What is a Browser Cache and how do I clear It?
Just what is a browser cache. In order to speed up web browsing, web browsers are designed to download web pages and store them locally on your computer’s hard drive in an area called the browser cache. The browser cache (also know as Internet cache) contains records of recent activity while browsing or downloading from the Internet. By using a cache, your browser only has to load from the cache and not retrieve every single item from the internet.
You sometimes want to over ride the browser cache. For example if you are a web developer, to verify the changes you have made get loaded, you must force the browser to download the entire page from the internet and not use the cache. Sometimes you just want to make sure you are getting the latest version of the page you are viewing available.
Clearing Cache Memory
If you want to force your browse to download a fresh copy of a page you can use these simple keystrokes:
Windows: ctrl + F5
Mac/Apple: Apple + R or command + R
Linux: F5
Internet Privacy
Remember that storing sensitive or personal information in the “browser cache” can be a threat to your privacy. Your browsing and downloading history can be viewed by anyone who has access to your computer by simply examining the cache. To totally clear the cache follow these simple steps:
Android
- Start your browser
- Tap Menu, and then tap More
- Select Settings
- Under “Privacy settings”, select Clear cache, Clear history, or Clear all cookie data as appropriate, and then tap OK to accept (or Cancel to cancel) the deletion.
Chrome
- In the browser bar, enter: chrome://settings/clearBrowserData
- Select the items you want to clear (e.g., Clear browsing history, Clear download history, Empty the cache, Delete cookies and other site and plug-in data)
- From the drop-down menu, you can choose the period of time for which you want to clear cached information
- To clear your entire cache, select the beginning of time
- Click Clear browsing data.
Firefox
- From the Tools or History menu, select Clear Recent History.If the menu bar is hidden, press Alt to make it visible
- From the Time range to clear: drop-down menu, select the desired range; to clear your entire cache, select Everything
- Click the down arrow next to “Details” to choose which elements of the history to clear. Click Clear Now
Internet Explorer 8 and later
- From the Tools or Safety menu, select Delete browsing history….If the menu bar is hidden, press Alt to make it visible
- Deselect Preserve Favorites website data, and select
- Temporary Internet files or Temporary Internet files and website files
- Cookies or Cookies and website data
- History
- Click Delete.
Mobile Safari for iOS (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad)
- To clear cache and cookies
- From the home screen, tap Settings, and then tap Safari
- At the bottom of Safari’s settings screen, tap Clear cookies and data, or Clear Cookies and Clear Cache. Confirm when prompted
- To clear history
- From the home screen, tap Safari
- At the bottom of the screen, tap the Bookmarks icon
- In the lower left, tap Clear
- Tap Clear History
Opera
- From the Opera menu, select Settings, and then Delete Private Data
- In the dialog box that opens, select the items you want to clear, and then click Delete
Safari
- From the Safari menu, select Reset Safari
- From the menu, select the items you want to reset, and then click Reset
- As of Safari 5.1, Remove all website data covers both cookies and cache