What cookies are and why you might want to delete them
Cookies are small files that websites store on your phone to remember things about you — your login information, what you put in a shopping cart, which articles you read. They make websites faster and more convenient. But they also let companies track which sites you visit and what you do on them, even after you leave.
Deleting cookies regularly is one way to limit that tracking. It won't stop it completely — websites can identify you other ways — but it does clear out the record of where you've been. Deleting cookies also frees up a small amount of storage space and can sometimes fix a website that's acting broken because it's using outdated information about you.
The trade-off is that you'll have to log back into websites, and sites won't remember your preferences until you visit them again. Whether that's worth it depends on how much tracking bothers you and how annoyed you are by logging in repeatedly.
Key Takeaways
- On iPhone, go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data and choose the time range you want to clear.
- On Android, open Chrome, tap the three dots in the corner, go to Settings > Privacy > Clear browsing data, check "Cookies and site data", and tap Clear.
- Clearing cookies will log you out of most websites and remove saved passwords unless you specifically protect them.
- You can set your browser to delete cookies automatically when you close it, which removes the need to do it manually.
- Cookies stored in apps (like the Facebook app or Gmail app) are separate from browser cookies and require different steps to clear.
How to delete cookies on iPhone
On iPhone, cookies live in Safari, the built-in browser. Open Settings, scroll down and tap Safari, then scroll to the bottom and tap "Clear History and Website Data." A menu will appear asking you to choose a time range: the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all time. Pick whichever matches what you want to clear.
When you tap "Clear History and Website Data," Safari will delete your browsing history, cookies, and cached website files all at once — you can't delete just cookies without the others. If you want to keep your history but delete only cookies, you'll need to use a different browser like Firefox or Chrome, which have more granular options.
If you use Safari's private browsing mode (swipe up from the bottom and tap the tabs icon, then tap Private), Safari doesn't store cookies from those sessions in the first place. But cookies from regular browsing will still accumulate.
How to delete cookies on Android
On Android, the steps depend on which browser you use. Most people use Chrome. Open Chrome, tap the three vertical dots in the top right corner, tap Settings, then tap Privacy and security. Tap "Clear browsing data." A window will pop up with checkboxes for different types of data.
Make sure "Cookies and site data" is checked — it usually is by default. You can also check or uncheck other items like cached images and files. At the top, choose your time range: last hour, last 24 hours, last 7 days, last 4 weeks, or all time. Then tap "Clear data."
If you use Firefox on Android, open the menu (three horizontal lines), tap Settings, tap Delete browsing data, and check "Cookies." If you use Samsung Internet, tap the menu icon, tap Settings, tap Privacy, and tap "Delete browsing data."
What happens when you delete cookies
After you delete cookies, most websites will log you out. The next time you visit, you'll need to enter your username and password again. Some sites will forget your preferences — your font size, your language choice, whether you prefer dark mode — and reset to their defaults.
If you've saved passwords in your browser, deleting cookies won't erase those passwords. You'll still be able to log back in quickly because your browser will offer to fill in your username and password automatically. If you want to delete saved passwords too, that's a separate step in your browser settings.
Deleting cookies won't affect apps on your phone — the Facebook app, Gmail app, or any other app that stores its own login information. Those apps keep their data separately from your browser.
Setting your browser to delete cookies automatically
If you don't want to delete cookies manually every time, you can set your browser to do it for you. On iPhone Safari, go to Settings > Safari and toggle on "Privacy-Preserving Ad Measurement." This doesn't delete cookies automatically, but it does limit how much advertisers can track you across websites. For automatic deletion, you'll need to use a different browser — Firefox on iPhone has an option to delete cookies when you close the app.
On Android Chrome, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Delete browsing data, then toggle on "Delete browsing data." This will delete your data every time you close Chrome completely. On Firefox Android, go to Settings > Privacy, scroll to "Delete browsing data on quit," and toggle it on.
The downside of automatic deletion is that you'll be logged out of websites more often. The upside is that you don't have to think about it — your browser handles the privacy work for you.
Cookies in apps versus cookies in your browser
Apps like Facebook, Instagram, Gmail, and Twitter store their own cookies and login information separately from your browser. Clearing your browser's cookies won't log you out of these apps or delete their stored data. If you want to clear data from an app, you have to do it through the app's settings or through your phone's settings.
On iPhone, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage, find the app, tap it, and tap "Offload App" to remove it without deleting your account, or "Delete App" to remove it completely. On Android, go to Settings > Apps, find the app, tap Storage, and tap "Clear Cache" to delete temporary files or "Clear Storage" to delete all app data including login information.
Some apps have their own privacy settings. Open the app, go to Settings or Privacy, and look for options to clear cache, clear cookies, or sign out. This is faster than going through your phone's settings if you only want to clear one app.
When deleting cookies might break something
Occasionally, a website uses cookies to store important information that you can't get back easily. For example, some banking sites or email providers use cookies to keep you logged in securely, and deleting them means you'll have to go through a longer login process next time, sometimes including a security code sent to your phone.
If you delete cookies and then can't log into a site, try these steps: make sure you're using the correct username and password, try using a different browser, or try clearing your browser's cache (separate from cookies) in case the site is showing you an old version of itself. If the site still won't work, contact the site's support team — they can tell you whether the problem is related to cookies.
Some websites also use cookies to store form information, like items in a shopping cart or text you've typed into a comment box. Deleting cookies will erase that information, so if you're in the middle of something important, finish it before you clear your cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will deleting cookies delete my saved passwords?
No. Passwords are stored separately from cookies. Deleting cookies will log you out of websites, but your browser will still have your saved passwords and can fill them in automatically when you log back in. If you want to delete saved passwords, you have to do that through your browser's password settings, not through the cookie-clearing menu.
Do I need to delete cookies if I use private browsing mode?
Private browsing mode (Safari Private on iPhone, Incognito on Chrome) doesn't store cookies from those sessions in the first place. But if you also browse normally, cookies from regular browsing will still build up. You only need to delete cookies from your regular browsing sessions.
Will deleting cookies stop companies from tracking me?
Deleting cookies removes one tracking method, but companies can identify you other ways — through your IP address, your login account, or fingerprinting (analyzing your browser settings and device). Deleting cookies regularly is helpful, but it's not a complete privacy solution. Using a VPN or a privacy-focused browser offers more protection.
Can I delete cookies from just one website?
On most browsers, you can't delete cookies from a single site without deleting all cookies. Firefox on desktop has a per-site option, but mobile browsers don't. Your best option is to use private browsing mode for sites you don't want to store cookies, or to delete all cookies regularly and accept that you'll have to log back in everywhere.
What's the difference between clearing cookies and clearing cache?
Cookies are small files that store information about you. Cache is a copy of images, videos, and other files from websites, stored so they load faster next time. Clearing cache frees up more storage space but doesn't affect tracking. Most browsers let you clear them together or separately.