How to Delete Tracking Cookies

Co-authored by Luigi Oppido and Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: September 27, 2024 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to delete cookies on both computer and mobile browsers. You can perform these steps on Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Internet Explorer.

Quick Steps

On Google Chrome, click ⋮ in the top-right corner and select Settings.
Click Advanced and select Clear browsing data.
Check the box for Cookies and other site data.
Set the time range as All time.
Click Clear data.

Method 1

Method 1 of 8:

Chrome (Desktop)

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It's a red, yellow, green, and blue circular icon.
You'll see this icon in the top-right corner of the Chrome browser.

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It's near the bottom of the drop-down menu.
This link is at the bottom of the page.
It's the last option under the "Privacy & security" heading.
You can uncheck every other box on this page if you like, but the "Cookies and other site and plugin data" box must be checked.
In the box near the top of the window, you'll see a box with a time span (e.g., "the past hour") listed. If this box doesn't display the "the beginning of time" option, click the box and then select it.
It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. Doing so will remove all of your browser's cookies.

Method 2

Method 2 of 8:

Safari (Desktop)

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It's a blue, compass-shaped app on your Mac's Dock.
This menu is in the far-left corner of your Mac's menu bar.
It's near the top of the drop-down menu. Doing so invokes a pop-up menu.
To do so, click the box next to "Clear:" in the middle of the pop-up window, then click a time (e.g., all history).
Doing so will remove all cookies, search history, and website data from Safari.

Method 3

Method 3 of 8:

Microsoft Edge (Desktop)

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It's a white "e" on a blue background.
This icon is in the top-right corner of the Edge window.
It's at the bottom of the pop-out menu.
This option is below the "Clear browsing data" heading about halfway down the Settings menu.
This is the option that will clear your Edge browser's cookies; you can uncheck every other box on this menu if you like.
It's below the different types of data. Doing so will clear your browser's cookies.

Method 4

Method 4 of 8:

Internet Explorer (Desktop)

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It's a light-blue "e" icon.
This icon is in the top-right corner of the Internet Explorer window. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.
You'll find it toward the bottom of the drop-down menu.
It's below the "Browsing history" heading near the middle of the Internet Options window.
You can uncheck every other box on this page, but the "Cookies and website data" box must be checked in order to delete your cookies.
This button is at the bottom of the window. Doing so will delete your Internet Explorer cookies.
Your browser's cookies have been cleared.

Method 5

Method 5 of 8:

Firefox (Desktop)

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Firefox resembles a blue globe with an orange fox wrapped about it.
It's in the top-right corner of the Firefox browser window.
3
Click Options. This button has a gear icon above it.
- On Mac, click Preferences.
It's on the left side of the page (PC) or at the top of the window (Mac).
5
Click remove individual cookies. This link is below the "History" heading in the middle of the page.
- If you're using custom settings for your Firefox history, you won't have the remove individual cookies option; instead, click the Show Cookies button on the right side of the page.
It's at the bottom of the Cookies window. Doing so will automatically delete your Firefox cookies.

Method 6

Method 6 of 8:

Chrome (Mobile)

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This app is white with the Google Chrome icon on it.
It's in the top-right corner of the screen.
This option is at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
It's in the "Advanced" section of options near the bottom of the page.
It's the last option on this page.
You can uncheck every other item on the Clear Browsing Data page if you like, but this option must be checked in order to clear your browser's cookies.
This option is below the browsing area. On Android, tapping this option will immediately clear your browser's cookies.
If you're using an iPhone, this last step will confirm your decision and delete your Chrome browser's mobile cookies.

Method 7

Method 7 of 8:

Safari (Mobile)

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1
Open your iPhone's Settings
. It's a grey app with gears that you'll likely find on the Home Screen.
- This process will also work on an iPad or an iPod touch.
It's roughly a third of the way down the Settings page.
This option is near the bottom of the page.
4
Tap Clear History and Data when prompted. It's at the bottom of the screen. Doing so will clear your Safari cookies and other web data.
- This option removes your on-device search history as well. If you just want to delete cookies, instead tap Advanced at the bottom of the page, tap Website Data, tap Remove All Website Data, and tap Remove Now.

Method 8

Method 8 of 8:

Firefox (Mobile)

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It's the blue globe with an orange fox icon.
This option is in either the bottom-center of the screen (iPhone) or the top-right corner of the screen (Android).
It's on the right side of the pop-up menu.
This option is in the "Privacy" group of settings.
5
Make sure the switch next to "Cookies" is on (iPhone) or the box next to "cookies and active logins" is checked (Android). If it isn't, tap the switch or tap the box to include cookies when the private data is deleted.
- You can disable every other type of data on this page if you only want to clear cookies.
It's at the bottom of the screen. On Android, tapping this option will immediately clear your on-device cookies and other website data.
If you're using an iPhone, this last step will remove all of your cookies from Firefox.

Community Q&A

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Question

Why does it take so long to delete cookies?

Michael Bogaerts

Community Answer

It depends on your computer speed and the amount of files/cookies on your computer.

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Question

What about Edge browser (mobile)?

Community Answer

You must go to the three dots drop-down menu, then Settings-> Clear Browser History. Select the history, cookies and site data.

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Question

How do I delete just tracking cookies? The article says how to delete all cookies.

Layard

Community Answer

The best approach is to block the cookies in the first place. There are many add-ons available that block tracking cookies. Useful add-ons include privacy badger, cookie autodelete and ublock origin.

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Tips

While you can't install a tracker blocker on mobile browsers, you can download a mobile browser with one pre-installed. A couple of examples of this include Firefox Focus and any TOR-enabled mobile browser.

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