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How to Clear your CacheYour browser history – a collection of every single page you have visited on the web – is stored indefinitely. And, if you hand your smartphone to your boss, share your laptop with a significant other, or forget to log out of your computer at work, this history could be used against you. Clearing the cache on your browser is also good computer maintenance.

If you’re after a little digital privacy, clearing your cache – that is, deleting your browser history – on a regular basis is essential. In this article, we’ll show you how to clear your cache on the most commonly used browsers, starting with Google Chrome. Let’s get to it.

How to clear your cache on Google Chrome

More than three-quarters of all internet users browse the web on Google Chrome. To clear the cache, click the three dots in the top right-hand corner of your Chrome browser. Select Settings, then Show advanced settings, and finally Clear browsing data. From there, you can select the specific timeframe you’d like to delete: last hour, last 24 hours, last 7 days, last 4 weeks, or all time.

What’s more, if you have a Google account and are signed in while browsing the web, your history is most likely stored in Google My Activity. Although this information is password protected, it might be a good idea to enable two-factor authentication if you are particularly concerned with privacy.

How to clear your cache on Chrome on mobile

Chrome is the standard browser for all Android phones and tablets, and is downloadable as an app on iOS devices.

To delete your browsing history, head to the three-dot menu, and click History. From there, you’ll see a list of all sites you have visited, including all sites visited on other devices while singed into your Google account.

At the bottom of the screen, you can click Edit (this option is only available on iOS devices) – which allows you to remove individual sites from your history – or Clear Browsing Data – which removes everything.

How to clear your cache on Opera

Head to the main menu, then click Settings, and Privacy & Security. Finally, click the Clear browsing data button. Opera offers much the same settings as Google Chrome; select the timeframe and hit delete.

Opera offers something extra for those looking to maximise their anonymity online: a built-in VPN. You can enable the VPN in the same Privacy & Security settings menu.

How to clear your cache on Microsoft Edge

Navigate to the three-dot menu in Microsoft Edge, and click Settings. Then, hit the button below Clear browsing data that reads Choose what to clear. From there, you can select the type of data you’d like to remove. We suggest deleting your download history, cookies, cached data, stored form data, and stored passwords (assuming you use a password manager).

One great feature offered by Microsoft Edge is the option to clear your web history every time the browser is closed. To do this, select the Always clear this when I close the browser option.

Similar to Google, Microsoft stores some of your browsing history online. To adjust the information stored by Microsoft, click Change what Microsoft Edge knows about me in the cloud.

How to clear your cache on Internet Explorer

Still using Internet Explorer (IE)? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. Three percent of all internet users browse the web on IE11, 10, or older.

To delete your browsing history, click the gear icon in the top-left hand corner of the screen. Click Internet Options, and navigate to the General tab if you’re not there already. If you’d like to delete all history, click the Delete button. If you’d like to delete your history on exit, check the box next to Delete browsing history on exit.

If you are using an older version of IE, check out the instructions here.

How to clear your cache on Safari

Safari makes it quick and easy to delete your browser’s history. First, navigate to the main menu, and then click Clear History. A window will pop up where you can select a timeframe. In addition to deleting your history, this action will remove cookies and cached data.

How to clear your cache on Safari on mobile

On iPhones and iPads, Safari is the standard browser. To clear your smartphone’s browser history, navigate to Settings, then Safari, and click Clear History & Website Data.

How to clear your cache on Mozilla Firefox

To clear your cache in newer versions of Firefox, access your settings in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Click History, and then Clear Recent History. To adjust your browser’s storage settings, click Options from the history menu. From there, you can set a preference to remember or never remember your history.

How to clear your cache on Firefox on mobile

Firefox is available on both iOS and Android devices.

To clear you cache on an iOS device, click the hamburger menu in the bottom-centre of the screen. Select Settings. Then, choose Clear Private Data, and either turn off the collection of history, cookies, and caching, or delete all of the above.

To clear your cache on an Android device, navigate to the three-dot menu. Click History, and then Clear Browser History. This will remove everything. If you’d like to pick and choose what to delete, instead select Clear Private Data.

Tip: Use CCleaner

If you use multiple browsers, CCleaner is a free tool for both Mac and PC computers that you can use to clear your cache on all browsers at once. First, download CCleaner, open it, head to the Applications tab, and select Internet cache and Internet history. You may or may not like to keep other applications checked.

Once you are happy with your selections, click Run Cleaner.

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