You can clean up the cookies and cache of the web browser of your Android phone with a few quick taps.
The web browser of your Android telephone – whether you are using Google Chrome, Samsung Internet or Mozilla Firefox – picks up a lot of data from the different websites that you visit every day. Every time you load your favorite website to read articles, shopping or most other tasks, your browser picks up a small amount of data that can in some cases be useful. This allows you to quickly load websites that you often get access and you are logged in to accounts. That is nice, but there is a lot of information in the cookies and cache of your browser that is not necessary and can even be a privacy risk.
Why you have to clean up your cookies and cache regularly
Much of what ultimately builds up in your cookies and cache is just mess. Part of it could have arrived from websites that you only visited once. Others seem to follow your browsing history on an active basis and help to serve advertisements based on what you buy or stream on the internet. For example, I receive constant ads for buying glasses online after browsing a few stores or Amazon advertisements that happen to show what was last in my shopping cart.
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That is why it is good to clean up your cache every so often. This allows you to delete data that you do not need on your phone, especially if an unknown data tracker is one of the cookies of your phone. Delete your cache is a small inconvenience – you have to log in to some of your favorite websites, but it is a small price to pay to ensure that your phone does not save external data.
The steps differ slightly depending on the type of telephone and web browser app that you use. Below we will discuss how they can delete this data for the Chrome -Browser of Google (the standard for many Android phones, such as the Google Pixel line), the internet browser of Samsung (often the standard setting on the Galaxy telephone series) and Mozillas Firefox browser. You can also view our individual guide to delete your cache on an iPhone web browser, in case you also have a few Apple devices to clean up.
Google Chrome
You can remove your cookies and cache from the Android version of Google Chrome More button In the top right corner of the browser, indicated by a column of three dots and then tap Remove browsing data. A small menu appears with which you can have a time range of the Dast 15 minutes of data on Always. If the options in this fast menu are sufficient, you can tap Delete data And you’re done. However, if you want more advanced settings, you can tap instead More options.
With the extensive Delete -Browsing menu that pops up, you can further specify what to remove, with options that include Leaves history” Cookies and site facts, Images and files stored in the cache” Tabs” Saved Passwords” Autofill form -data And SITE -SETTINGS. You can also Time range Continuation to select how far you want to delete the data. After selecting what you want to delete, tap the Delete data knob.
You can receive an extra prompt in the event that Chrome regards certain websites as “important” for you, and if so, you will get the chance to confirm before cleaning it up. Otherwise, if you do not receive it promptly, Chrome will immediately continue to delete as you instruct.
Read more: Google Chrome gone and use this privacy-oriented browser instead
Samsung Internet
There are two different ways in which you can erase the cache and cookie data of your Samsung interet browser. You can delete yourself from the browser, or you can go through the app of your telephones settings.
To erase in the Samsung Internet browser -app, first tap the Options button In the right corner shown by three horizontal lines, then Institutions; Scroll down and tap Personal browsing data Then tap Remove browsing data To get a menu with options to remove. You can Leaves history“ Form and search history, cookies and site data” Images and files stored in the cache” Passwords And Autofill forms In every combination. After tap Delete dataYou will then receive a prompt in which you will be asked to confirm your choices before you are deleted.
By going the browser app itself, it offers the most adjustment about what you want to delete. If you want access to similar options in the Settings menu Institutions app and tap up AppsThen scroll down and tap Samsung Internet and then Storage and cache.
On the storage screen you will receive individual options See the cache And Clear storage. Tap See the cache will remove the cache immediately, but Clear storage Hangs a prompt that you warn that all data from the application is permanently deleted, including files, settings, accounts and databases. Although it does not specify cookies, this “going nuclear” approach should be all remaining data, so that you can start the Samsung-Internet browser again as if it were brand new.
Read more: Change these Android settings to get the most out of your phone
Mozilla Firefox
Just like with Google Chrome, you can delete the cache from the Mozilla Firefox Android app. Tap the More knob To the right of the address bar, again symbolized by three vertically aligned dots. Then tap Institutions and scroll down Remove browsing data.
Of the three browsers that we discuss here, Firefox gives you the most options under the Remove browsing data Menu, so that you can also delete existing Open tabsyour Leaves history” Site -permissions and even your Downloads folder. Those options come next Cookies and side data And Images and files stored in the cache.
Although you cannot choose a time range if you can go for Chrome, you can be more specific with which type of data you want to delete.
Read more: Browser Privacy Settings to change as quickly as possible to Firefox, Chrome and Safari
And Firefox has an extra option for those who never want to keep their browsing data after they have finished the app. Inside Institutions is one Remove browsing data on Stop Option, which instructs Firefox to wipe each combination of the same settings every time you leave the application. It is a handy function if you want to keep the browser tidy and, say, do not accidentally avoid having your browsing history to be handed over to someone who may have stolen or has otherwise accessed your phone.
