Before You Begin
- Close all other tabs & windows. There should be only one instance of your browser running and it should have just one open tab with these instructions.
- You may want to print these instructions before you begin. Why? Because they may not always be visible while you are performing this operation.
- These instructions are written for the latest version of your browser. If you have an earlier version there is a good chance they are still accurate. If not, they should still prove helpful.
How to Clear Cache on Internet Explorer
- Click the tools icon (represented by a gear). It is located near the top right corner of your browser window.
- Click the "Internet Options" menu item
- A tabbed dialog box titled "Internet Options" will appear. The "General" tab should already be selected, if not click it.
- In the center of the dialog box you will see a section titled "Browsing History", click the "Delete" button in this section.
- Check "Temporary Internet Files" only (aka cache). Make sure no other boxes are checked.
- Press the Delete button.
- Upon completion a message will appear indicating you are finished.
- Press "OK" to close the "Internet Options" dialog box.
- Close Internet Explorer to complete this operation.
How to Clear Cache on Windows Chrome
- Click the gear icon (represented by a wrench). It is located near the top right corner of your browser window.
- Click the "Options" menu item.
- Under the left pane called "Options" you will click "Under the Hood".
- Click the "Clear Browsing Data" button from the Privacy section at the top.
- From the "Obliterate the following items from" pull-down select "the beginning of time"
- Check "Empty the cache", making sure no other boxes are checked.
- Press the "Clear Browsing Data" button and wait for the process to finish.
- Close the "Under the Hood" tab.
- Close Chrome to complete this operation.
How to Clear Cache on Mac Chrome
- Click the "Chrome" menu item located at the top left corner of your screen, then choose "Clear Browsing Data"
- From the "Obliterate the following items from" pull-down select "the beginning of time"
- Check "Empty the cache", making sure no other boxes are checked.
- Press the "Clear Browsing Data" button and wait for the process to finish.
- Close the "Under the Hood" tab.
- Close Chrome to complete this operation.
How to Clear Cache on the Default Mobile Android Browser
- Click (or tap) the menu button. Depending on the exact device you own it could be a physical "hardware" button, or a software button.
- With the menu exposed, tap "More" and scroll to "Settings"
- Tap on "Settings". Scroll to and tap on "Clear Cache".
- A confirm dialog will appear, tap "OK" to confirm.
- Now back your way out of settings to complete this operation.
How to Clear Cache on Windows Firefox. Depending on how you have (or haven't) customized Firefox it is done in two different ways. You need to choose scenario A or B based on what you see.
Method A: Use this method if you see a Firefox menu item in the top left corner of your browser window but you do not see traditional menu items laid out along the top (File, Edit, View, etc. etc.)
- Click the Firefox menu item. It should be in the top left corner of your browser window. Click "Options" and then "Options" again.
- At this point the tabbed "Options" dialog box should appear. Click the "Privacy" tab (if it is not already showing).
- Click the "clear your recent history" link provided.
- At this point a "Clear All History" dialog box should appear.
- From the "Time range to clear" pull-down select "Everything"
- In the lower "Details" section (click it if hidden) you will want to check "Cache" only, making sure no other boxes are checked.
- Click the "Clear Now" button and "OK" your way out of the "Options" dialog box.
- Close Firefox to complete this operation.
Method B: Use this method if you don't see a Firefox menu item (top left corner) but instead are seeing traditional menu items laid out along the top of your browser window (File, Edit, View, etc. etc.)
- Click the "Tools" menu item and select "Clear Recent History" from it.
- At this point a "Clear All History" dialog box should appear.
- From the "Time range to clear" pull-down select "Everything"
- In the lower "Details" section (click it if hidden) you will want to check "Cache" only, making sure no other boxes are checked.
- Now click the "Clear Now" button to delete cached files.
- Close Firefox to complete this operation.
How to Clear Cache on Mac Firefox
- Click the "Tools" menu item and select "Clear Recent History" from it.
- At this point a "Clear All History" dialog box should appear.
- From the "Time range to clear" pull-down select "Everything"
- In the lower "Details" section (click it if hidden) you will want to check "Cache" only, making sure no other boxes are checked.
- Now click the "Clear Now" button to delete cached files.
- Close Firefox to complete this operation.
How to Clear Cache on Windows Safari
- Click the "Edit" menu item located near the top left corner of your browser window, then choose "Empty Cache"
- A confirm dialog box appears asking "Are you sure you want to empty the cache". Click the "Empty" button.
- Close Safari to complete this operation.
How to Clear Cache on Mac Safari
- Click the "Safari" menu item located at the top left corner of your screen, then choose "Empty Cache"
- A confirm dialog box appears asking "Are you sure you want to empty the cache". Click the "Empty" button.
- Close Safari to complete this operation.
How to Clear Cache on iOS Mobile Safari (iPad, iPhone or iPod)
- Click the "Home" button to expose the home screen.
- Tap on "Settings" ⇒ "Safari"
- With iOS 5 you will tap "Clear Cookies and Data". This will not only clear you cache (good), it clears cookies too (not so good). With that in mind, be prepared to re-enter saved log-in credentials (user-names/passwords) on web sites you visit frequently.TIP: If you have iOS 4 you will tap on clear-cache (recommended). You do not have to simultaneously delete cookies.
Sorry, we cannot detect what browser you are using, hence some very general instructions...
- Clearing cache is typically found under
"Edit ⇒ Preferences" ,"Tools ⇒ Options" - Basically you will want to look for and click a function titled "Clear Cache", "Empty Cache", "Clear Private Data", "Clear Browsing Data" or something to that effect.
Learn more about caching, what it is and how it works...
- All browsers seamlessly store all recent pages & images from web sites that you have visited on your hard drive. This process is called “caching” and it greatly speeds up your web browsing. That’s because on subsequent visits to the same page, your browser retrieves the web page from your hard drive. As you can imagine, this is much faster than downloading it again from the remote web server that may be thousands of miles away.
- However, anyone editing web content has long considered caching to be public enemy number one! Why? Because after making edits, and on subsequent return visits to the page you just edited, your browser will likely display past cached versions of pages and images, and you are naturally expecting to see the most recent version which you just edited & published.
- One would think, a simple click on the little "Reload" (aka Refresh) icon in your browser would force it to bypass cache and download the site fresh from the server, at least that is what we expect, right? Well, it turns out your luck with this will vary from browser to browser. Safari & Chrome are so stubborn that often nothing less than clearing cache per these instructions will suffice.
- Caching is a double-edged-sword if there ever was one. The downside is that your browser will likely show you old versions of web sites, when you are naturally expecting to see the most recent version. On the upside it sure makes browsers feel snappy and responsive when re-visiting a site that was previously cached. And in this case, if the site hasn't been modified recently, then there is no downside!
