What temporary internet files are and why they pile up
Temporary internet files are copies of web pages, images, videos, and other content that your browser saves to your hard drive while you browse. When you visit a website, your browser downloads these files to your computer so the page loads faster the next time you visit — instead of downloading everything again, it can pull the cached version from your drive.
Over time, these files accumulate. A year of regular browsing can easily add up to several gigabytes of cached data sitting on your computer. They take up storage space, and in rare cases, corrupted cached files can cause a website to display incorrectly or a page to load slowly.
Deleting temporary internet files is safe — your browser will straightforward re-read them the next time you visit those sites. You will not lose passwords, bookmarks, or any other settings you have saved.
Key Takeaways
- Temporary internet files are cached copies of web pages and images that browsers store to speed up loading, and they accumulate over time without affecting your passwords or bookmarks.
- In Chrome, you delete them through Settings > Privacy and Security > Clear Browsing Data, where you can choose to delete only cached images and files or everything from the past hour, day, week, or all time.
- In Firefox, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data and click Clear Data, then check "Cached Web Content" to remove only temporary files.
- In Safari on Mac, choose Safari > Settings > Privacy, click Manage Website Data, select the sites you want to clear, and click Remove or Remove All.
- Microsoft Edge uses the same process as Chrome since it runs on the same engine — Settings > Privacy, Search, and Services > Clear Browsing Data.
How to delete temporary files in Chrome
Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top right corner. Select Settings from the menu. On the left side, click Privacy and Security, then click Clear Browsing Data.
A window will pop up with options. At the top, you will see a dropdown that says Time Range. Click it and choose how far back you want to delete: Last Hour, Last 24 Hours, Last 7 Days, Last 4 Weeks, or All Time. Below that, make sure only Cached Images and Files is checked — uncheck anything else if you want to keep your browsing history and cookies. Then click Clear Data.
Chrome will delete the temporary files when ready. The process usually takes a few seconds. You can close the settings window and return to browsing.
How to delete temporary files in Firefox
Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the top right corner. Select Settings. On the left side, click Privacy & Security. Scroll down to the section labeled Cookies and Site Data.
Click the button that says Clear Data. A small window will appear. Make sure Cached Web Content is checked — this is the temporary internet files. Leave Cookies and Site Data unchecked unless you want to clear those too. Click Clear.
Firefox will remove the cached files. If you want to set Firefox to clear temporary files automatically every time you close the browser, go back to Privacy & Security, scroll to History, and change the dropdown next to "Firefox will" to Use Custom Settings for History. Then check the box for Clear History When Firefox Closes and click the Settings button next to it to choose what gets cleared.
How to delete temporary files in Safari
On a Mac, open Safari and click Safari in the menu bar at the top. Select Settings (or Preferences on older versions). Click the Privacy tab.
Click the button labeled Manage Website Data. A list of websites will appear. You can select individual sites and click Remove, or click Remove All to clear cached files from every site at once. Click Done when finished.
Safari does not have a built-in option to delete only cached files — this process clears both cached files and stored website data together. If you want Safari to clear this data automatically, go back to the Privacy tab and check the box for Remove All Website Data When Quitting Safari.
How to delete temporary files in Microsoft Edge
Open Edge and click the three dots in the top right corner. Select Settings. On the left side, click Privacy, Search, and Services. Under the Clear Browsing Data section, click Choose What to Clear.
A window will appear. At the top, select your time range from the dropdown. Check only Cached Images and Files and uncheck everything else. Click Clear Now.
Edge will delete the temporary files. You can also set Edge to clear these files automatically by checking the box for Choose What to Clear Every Time You Close the Browser and then clicking Choose What to Clear Every Time You Close the Browser again to select which data types to remove.
When to delete temporary internet files
You do not need to delete temporary internet files on any set schedule. Most people can go months without clearing them and notice no difference in how their computer runs. However, if your computer is running slowly, your hard drive is nearly full, or a website is displaying incorrectly, clearing temporary files is a quick troubleshooting step that sometimes helps.
If you share your computer with other people and want to keep your browsing private, clearing temporary files removes evidence of which sites you visited. Some people also clear them before selling or giving away a computer.
Setting your browser to clear temporary files automatically when you close it is a reasonable choice if you want to keep your drive clean without thinking about it, though it does mean websites will load slightly slower the first time you visit them after closing your browser.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will deleting temporary internet files slow down my internet?
No, it will not affect your internet speed. However, websites may load slightly slower the first time you visit them after clearing the cache, because your browser has to read all the files fresh instead of pulling them from your hard drive. After that first visit, they will load at normal speed again.
Can I delete temporary files without deleting my passwords and bookmarks?
Yes. When you clear browsing data, your browser shows you checkboxes for different types of data. Make sure only Cached Images and Files (or Cached Web Content in Firefox) is checked, and leave everything else unchecked. Your passwords, bookmarks, and browsing history will stay intact.
How much space do temporary internet files usually take up?
It varies widely depending on how much you browse and what sites you visit. Video-heavy sites like YouTube and streaming services create larger caches than text-based sites. Most people accumulate between 500 megabytes and 5 gigabytes over several months of regular browsing.
What is the difference between temporary internet files and cookies?
Temporary internet files are the actual page content — images, videos, and code. Cookies are small text files that websites use to remember information about you, like your login status or shopping cart items. They are stored separately, and you can delete one without deleting the other.