Deleting cookies from your iPad takes less than a minute and happens in the Safari settings
Open Settings on your home screen, scroll down and tap Safari, then scroll to the bottom and tap "Clear History and Website Data." A menu will appear asking what time period to clear — choose "all time" if you want to remove everything, or pick a specific range. Tap the blue "Clear History and Data" button to finish. Your cookies are now deleted.
If you use Chrome, Firefox, or another browser instead of Safari, the steps are slightly different but follow the same pattern: open the app, find Settings or Menu, look for Privacy or History, and select the option to clear browsing data. You will see a checkbox for cookies — make sure it is checked before you confirm.
Cookies are small files that websites store on your device to remember information about you — your login details, what you put in a shopping cart, your preferences. They make browsing faster and more convenient, but they also let websites track where you go. Deleting them removes that tracking history and forces websites to forget you the next time you visit.
Key Takeaways
- In Safari, go to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data, choose your time range, and tap the blue button to delete cookies.
- Deleting cookies will log you out of most websites, so you will need to sign back in the next time you visit them.
- Cookies deleted from Safari do not affect cookies stored by other browsers on your iPad — each app keeps its own separate data.
- You can set Safari to never store cookies at all by turning on "Block All Cookies" in the Privacy settings, though some websites will not work properly.
What happens when you delete cookies
Deleting cookies logs you out of websites. The next time you visit Facebook, Gmail, your bank, or any other site where you were signed in, you will be back at the login screen. This is because cookies are how websites remember that you are you — without them, the site has no way to know who is using it.
You will also lose saved preferences. If you had set a website to show you results in a certain language, or adjusted the text size, or told it to remember your address for checkout, those settings disappear. The website will go back to its defaults the next time you visit.
Shopping carts are usually cleared too. If you had items sitting in a cart waiting to be purchased, they may vanish when you delete cookies. Some sites keep carts for a while anyway, but do not count on it — if you have something you plan to buy, finish the purchase before you clear your data.
Why you might want to delete cookies regularly
Websites use cookies to build a profile of your browsing habits. They track which pages you visit, how long you stay, what you click on, and what you buy. This information is sold to advertisers, used to show you targeted ads, or shared with data brokers. Deleting cookies regularly breaks that chain and makes it harder for companies to follow you across the internet.
Deleting cookies also frees up storage space on your iPad, though the amount is usually small — most cookies are just a few kilobytes each. If your iPad is running low on storage, clearing cookies will not solve the problem, but it helps a little.
If you share your iPad with other people, deleting cookies removes any record of where you have been online. This is a basic privacy step if you do not want others to see your browsing history or find saved passwords.
How to prevent cookies from being stored in the first place
In Safari, open Settings, tap Safari, and scroll down to the Privacy section. Turn on "Block All Cookies." This tells Safari to refuse cookies from every website. The downside is that some websites will not work correctly — you may not be able to stay logged in, or pages may load slowly, or features may break entirely. Most people find this too restrictive for everyday use.
A middle ground is to use Safari's "Intelligent Tracking Prevention," which is already turned on by default. This blocks cookies from advertisers and data brokers while still allowing websites you visit to store cookies for basic functions like keeping you logged in. It is a good balance between privacy and usability.
If you want more control, you can use a different browser. Firefox and DuckDuckGo both have stronger privacy settings built in, and they do not store as much tracking data by default. You can also use a VPN app, though this protects your internet traffic more than it protects you from cookies.
The difference between clearing cookies and clearing browsing history
Cookies and browsing history are two separate things, and clearing one does not automatically clear the other. Your browsing history is a list of every website you visited — it is stored locally on your iPad and only you can see it (unless someone else uses your device). Cookies are files that websites place on your device to track you.
When you tap "Clear History and Website Data" in Safari, you are clearing both at once. But you can also clear just your history without touching cookies by going to Settings > Safari and tapping "Clear History" without the "Website Data" part. This is useful if you want to hide where you have been but still stay logged into your accounts.
What to do if a website stops working after you delete cookies
If a website is broken or will not let you log in after you clear cookies, the site is probably relying on cookies for basic functions. Try signing in again — most sites will create new cookies and work normally once you do. If the problem persists, try a different browser, because the issue might be specific to Safari.
If you need to keep cookies from a specific website, you can add it to your exceptions list. In Safari Settings under Privacy, scroll down to "Manage Website Data" and you will see a list of every site storing data on your device. You can delete individual sites from this list instead of clearing everything at once.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will deleting cookies delete my passwords?
No. Passwords are stored separately from cookies in your iPad's keychain. Deleting cookies will not touch them. However, if you want to delete saved passwords, you have to do that in a different place — Settings > Passwords and Accounts (or Passwords in newer iPad versions).
Do I need to delete cookies every day?
No. Deleting cookies once a week or once a month is enough for most people. If you are concerned about tracking, weekly is reasonable. If you just want to free up space or hide your browsing from someone else using your device, monthly is fine.
If I delete cookies from Safari, will they be deleted from Chrome too?
No. Each browser stores its own cookies separately. Deleting cookies from Safari only affects Safari. If you use multiple browsers, you need to clear cookies from each one individually if you want to remove them all.
What if I clear cookies but a website still remembers me?
Some websites use other methods besides cookies to track you, like fingerprinting (analyzing your device settings) or login tokens stored in your account. Clearing cookies removes one form of tracking but not all of them. Using a privacy-focused browser or a VPN provides more complete protection.