Internet cookies are not delicious treats that you can order from the world wide web: they’re text files with small pieces of data that identify your device and you as a user. Their main purpose is to help improve your web browsing experience by tracking and saving information from your web browsing sessions. But as they build up, they can impact your privacy and security. To enjoy a cleaner and more secure browsing experience, it’s worth deleting cookies on your iPhone from time to time. Luckily, it’s very simple to do.
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How to delete cookies on an iPhone
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and select Safari.
- Scroll down again and select Clear History and Website Data.
- A pop-up will ask if you want to clear the information from the Last hour, Today, Today and yesterday, or All History. Select the option you want.
- You can also select for All Profiles, Personal, or Work Profile if you have multiple profiles on the device.
- Turn on Close All Tabs if you want to do this as well. (Most of us have multiple Safari tabs open and don’t even realize it. You can close these manually by swiping up on each one, use a handy trick to close them all at once right from Safari, or use this option in Settings to do it in one fell swoop at the same time you are deleting cookies.)
- Select Clear History at the bottom of the page once you’re done.
How to clear cookies and cache and retain history
If you want to clear any cookies that are tracking your web habits as well as the cache (temporary storage of files to allow for a faster browsing experience on the same sites) but still retain your web browsing history, here’s how you can do it.
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and select Safari.
- Scroll all the way to the bottom of page and select Advanced.
- Select Website Data.
- This will be gray if there’s nothing to remove, or if you have other web content restrictions. If not, select Remove all Website Data. As Apple describes it, this will clear all the site data which could be used for tracking.
How to block cookies
If you want to block cookies altogether, you can set your iPhone to do just this. This would prevent a website from remembering you when you visit it a second or subsequent time. But it can also impact your browsing experience, so you can easily adjust your preference if you change your mind.
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and select Safari.
- Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and select Advanced.
- Turn on the option for Block All Cookies by tapping the slider on the right (to turn it green).
- A pop-up will ask if you are sure you want to block all cookies, warning that some websites may not work if you do so, and that it will remove existing cookies and website data. This will also force quit Safari and re-load your tabs. Select Block All if you want to proceed.
What are cookies, cache, and history?
Not sure what the terms cookies, cache, and history mean? Here’s a quick summary:
Cookies are designed to offer a more personalized user experience across the web by retaining small bits of information that track your online activities as you browse. On the one hand, this data collected in your browser can lead to a customized experience, displaying ads and content that are relevant to you. On the other hand, there are privacy and security implications. This is especially the case when websites share information about you collected through its cookies with third-party entities. Since fully disabling cookies can impact your browsing experience, simply deleting them and clearing your browser cache regularly is a happy medium.
A Cache is a copy of a stored file that is retained to help websites load more quickly and reduce latency when you’re surfing the web. The first time you load a webpage, it requires the download of plenty of data before it can be displayed. Browser caches help shorten load times by effectively remembering much of this data so the next time you visit the page, it will load more quickly. When you clear the cache, webpages you have previously visited won’t load as quickly. But it might also help your computer run more efficiently since it isn’t storing so much data locally. You may also want to clear the cache to rectify an issue with a website that isn’t loading properly. This action can come in handy to force a recent update and prevent your browser from remembering the “old” version of the website.
Browser History is just as it sounds, a log of all the websites and web pages you have visited over a period of time. Safari and other mobile browsers retain this information, typically for a period of a month or so unless you manually delete it. Deleting your browser history protects your personal web surfing habits from prying eyes, including your search history as well as cookies and cache. Clearing the browser history can help your iPhone run more efficiently while also protecting your browsing experience. It removes cookies and cached information along with search data and recent websites you have visited, so keep that in mind. If you want to keep your browser history (a log of the websites you have visited) but remove the cookies and cache (what you did on those websites and information tracked about you from them), follow the steps above to retain the history.
Delete cookies for an improved experience
Even with the latest iPhones, deleting cookies can improve your experience, and keep your browsing safer and more secure. It’s a good idea to delete these every few weeks or months, even more frequently if desired.
Don’t worry about things like AutoFill information for logging into accounts, services, and favorite websites, or things like bookmarks. Deleting cookies won’t wipe this information. It will just remove your recent prior session information after visiting these web pages and websites.
Web pages might take a little longer to load and you might find that ads aren’t as (creepily) targeted to you based on your recent searches. But in the long run, you’ll appreciate being able to enjoy a cleaner browsing experience, without having to block cookies altogether.