, you're also removing other types of stored data that websites use. This includes local storage (files websites save directly to your device), cached images and files (copies of web pages and images stored to make websites load faster), and website data (information like your preferences or offline content). All of these get deleted when you click "Remove All" or "Clear History and Website Data."
If you want to keep cached files so websites load faster, but still remove tracking cookies, Safari doesn't give you that option in one step. You would need to use the "Manage Website Data" option and remove only the specific websites you want to clear, leaving others untouched. This is a trade-off: keeping some cached data means websites load faster, but it also means some tracking data stays on your device.
Why you might want to delete cookies regularly
Deleting cookies can reduce the amount of information websites collect about your browsing habits. Many websites use cookies to build a profile of your interests, which they then sell to advertisers or use to show you targeted ads. Removing these cookies regularly means websites have less historical data to work with, though they will start collecting new data as soon as you visit them again.
Deleting cookies is also useful if you share a device with other people. If you're logged into your email or bank account and someone else uses the same computer or phone, cookies might allow them to access your accounts without entering a password. Clearing cookies before you hand the device to someone else removes that risk. On a shared device, you might want to delete cookies more frequently — perhaps after every browsing session.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will deleting cookies slow down my internet?
No. Deleting cookies might make some websites load slightly slower the first time you visit them after clearing, because Safari has to download cached images and files again instead of using stored copies. But this is temporary and usually not noticeable. The overall speed of your internet connection is not affected.
Can I delete cookies without deleting my browsing history?
On Mac, yes — use Safari > Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data > Remove All. This deletes only cookies and website data, not your browsing history. On iPhone or iPad, the "Clear History and Website Data" option deletes both at the same time, so you cannot separate them through the Settings app.
Do I need to delete cookies if I use private browsing?
No. Safari's private browsing mode (called "Private" on iPhone and iPad, and opened with Command-Shift-N on Mac) does not store cookies or browsing history at all. When you close a private window, everything is automatically deleted. Regular browsing mode stores cookies, so you need to delete them manually if you want them gone.
What if I delete cookies and then can't log back into a website?
This usually means the website requires cookies to stay logged in, and deleting them logged you out. Go back to the website and sign in again with your username and password. If the website won't let you sign in, the problem is not the cookies — it's likely a forgotten password or an account issue with the website itself. Use the website's "Forgot Password" option to reset your login.