Where cookies live and why you might want to remove them

Cookies are small files that websites store on your Mac to remember things about you — your login information, what you put in a shopping cart, your preferences. Most of the time they are useful. But they also let websites track where you go, and they take up storage space. Deleting them regularly is a straightforward way to clear out data you no longer need and reduce tracking.

The steps differ depending on which browser you use — Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or Edge all store cookies in different places and offer different ways to delete them. The good news is that each browser makes this a one-time task that takes less than a minute once you know where to look.

Key Takeaways

  • Cookies are stored separately in each browser, so you need to delete them from Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or Edge individually.
  • Safari users go to Safari menu > Settings > Privacy, then click Manage Website Data and select All Sites before removing them.
  • Chrome users open Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data, set the time range to All Time, and check the Cookies box.
  • You can set any browser to delete cookies automatically when you close it, which removes the need to do this manually.
  • Deleting cookies will log you out of most websites, so you may need to sign back in the next time you visit them.

Delete cookies in Safari

Open Safari and click the Safari menu in the top left corner of your screen. Select Settings (or Preferences on older versions of macOS). Click the Privacy tab at the top.

You will see a button labeled Manage Website Data. Click it. A list of websites appears — these are the sites that have stored cookies on your Mac. Click Select All in the bottom left, then click Remove. Safari will delete all cookies from all websites at once.

If you want to remove cookies from only one or two websites instead, you can search for them by name in the search box, select them individually, and click Remove. This is useful if a particular site is not working correctly and you want to clear just that site's data without logging out everywhere else.

Delete cookies in Chrome

Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top right corner. Select Settings. Click Privacy and Security on the left side.

Click Clear Browsing Data. A window will pop up. At the top, you will see a dropdown that says Time Range — click it and select All Time to delete all cookies, or choose a specific range like Last 24 Hours or Last 7 Days if you only want to remove recent ones. Make sure the box next to Cookies and Other Site Data is checked. Click Clear Data.

Delete cookies in Firefox

Open Firefox and click the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top right corner. Select Settings. Click Privacy & Security on the left side.

Scroll down to the Cookies and Site Data section. Click Clear Data. A window appears — make sure Cookies and Site Data is checked, then click Clear. If you want to delete cookies from only a specific time period, click the dropdown next to Clear Recent History instead, choose your time range, and make sure Cookies is checked before clicking Clear Now.

Delete cookies in Edge

Open Microsoft Edge and click the three dots in the top right corner. Select Settings. Click Privacy, Search, and Services on the left side.

Under Clear Browsing Data, click Choose What to Clear. A window will open — make sure Cookies and Other Site Data is checked. If you want to delete all cookies ever stored, click the dropdown at the top that says Time Range and select All Time. Then click Clear Now.

Set your browser to delete cookies automatically

Instead of deleting cookies manually every time, you can tell your browser to remove them automatically when you close it. This is the easiest long-term solution if privacy is your main concern.

In Safari, go to Settings > Privacy and check the box that says Prevent Cross-Site Tracking. This does not delete cookies, but it stops many tracking cookies from being created in the first place. To delete all cookies on exit, Safari does not have a built-in option, but you can manually clear them weekly using the steps above.

In Chrome, go to Settings > Privacy and Security > Cookies and Other Site Data. Select Delete Cookies and Site Data When You Quit Chrome. In Firefox, go to Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll to Cookies and Site Data, and select Delete Cookies and Site Data When Firefox Is Closed. In Edge, go to Settings > Privacy > Clear Browsing Data and toggle on Choose What to Clear Every Time You Close the Browser, then click the dropdown under Clear Browsing Data and select Cookies and Other Site Data.

What happens after you delete cookies

When you delete cookies, you will be logged out of most websites. The next time you visit a site where you had an account, you will need to sign in again. Websites may also forget your preferences — for example, a news site might reset to showing you the default homepage instead of your customized version.

Some websites use cookies to store important information like items in your shopping cart. If you delete cookies before checking out, your cart will be empty. For this reason, it is a good idea to delete cookies when you are not in the middle of shopping or working on a website.

Your browsing history is separate from cookies and is not affected by deleting them. If you want to delete your browsing history as well, you can do that in the same menu where you clear cookies — just make sure the Browsing History box is checked.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will deleting cookies slow down my Mac or speed it up?

Deleting cookies will not noticeably speed up your Mac. Cookies are very small files and do not take up meaningful storage space. The main reason to delete them is privacy — to reduce tracking — not to improve performance. If your Mac is running slowly, the issue is usually something else, like too many browser tabs open or a full hard drive.

Can I delete cookies from just one website without logging out of others?

Yes. In Safari, use the Manage Website Data window and search for the specific site name, then click Remove. In Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, you can use your browser's settings to block cookies from specific sites going forward, but to delete existing cookies from one site only, you would need to delete all cookies and then log back in to the sites you want to stay logged into.

Do I need to delete cookies from each browser separately?

Yes. Each browser stores its own cookies in its own location on your Mac. Deleting cookies from Safari does not delete cookies from Chrome, and vice versa. If you use multiple browsers, you will need to repeat the deletion steps in each one.

What is the difference between cookies and browsing history?

Browsing history is a list of websites you visited. Cookies are data that websites store on your Mac to remember information about you. You can delete one without deleting the other — they are in separate locations in your browser settings.

Is it safe to delete all cookies at once?

Yes, it is completely safe. Cookies are not system files — they are just data that websites created. Deleting them will not harm your Mac or your browser. The only inconvenience is that you will need to log back into websites and may lose saved preferences.