How To Delete Cookies (Major Browsers)

Cookies are tiny bits of information stored by websites you visit in your PC so when next time you visit that website, they will know who you are and have your data arranged. This helps in many ways, like remembering your shopping cart and login information, etc. that helps keep things automatic. However, cookies can also be used for advertising purposes to provide you better advertisements. If you like, you can delete cookies anytime you want to stop first-party or third-party advertisers from tracking your internet behavior.

All browsers support this feature and it is quite easy to get rid of these cookies. Some browsers also support the automatic removal of cookies upon exit, which will delete all cookies when you close the browser to stop keeping track of you. However, if you will delete cookies, you will also have to relog again to websites that require you to login to use, such as Facebook.

Note: If you want to delete cookies just because you believe that your personal information is being compromised by other websites, then you should know that it is false. Cookies are only used by other websites to know which websites you visited to provide similar advertisement. They have no access to your personal information, only the website that planted that cookie have your personal information (of course, you gave the information to that website yourself, so it should not be a problem).

Let’s see how you can delete cookies in different browsers, you should be able find your preferred browser in the list. If you can’t find the browser which you use, just let us know in the comments below and we will guide you on how to delete cookies in that specific browser.

Chrome

Open Chrome and click on the Menu at the top right corner of the screen (the three horizontal lines). From there, click on History. You can also press Ctrl+H to access History directly.

There click on “Clear browsing data…” and you will have all the options to delete browsing data, including cookies.

Just tick the checkbox next to each option, including Cookies. You can also choose the time period from where you would like to delete data, if you want to delete all data just choose “the beginning of time” from time period drop down menu.

Now, click on “Clear browsing data” and it will be deleted.

Delete cookies Automatically

Click on Menu and then click on Settings.

Scroll down and click on Show advanced settings…

There you will see the option of Content Settings… under the heading of “Privacy”, click on it.

From the new window, select the option “Keep local data only until you quit your browser” under the heading “Cookies” and hit done to save settings.

Like mentioned above, now your data will not be saved so you will visit each website like you are a new visitor, thus, also needing to provide details every time you access a website that requires it.

Firefox

Open Firefox and from the Menu on the Upper right side (it’s the three horizontal lines) click on “options”.

From the options click on “Privacy” tab to see all options related to cookies.

From there, click on “Remove individual cookies”.

From the next window click on “Remove All Cookies” to delete all cookies or select individual cookies and click on “Remove Cookies” to delete each cookie individually.

Delete cookies Automatically

Instead of clicking on “Remove individual cookies” under “Privacy” tab, click on drop down menu under the heading “History”

From the drop down menu, click on “Use custom settings for history” and you will see some new options.

From the new options click on drop down menu next to “Keep Until” and choose “I close Firefox”. Now just click on “OK” and every time you close Firefox all cookies will be deleted.

Opera

Open Opera and click on the Menu at the top left corner of the screen (“Opera” is written on it”) and from there click on Settings.

In Settings, click on “Privacy & security” located at the left side and you will see all privacy options.

Click on “Clear browsing data…” and choose the data which you would like to delete including Cookies. Uncheck all data which you don’t want to delete.

You can also choose a time period from the drop down menu to delete data according to it.

When you are done just click on Clear browsing data and all selected data will be deleted.

Delete Cookies Automatically

From the “Privacy & security” page, select “Keep local data only until I quit my Browser” under the heading “Cookies”. Now all the cookies will be deleted when you will close Opera.

Safari

Open Safari and Click on Menu at the top right corner of the screen (it’s the one with a Gear icon on it. From the Menu click on “Preferences…”.

From the next window, click on “Privacy” tab.

Under “Privacy” tab you will see the option of “Remove All Website Data”, just click on it and confirm the prompt and all the cookies will be deleted.

Internet Explorer

Open Internet Explorer and click on “Tools” at the top right corner of the screen. From there, click on Internet Options at the bottom of the drop down menu.

From the new opened window, click on “Delete” under the heading “Browsing History”, located inside “General” Tab.

From the next Window check all options which you would like to delete including “Cookies” and hit “Delete” to delete all selected data.

Delete Cookies Automatically

In the “Internet Options”, tick the checkbox that says “Delete browsing history on exit” located in “General” tab under the heading “ Browsing History” and click on “Apply”. When this option is checked, all cookies will be deleted automatically when you will close the Internet Explorer.

If you would like to add something or have any questions, let us know in the comments below.

Karar Haider
Categories: Computers, Web
Tags: browser, cookies, Privacy