How to Clear the Cache and Cookies in Your Web Browser

What are cache and cookies?

Cache: this is temporary storage in the browser application that keeps frequently accessed files such as images, fonts, HTML, and CSS that make a website or web application load faster.

Cookie: this is small text file created by a website or web application which is stored on your computer by the browser.

Why do cache and cookies need to be cleared or deleted?

These temporary files can sometimes become outdated and create a conflict between the stored version of a file in the browser and official version of website and web application code. This can sometimes be the root of a user experiencing difficulty.

Clearing cache and cookies ensures that the user is seeing the website or web application as intended and eliminates a number of variables for the support team to investigate.

Keyboard Shortcut for Most Browsers

If you are using Internet Explorer, Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox you can quickly clear cache with a keyboard shortcut. While in your browser, press Ctrl + Shift + Delete simultaneously on the keyboard to open the appropriate window.

IMPORTANT: Be sure and close/quit the browser and restart it after clearing the cache and cookies.

Clear Cache

Browser	Windows Shortcut	Mac Shortcut	Alternative Method
Chrome	Ctrl + Shift + Delete	Command + Shift + Delete
Firefox	Ctrl + Shift + Delete	Command + Shift + Delete
Edge	Ctrl + Shift + Delete	Command + Shift + Delete
Safari	(Mac only)	Command + Option + Delete	Choose Safari > Settings, then click Privacy. Click Manage Website Data. Select one or more websites, then click Remove or Remove All.

Remove Cookies

Browser	Windows Shortcut	Mac Shortcut	Alternative Method
Chrome		Command + Shift + Delete	Click the Tools menu (three dotted lines in the upper-right corner). Select History. Select Clear Browsing Data from the left-hand side. Set the Time Range set to All Time. Check-mark Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files and select Clear Data. Restart the browser
Firefox		Command + Shift + Delete	Click on the Tools bar (three bars in the top-right corner). Click History. On the menu to the right, select Clear Recent History. In the Clear All History menu, select the time range to Everything. Select the options, Cookies, Cache, Active Logins, Site settings, and Offline website data. Click OK Restart the browser
Edge		Command + Shift + Delete	Click the Tools menu (three dotted lines in the upper-right corner), and open the Settings menu. Click Delete browsing data Select the options Cookies and Cached Click Clear now Restart the browser
Safari	(Mac only)		Choose Safari > Settings, then click Privacy. Click Manage Website Data. Select one or more websites, then click Remove or Remove All. Restart the browser