Cookies are basically small files that websites store on your phone or computer that help them remember your information from the last visit, in order to save you time and serve you better. For example, an online shopping store might want to store cookies on your device to remember what was left in your shopping cart so that you don’t have to start afresh next time. It also gives the websites a better idea of your activity and the things that you prefer in order for them to suggest those things, making your browsing experience very personalized. However, there are times you’d want to clear those cookies in order to fix a certain problem or when you want to protect your privacy. In this post, I’ll be showing you how to clear cookies on your iPhone easily. Before we get into the crux of it, let’s brush off the basics.
Why do Cookies Need to be Cleared Sometimes?
Sometimes the browser that has the cookies stored can start to behave abnormally, in the sense that a lot of piled-up cookies can slow down your device. Also, if you’re desperately in need of more storage, then clearing cookies can give you a little bit of it, as piled-up cookies can end up occupying a decent amount of your space. Another very important reason why you’d want to clear cookies on your device is the fact that not every website on the internet uses your information in the right way. In fact, you also never know when a certain trusted website is attacked by hackers, resulting in your information getting misused. While I wouldn’t recommend turning off cookies altogether because then your browsing experience will become too inconvenient, I’d say clearing the cookies occasionally is a good practice. Now that we know the reason behind clearing cookies let’s learn how to go about clearing them on your iPhone.
Clear Cookies from Chrome Browser
If you have Google Chrome installed on your iPhone and you use it regularly, there’s a chance it has a lot of cookies stored from months ago. In order to clear it, follow the below steps: Step 1: Open the Google Chrome app and tap on these 3 dots at the bottom right. Step 2: Tap on “History”. Step 3: At the bottom, tap on “Clear Browsing Data”. Step 4: Make sure there’s a check on “Cookies, Site Data”, and you can also set the time range for how far back you want the cookies to be cleared. Tap on “Clear Browsing Data,” and you’re done with the process. Remember, this will sign you out of all the websites that you were signed in to.
Clear cookies from Safari browser
Clearing cookies from the Safari browser is as easy as doing it from Chrome. Here are the steps for it: Step 1: Open Settings and scroll down until you see “Safari”. Tap on it. Step 2: Tap on “Clear History and Website Data”. This will clear cookies as well as history and cache. If you only want to clear cookies, then instead of tapping on Clear History and Website Data, tap on “Advanced”. Tap on Website Data. Tap on Remove All Website Data. And that’s how you clear cookies on the Safari browser.
Disable Cookies on Safari browser
If you want to disable cookies altogether and not allow them to accumulate on the browser, then you can do that by going to Settings > Safari > Block All Cookies. However, this is something that I wouldn’t do (that’s why it’s off for me) because it’ll affect your whole browsing experience and mess up the way some websites work. There also may be websites that wouldn’t allow you to access it before enabling cookies. As annoying as it can get unless it’s for privacy reasons, I wouldn’t recommend blocking cookies.
Conclusion
Speaking from personal experience, clearing cookies occasionally has resulted in more storage when I needed it, better performance of my device, and also being on the safer side by protecting my privacy. Next, check out these privacy-focused browsers for iOS and Android.
