What cookies are and why you might want to delete them

Cookies are small files that websites store on your computer to remember things about you — your login information, what you put in a shopping cart, your preferences. When you visit a website again, it reads that cookie and knows who you are without asking you to log in again.

You might want to delete them for a few reasons: to clear out login information before you sell or give away your computer, to stop websites from tracking your browsing across the internet, or straightforward to free up a small amount of storage space. Deleting cookies won't break anything — the next time you visit a website, it will just ask you to log in again or start fresh.

Key Takeaways

  • You can delete all your cookies at once through Chrome's settings, or delete cookies from specific websites only.
  • Deleting cookies will log you out of most websites and clear saved preferences, but won't affect your bookmarks or browsing history.
  • You can set Chrome to delete cookies automatically every time you close the browser if you want ongoing privacy.
  • Clearing cookies takes less than a minute and is completely safe — websites will function normally the next time you visit them.

Delete all cookies at once in three steps

Open Google Chrome and look at the top right corner. Click the three vertical dots (called the menu button). A dropdown menu will appear.

Click Settings from that menu. On the left side of the page, click Privacy and security, then click Clear browsing data. A window will pop up.

At the top of that window, make sure the time range is set to All time (or choose a specific date range if you only want to delete recent cookies). Check the box next to Cookies and other site data. Uncheck any other boxes if you want to keep your browsing history or cached images. Click the blue Clear data button. You're done — all cookies are now deleted.

Delete cookies from one website only

If you want to keep most cookies but remove them from a specific website, you can do that without clearing everything. Visit the website you want to remove cookies from, then click the lock icon or information icon to the left of the web address at the top of the page.

Click Cookies and site data or Cookies (the exact wording depends on your Chrome version). You'll see a list of cookies from that website. Click the trash icon next to each one, or click Remove all to delete them all at once. Close the popup and you're finished.

Set Chrome to delete cookies automatically when you close it

If you want Chrome to delete all cookies every time you close the browser, you can turn on a setting that does this automatically. Open Chrome, click the three dots in the top right, and go to Settings.

Click Privacy and security on the left, then click Cookies and other site data. Toggle on the switch next to Clear cookies and site data when you quit Chrome. From now on, every time you close Chrome completely, all cookies will be deleted. You'll need to log in to websites again the next time you open Chrome, but your privacy will be stronger.

What happens after you delete cookies

Once you delete cookies, websites won't remember you the next time you visit. You'll need to log in again to email, social media, banking sites, and anywhere else you have an account. Websites won't remember your preferences either — if you had set a site to dark mode or a specific language, it will go back to the default.

Your bookmarks, browsing history, and saved passwords are not affected by deleting cookies. Those are stored separately in Chrome. If you want to delete those too, you can do it in the same Clear browsing data window by checking different boxes.

The difference between cookies and tracking

Deleting cookies helps with one type of tracking, but not all of it. Cookies let websites remember you, but they also let advertisers follow you across the internet to show you targeted ads. Deleting cookies breaks that chain — advertisers lose track of you.

However, some tracking happens through other methods that cookies don't control, like your IP address or fingerprinting (when a website collects details about your browser and device to identify you). If you want stronger privacy, you can also turn on Do Not Track in Chrome's settings, though not all websites respect that signal. Using a privacy-focused search engine or a VPN are other options, but those are separate tools from cookie management.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will deleting cookies slow down my computer?

No. Cookies take up almost no storage space — even millions of them use less than a megabyte. Deleting them won't speed up your computer noticeably, but it also won't cause any problems. The main reason to delete them is privacy, not performance.

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

Yes. Use the lock icon method described above to delete cookies from a single website only. That way you stay logged in everywhere else. You only need to clear all cookies at once if you want a complete privacy reset.

What if I delete cookies by accident?

Nothing breaks. Websites will straightforward treat you as a new visitor the next time you go there. You'll need to log in again, but your accounts are still there — deleting cookies doesn't delete your accounts. Just log back in and you're back to normal.

Does clearing cookies delete my passwords?

No. Cookies and saved passwords are stored separately. If you want to delete saved passwords too, you have to check that box separately in the Clear browsing data window. By default, deleting cookies leaves your passwords alone.