Your browsing data — such as cache, cookies, and browsing history — can accumulate over time, potentially damaging your privacy. Whether you trying to free up storage, limit tracking, or protect yourself from digital forensics, clearing browsing data is an important first step on your privacy journey.
Google Chrome
To start, launch Google Chrome. On the upper right-hand corner, click on the three-dots icon to see a list of options. Then, click on Settings
You should see the following menu.
On the left, navigate to Privacy and Security. You should see the following screen.
Click Delete browsing data. Here, you can check whether to clear your browsing history, cookies, and cached images & files. Chrome also allows you select the time range of the data marked for deletion.
After making any necessary changes, click Delete data.
Firefox
Start by launching Firefox. On the upper right-hand corner, click on the three-dot icon to see a list of options. There, click on Settings.
On the left, navigate to Privacy and Security. You should see the following screen.
Scroll down to Cookies and Site Data.
You have the option of either clearing your browsing data within a time range or in selected websites. Note that the latter deletes the website’s cookies and cache, not history.
Click on Clear data if you prefer the former. Like Google Chrome, you can chose what types of data to delete and its time range. After making your selection, click Clear to finalize the process.
Safari
Unlike Chrome and Firefox, Safari separates history settings from its privacy settings. For the purposes of this guide, we will delete browsing history first.
After opening Safari, move your cursor to the upper left-hand corner. Click History once the title bar appears.
If you want to clear browsing history in a specified time range, select Clear History at the bottom and follow the prompt. Otherwise, click Show All History.
In this menu, you can choose websites to delete from your history. Use the search bar to find the exact name of the website. You can also navigate to a specific data and time.
Now, lets delete the cookies and cache data. Move your cursor to the title bar again and click Safari to see a drop down menu.
Then, click Settings and then navigate to Privacy. You will see this screen.
Click Manage Website Data…
Another menu will appear with a list of websites and their corresponding browsing data types. As always, you can mark specified websites for deletion. Once you are done, click Remove.
Brave Browser
As a Chromium-based browser, Brave is quite similar to Chrome. To start, launch Brave. On the upper right-hand corner, click on the three-bars icon to see a list of options. Then, click on Settings
You should see the following menu.
On the left, select Privacy and Security. You should see the following screen.
Click Delete browsing data. Here, you can check whether to clear your browsing history, cookies, and cached images & files.
Under Advanced, Brave also allows you select the time range of the data marked for deletion.
After making any necessary changes, click Delete data.
Microsoft Edge
Finally, we will finish this tutorial with Microsoft Edge. Start by launching the browser. On the upper right-hand corner, click on the three-dots icon. Next, click Settings.
In the settings page, navigate to Privacy, Search, and Services
Under Delete Browsing Data, click on Choose What to Clear.
Modify the time range and data to be deleted. Afterwards, click Clear Now.
