Having a local copy of a web page makes for quick loading on your next visit because your computer or mobile device doesn’t have to download it from the internet again. Over time, however, the cache may take up a big chunk of your computer’s storage.
Why Do You Have to Clear Cache?
You don’t have to clear the cache as a regular part of computer or smartphone maintenance. However, there are some good reasons to clear cache:
Clearing your cache forces your browser to retrieve the newest copy available from the website, something that should happen automatically but sometimes does not. You’re experiencing issues such as 404 errors or 502 errors (among others) that may indicate your browser’s cache is corrupted. Malware is another reason to delete the browser cache. It can be dropped in the cache without you knowing or alongside program installations, so clearing the entire cache can delete malicious files. (It also helps to have antivirus software.) Another reason to delete browser cache data is to free up space on your hard drive. Over time, the cache can grow to a huge size; clearing it can recover some of that previously used space.
Regardless of why you want to do it, clearing your browser’s cache is easy to do in all the popular browsers in use today. As mentioned above, the quickest way to pull up the “cache clearing” or “browsing data” section in your browser is via Ctrl+Shift+Del (Windows) or Command+Shift+Delete (Mac) but see one of the sections below for the exact steps involved in clearing your specific browser’s cache.
Chrome: Clear Browsing Data
Assuming you use a keyboard, the quickest way to the Clear browsing data window in Google Chrome is by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Del (Windows) or Command+Shift+Delete (Mac). If you aren’t into keyboard shortcuts, here’s how to clear the Chrome browser cache on your computer: You can find more details about clearing browsing data in Chrome on Google’s support website.
Clear Cache in the Chrome Mobile App
In Chrome’s mobile app:
Internet Explorer: Delete Browsing History
In Microsoft Internet Explorer, the browser that came installed on many Windows computers, you clear the cache in the Delete Browsing History screen. As with other popular browsers, the fastest way to the Delete Browsing History screen is via the Ctrl+Shift+Del keyboard shortcut. Here’s another option.
Firefox: Clear Recent History
In Mozilla’s Firefox browser, you clear the cache from the Clear Recent History or Clear Data area. The Ctrl+Shift+Del (Windows) or Command+Shift+Delete (Mac) keyboard shortcut is the fastest way to open the Clear Recent History screen, which looks like this: To get to the Clear Data screen through the menus, do this:
Clear Cache in the Firefox Mobile App
To delete the cache in the Firefox mobile app: If you scroll down a bit and choose Clear History, you’ll get to the same screen that the shortcut above takes you to.
Safari: Empty Caches
In Apple’s Safari browser on a Mac, clearing the cache is done via the Develop menu. Just select Develop in the Safari menu bar and then choose Empty Caches. You can also clear the cache in Safari on a Mac using the Option+Command+E keyboard shortcut.
Clear Cache in the Safari Mobile App
Clearing the browser cache from mobile Safari on your iPhone or iPad is accomplished in a different app.
Opera: Clear Browsing Data
In Opera, clearing the cache is done via the Clear browsing data section that’s part of Settings. The fastest way to bring up the Clear browsing data window is via the Ctrl+Shift+Del (Windows) or Command+Shift+Delete (Mac) keyboard shortcut. Otherwise: You can find detailed instructions on how to clear the cache on Opera’s website.
Clear Cache in the Opera Mobile Browser
You can clear the cache from the Opera mobile app, too.
Edge: Clear Browsing Data
Clearing the cache in Microsoft Edge is done via the Clear browsing data menu. The fastest way to the Clear browsing data menu is via the Ctrl+Shift+Del keyboard shortcut. Here’s another option: See how to clear the cache in Microsoft Edge for more help.
Clear Cache in the Edge Mobile Browser
To delete cache files from the Edge mobile app:
Vivaldi: Delete Browsing Data
Clear the cache in Vivaldi via the Delete Browsing Data area. As with most browsers, the Ctrl+Shift+Del (Windows) or Command+Shift+Delete (Mac) keyboard shortcut brings up this menu, too. You can also use this screen change the Delete Data for time to something else like All Time to clear the whole cache.
Clear Cache in the Vivaldi Mobile Browser
The Vivaldi app for Android lets you clear the cache as well:
More About Clearing Caches in Web Browsers
Most browsers have at least basic cache management settings where, at a minimum, you can choose how much space you’d like the browser to use for its cache. Some browsers let you choose to automatically clear the cache and other data that might contain private information every time you close the browser window. In most browsers, you can overwrite a web page’s stored cache without deleting all the cache collected by the browser. In essence, this erases and replenishes the cache for that specific page only. In most browsers and operating systems, you can bypass the cache by holding down the Shift or Ctrl key as you refresh.
