Regular readers of Navigaweb.net know very well how to clear the cache of their web browser, but they don't often do it because they know that the cache is useful for loading websites faster . Less experienced people, on the other hand, may not know anything about what "cache" means, let alone know how to delete temporary files stored after an internet browsing session, or they know it by doing it too often.
The cache, when referred to web browsers, is a temporary memory of the computer where the files of the open websites are saved which, to show things like logos and images, download some data into the computer memory. The aim is to speed up the loading time of the same site when you visit it again. Graphic elements of the sites, such as the logo on the top left, can therefore be loaded from the cache saved on the computer disk and not downloaded from the internet (from the web server) again.
Cookies are also stored in the temporary browser files, small files that can be injected into the computer when visiting a website. We have explained what internet cookies are and explained who creates cookies and how they can be blocked or deleted in other dedicated articles.
Each browser saves the cache in a different location on the computer disk, usually a fairly hidden internal folder. Clearing the cache therefore means clearing the contents of this folder and deleting all the files. It is used to clean the cache of the web browser, therefore, to eliminate the traces of the visited sites and also when you want to recover disk space in case it is very limited, to recover memory on your smartphone . Clearing the cache is one of those operations that allows you to solve any problems in viewing a website, in order to re-download the data from scratch without using the cached data that may be wrong or old.
Summarizing the meaning of cache, cookies and history we see that:
- Clearing the browser cache is used to delete stored files of the sites visited and often allows to resolve any loading errors.
- Eliminating cookies instead allows you to remove traces of internet use, saved logins and passwords and the data of each session from the computer.
- Clearing the history is instead a matter of privacy, to prevent others from seeing which sites have been visited by that computer.
We have already seen when and why to clear history on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge and IE, which can be useful for privacy problems.
To empty the cache of web browsers on PC and Smartphone we see the procedure for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge, Internet Explorer and Safari instead.
In the window that appears, you can choose between basic view and advanced view; in any case, make sure that the " Images and cached files " item is selected before pressing the Clear browsing data button. You can also choose the time interval from the drop-down menu at the top of the window.
Similarly to other browsers, if you are logged in with Google account in Chrome, for example on PC and smartphone, you can also clean the history from multiple devices.
The Windows folder where temporary Chrome cache files are saved is:
C: \ Users \ username \ AppData \ Local \ Google \ Chrome \ User Data \ Default \ Cache
You can also see a list of files saved from Chrome's cache via the free Chrome Cache View program .
Instead, selecting cached Web content will clean the Firefox cache and delete the temporary Internet files that help the faster loading of the pages.
The Windows folder where the Firefox file cache is located is: C: \ Users \ user-name-that-changes-for-each-pc \ AppData \ Local \ Mozilla \ Firefox \ Profiles \ code-that-changes \ (to be modified according to the computer).
Under the History section of the Privacy options of Firefox you can press the Clear history button and then put the cross only on cache (or also other elements of the history) and press on Clear now . In this section you can also select the time interval to clear the cache saved only at the last hour or the last day.
To open the Firefox Cache you can also use the Firefox Cache View program.
From the list, you can select different elements of the browser history, among which there is the one called Data and cached files, which represents the cache to select and empty.
In addition, you can also turn on the option that allows you to automatically delete data every time you close Microsoft Edge.
To delete Cache and cookies, press the Settings button at the top right and then go to Internet Options> General> Delete under browsing history or press Ctrl-Shift-Del together. Alternatively, open the Start menu, click Control Panel> Internet Options> Delete
Always make sure that the item Temporary Internet files is selected and, optionally, also delete the cookies if you want to eliminate traces of navigation with Internet Explorer. To view cookies, you can go to Internet Options and press settings under the browsing history item. Pressing on View file opens the temporary files folder and cookies are the txt files whose names are cookie type :
The folder of Windows 10, Windows 7 and 8.1 where cookies are saved is in:
C: \ Users \ username \ AppData \ Roaming \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Cookies \
The IECacheView program makes it easy to navigate Internet Explorer cache files.
In another article there are programs to see the cache of browsers (images and videos) also all together.
On Windows PC you can empty the cache and you can also delete cookies and temporary files and history by using automatic programs such as Ccleaner .
To delete the Android internet cache files completely, I refer to the guide to delete Cache and Data of the apps on Android that applies to Chrome, Firefox and any other browser used on the phone.
The cache, when referred to web browsers, is a temporary memory of the computer where the files of the open websites are saved which, to show things like logos and images, download some data into the computer memory. The aim is to speed up the loading time of the same site when you visit it again. Graphic elements of the sites, such as the logo on the top left, can therefore be loaded from the cache saved on the computer disk and not downloaded from the internet (from the web server) again.
Cookies are also stored in the temporary browser files, small files that can be injected into the computer when visiting a website. We have explained what internet cookies are and explained who creates cookies and how they can be blocked or deleted in other dedicated articles.
Each browser saves the cache in a different location on the computer disk, usually a fairly hidden internal folder. Clearing the cache therefore means clearing the contents of this folder and deleting all the files. It is used to clean the cache of the web browser, therefore, to eliminate the traces of the visited sites and also when you want to recover disk space in case it is very limited, to recover memory on your smartphone . Clearing the cache is one of those operations that allows you to solve any problems in viewing a website, in order to re-download the data from scratch without using the cached data that may be wrong or old.
Summarizing the meaning of cache, cookies and history we see that:
- Clearing the browser cache is used to delete stored files of the sites visited and often allows to resolve any loading errors.
- Eliminating cookies instead allows you to remove traces of internet use, saved logins and passwords and the data of each session from the computer.
- Clearing the history is instead a matter of privacy, to prevent others from seeing which sites have been visited by that computer.
We have already seen when and why to clear history on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge and IE, which can be useful for privacy problems.
To empty the cache of web browsers on PC and Smartphone we see the procedure for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge, Internet Explorer and Safari instead.
Clean the web cache on PC
Clean up Cache on Google Chrome
To clear the cache in Chrome click on the button at the top right then go to Other Tools, then on " Clear browsing data " or press the Ctrl-Shift-Del keys together. The same screen can be obtained by opening the history and then pressing the Clear browsing data link on the left side.In the window that appears, you can choose between basic view and advanced view; in any case, make sure that the " Images and cached files " item is selected before pressing the Clear browsing data button. You can also choose the time interval from the drop-down menu at the top of the window.
Similarly to other browsers, if you are logged in with Google account in Chrome, for example on PC and smartphone, you can also clean the history from multiple devices.
The Windows folder where temporary Chrome cache files are saved is:
C: \ Users \ username \ AppData \ Local \ Google \ Chrome \ User Data \ Default \ Cache
You can also see a list of files saved from Chrome's cache via the free Chrome Cache View program .
Empty Cache in Mozilla Firefox
Click on the button at the top right, where there are three horizontal lines, press to display the menu and go to Options> Privacy . In the list of options on the right, scroll down until you find the Cookie and website data . Here click on Delete data to see the size of the files occupied by the cache and the data of the websites. By selecting Cookies and Site Data, all permissions of cookies will be removed (those that the sites are obliged to ask when an OK button appears when asked about cookies).Instead, selecting cached Web content will clean the Firefox cache and delete the temporary Internet files that help the faster loading of the pages.
The Windows folder where the Firefox file cache is located is: C: \ Users \ user-name-that-changes-for-each-pc \ AppData \ Local \ Mozilla \ Firefox \ Profiles \ code-that-changes \ (to be modified according to the computer).
Under the History section of the Privacy options of Firefox you can press the Clear history button and then put the cross only on cache (or also other elements of the history) and press on Clear now . In this section you can also select the time interval to clear the cache saved only at the last hour or the last day.
To open the Firefox Cache you can also use the Firefox Cache View program.
Microsoft Edge cache
The Microsoft Edge browser makes it very easy to find the button to clear the cache: press on the three horizontal points in the upper right of the browser, then go to Settings and click the Privacy and security section in the left pane. You can then click the Choose what to delete button.From the list, you can select different elements of the browser history, among which there is the one called Data and cached files, which represents the cache to select and empty.
In addition, you can also turn on the option that allows you to automatically delete data every time you close Microsoft Edge.
Empty Cache in Opera
The procedure for clearing the cache on Opera is the same as for Chrome, press on the Opera menu and go to Settings > Advanced Settings (left side) and from there select Confidentiality and security . Under that menu, you can press the link Delete browsing data . By selecting Cached images and files you can clear the Opera cache on PC.Clear Cache in Safari
In Safari on Mac, the button that eliminates the cache and temporary files must be enabled in the Mac Preferences, under Safari> Preferences> Advanced, where you must activate the Show development menu option. By opening Safari, the Development menu will now appear with the options to empty the cache and to disable the cache (i.e. to make sure that the sites do not save files on the computer).Clear Internet Explorer Cache
:To delete Cache and cookies, press the Settings button at the top right and then go to Internet Options> General> Delete under browsing history or press Ctrl-Shift-Del together. Alternatively, open the Start menu, click Control Panel> Internet Options> Delete
Always make sure that the item Temporary Internet files is selected and, optionally, also delete the cookies if you want to eliminate traces of navigation with Internet Explorer. To view cookies, you can go to Internet Options and press settings under the browsing history item. Pressing on View file opens the temporary files folder and cookies are the txt files whose names are cookie type :
The folder of Windows 10, Windows 7 and 8.1 where cookies are saved is in:
C: \ Users \ username \ AppData \ Roaming \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Cookies \
The IECacheView program makes it easy to navigate Internet Explorer cache files.
In another article there are programs to see the cache of browsers (images and videos) also all together.
On Windows PC you can empty the cache and you can also delete cookies and temporary files and history by using automatic programs such as Ccleaner .
Clear the web cache on smartphones and tablets
Clear cache on Android
When using an Android device, smartphone or tablet Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi or others, you can empty the browser cache by opening it and going to its menu where there is always an option for Settings. If you use Chrome, just go to Privacy to find the key that clears the cache.To delete the Android internet cache files completely, I refer to the guide to delete Cache and Data of the apps on Android that applies to Chrome, Firefox and any other browser used on the phone.
