This is a complete guide on how to clear cookies on iPhone. It covers the most popular mobile browsers, such as Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.
When you delete cookies, you free up space on your iPhone and stop websites from following you around the web. Therefore, you protect your online privacy.
Let’s jump right to it.
What Are Cookies on My iPhone?
Cookies are small encrypted pieces of information that websites store on your iPhone to remember information about you and your visit.
A typical example would be when you visit an online store and add a product to your shopping cart but didn’t complete the order.
So next time you visit the same website you’ll find your item right where you left it, in the shopping cart. That’s the power of cookies.
Should I Clear Cookies on My iPhone?
Besides personalizing your experience and making surfing the web a pleasant adventure, cookies can sometimes become a serious problem. And at some point, you may need to delete them from your browser.
Even though they’re tiny, they can take up space over time, which may affect your device’s performance speed. Speaking of performance, please read this helpful article for an in-depth guide on how to speed up your iPhone.
Sometimes cookies get obsolete, which can create vulnerability so hackers can steal your information. You sure don’t want any of that.
That’s why you need to clear cookies on your iPhone because it can protect your phone from hackers. So enough with the waffling; we’ve got a lot to cover in this guide. Let’s get started.
How to Clear Cookies in Safari on an iPhone
While cookies may pose a problem in certain circumstances, we don’t recommend you block them altogether.
This will lead to bad user experiences. Instead, delete them periodically. Without further ado, let’s get started.
Step 1. To clear cookies on your iPhone, open the Settings app, scroll down until you find the Safari app, and tap on it.
Step 2. Under the “Privacy & Security” section of the Safari screen, tap Clear History and Website Data.
A prompt window will show up asking for your confirmation
Step 3. Tap Clear History and Data to delete Safari browsing history, cookies, and other data
This method will not only delete all cookies stored in Safari but also will erase your browsing history and other data.
Delete Cookies for Specific Sites on Safari
If you only want to delete cookies for certain websites, proceed this way.
Step 1. From the Home screen, open Settings and select Safari.
Step 2. Tap Advanced at the bottom of the screen.
Step 3. On the next screen, select Website Data.
Step 4. You should see a list of all cookies saved on your iPhone for every website you’ve visited. Tap Remove All Website Data at the end of the screen to delete every single cookie saved on your browser.
Step 5. A prompt will show up confirming your decision. Just tap Remove Now. This will prevent websites from tracking what you do on the web.
If you want to delete cookies for a particular website, tap on the Edit button on the upper right of the screen, then tap the red minus icon next to the website name.
If you want to delete cookies for a particular website, you can swipe to the left.
As we mentioned earlier, we do not recommend you block cookies. Some websites make it mandatory. Otherwise, they won’t work. But if you insist, here is how to block all cookies on an iPhone.
- Open the Settings app from the Home screen
- Scroll down and tap Safari
- Turn on Block All Cookies by sliding the toggle to the right
- Then, tap Block All to confirm your action
Not everyone is a fan of Safari. If you happen to use other browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Opera to surf the web on your iPhone, here’s how to delete cookies stored by them.
How to Clear Cookies on Chrome on Your iPhone
Launch the Chrome app, then tap the … menu icon in the lower-right corner.
On the next screen, select Settings from the menu tab.
Swipe up, then select Privacy. You may not need to swipe if you have an iPhone with a large display.
On the next screen, tap Clear Browsing Data to delete all the data Chrome has stored over time when you visit sites on the web.
You’ll have the option to select what you want to delete from the list. Select Cookies, Site Data to only clear cookies on your iPhone. You can also select a time range from the options.
Choose Clear Browsing Data, then tap Clear Browsing Data again to confirm your decision.
How to Clear Cookies on Firefox on Your iPhone
From your home screen, open the Firefox app, then tap the hamburger menu icon in the lower right corner of the screen.
Tap Settings right at the bottom.
Scroll down and select Data Management.
Tap Clear Private Data at the bottom of the page and confirm your decision by tapping OK in the confirmation window.
How to Clear Cookies on Opera on Your iPhone
Open the Opera app and tap the vertical three-dots Menu button at the upper-right corner of the screen.
Then, tap on Settings from the drop-down menu.
In the Browser section, tap Clear Browser Data.
Select Cookies and Site Data from the list. You should note it will sign you out of most sites.
Then, tap the Clear button at the upper-right corner of the screen.
You should see a Data Cleared message that shows up on the screen.
Final Thoughts on Clearing Cookies on iPhone
Clearing cookies periodically on your iPhone can protect your online privacy and make it run faster. Please use the form below for any comments or questions.
Let us know if this helped you clear cookies on your iPhone. If you have any feedback or questions, then please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.
FAQs on Clearing Cookies on iPhone
Although not essential, periodically clearing the cookies on your iPhone can free up storage space and resolve certain browsing problems.
When you delete your iPhone cookies, it removes all the data from the built-in browser.
Clearing cookies can enhance your overall Internet speed, but it may result in slower access to frequently visited websites.
Thanks so much for the help
You’re welcome, Sue.
Hi Herby.. How to do it on Samsung Android? tks
Hi Richard, happy to have you in the comments. You’ll have to play in your browser settings to clear the cache and cookies. A guide with step-by-step instructions should be live soon. So stay tuned.
This is great. Thanks. Just curious….do you get any “HERBIE” spellings? I’ve been married to a Herby for 40 yrs. and everyone spells it wrong! I only like it spelled HERBY! Merry 🎄 Christmas.
Hi Margaret, I get those spellings all the times, and I’m done correcting people. 40 years? Congrats. What’s the secret? Merry Christmas to you too, Margaret. Stay safe out there.
I have a Samsung android and iPhone They are both very full of mail and everything else. I am pretty computer illiterate!!
Any particular advice for me??
Hi Marcia, good to have you in the comments. In your case, I’d suggest you backup your phones so you can free up some space. For step-by-step instructions, please see these articles: Back up Android, back up iPhone. Let me know if you have any more concerns.
I don’t see how to back up your phone, I’d love to know.
Hey Georgina, this guide will show you how to back up iPhone (step-by-step). Let me know if you need further help. Take care.
Thank you very much for the help…great job of presenting it too!
Hey Janet, Happy to have you in the comment section. You’re very welcome and I’m glad you found it helpful.
Thanks so much for the information! Very helpful!
Hi Suzanne, you’re very welcome. Thanks for dropping by.
Thanks for your help!
You’re welcome, Lori. Glad you found it useful.
Will this clear your saved passwords?
Hey Teresa, yes clearing cookies will delete your saved passwords in the browser. But if you save your password in iCloud Keychain or another password manager, it shouldn’t be a problem as you can use it to autofill your passwords when needed.
Can u clear iPad in this way, too?
Hey Terri, the steps should be the same even though iPads run a different OS compared to iPhones. Let me know if you need further help.
Thanks for your help. Not many care to anymore. I really appreciate it. All the best‼️💯
You’re very welcome, Carri. I’m glad you found this article helpful.
I am so glad I found your article on clearing the cookies. Who knew?
Teresa
You’re very welcome, Teresa. I’m glad you found this article helpful.
I have an iPhone I haven’t been able to back up my phone in a while it says I have no room.
Hi Carol, Sorry to hear that. Follow the steps in this article to free up space on your iPhone. Hope that helps.
Read your article and going to try it. I’m not too good on cell phone but I’ll give it a try
I’ll post later how I did?
Hi Melissa, awesome! Keep me posted on how it goes.
Hey Brotha
Much thanks for the info. Sooo damn helpful! Love it!!
Hi Ben44Shallum, you’re welcome! Glad that you found this article helpful.
I just did it. Thanks for the info. It’s helpful..😊😘🤗
Hey Albert, you’re welcome. Glad you found it helpful!
I just wanted to leave a little note thanking you for the information. I confess I have never cleared my iPhone. The reason being, it never occurred to me (insert rolling eyes). I have always performed this type of maintenance on all computers for who knows how many years. Why it never dawned on me I don’t know. So thank you for bringing it to my attention. It worked like a charm. (Ok. So it wasn’t such a little note after all.)
Hi Peggie, you’re not the only one. Not everybody knows how to clear cookies on their browsers. I’m glad you found this guide helpful. Keep your browsers clean and secure.
Hi Herby! Thanks for the instructions. I’ve been wondering about the things kept within certain apps. Please forgive me for my inability to use the correct terminology, I’ve yet to become anywhere near technologically literate. I’ve noticed, for instance, that photo editing apps store a copy of each image that I’ve edited which surely must take up space on my phone correct? I’ve yet to ever go back and need “their” saved copy, is there a way to delete them, or clear their cache (?) from these apps? Thank you for any and all help.
Hey Kathleen, you’re welcome. What apps are you referring to? In general, photo editing apps save their photos in your Photos library. Open the Photos app, you’ll find all the edited photos there. I hope that helps.
Very helpful but also getting message that my iCloud is getting full. Any fix? Thanks
Hey Don, I’m glad you found it helpful. If your iCloud is full, check out our guide on how to free up iCloud storage.
Herby, thank you for this very helpful info! You mentioned that when clearing cookies, it also clears your browsing history. Does that mean it will clear or delete the tabs in Safari that I have open when I’m clearing the cookies? Thanks!
Hi Sue,
I’m glad you found the information helpful! To answer your question: when you clear cookies on Safari, it will remove the browsing history, but it won’t automatically close or delete the tabs you currently have open. Those tabs will remain, but they may reload and require you to log in again on sites where you were previously logged in due to the cleared cookies. Hope that clarifies things! Let me know if you have any more questions.
Thank you, Herby. You’re very clear with your explanation!