In this guide, we’ll show you how to clear cookies on Android from inside Chrome, Firefox, Samsung Internet Browser, and Microsoft’s Edge
Cookies are small files, text-based ones, that are installed on your computer and phone when you visit websites. Cookies contain information about you, your browsing habits, and your location and are used for advertising purposes predominantly.
All browsers, from Google Chrome to Apple’s Safari store cookies. It’s just the way the web works.
It also doesn’t matter whether you visit a website on your phone or on your computer, cookies will be stored and work in the same fashion. Cookies are fairly benign things but you should clear your Android phone’s cookies fairly regularly if you want optimal performance from your phone’s web browser.
Why You Should Delete Cookies on Your Browser
There are a number of reasons you should clear cookies on Android, as well as on iPhone and your PC and laptop’s browser. The main reasons to clear your Android phone’s cookies (and any other web-connected device you use) are as follows:
- If You Use A Public Computer – If you happen to use a public computer, either in a hotel or an airport, or somewhere similar, you should delete all cookies and browsing data as soon as you’re finished. Failure to do so could result in the next person having access to your cookies and personal data, and they could use this to access your personal accounts and online banking. You don’t want that to happen, so ALWAYS delete your cookies and browsing data.
- Cookies Slow Down Your Browser – As you visit more and more sites, your browser gets more and more cookies saved to it. Over time, these cookie files can start to slow down your browser. Regularly deleting cookies, say, once a month will ensure that your browser is always in tip-top condition.
- Cookies Can Pose A Security Threat – This isn’t a common occurrence, but hackers have been known to use cookies as a means of hijacking a person’s phone and/or computer. This isn’t likely to happen to you, but it has happened to people before, so to be safe make sure you delete cookies from your phone regularly.
- Cookies Store Your Personal Information – Overtime, website cookies build up a profile about you. This profile details what sites you visit, things you like to buy, what time you’re online. If you don’t want this kind of information to be readily available to potential advertisers, you should regularly clear the cookies from your Android web browser.
How To Clear Cookies in Chrome
- Go to Settings
- Locate Advanced section
- Tap Privacy
- Select Cookies and Site Data
- Select Clear to delete all cookies
How To Clear Cookies Firefox
- Tap The Three Dot Menu (Top Right Corner)
- Select Settings
- Tap Clear Private Data
- Next, Select Cookies & Active Logins
- Tap Clear Data to delete all cookies from Firefox
How To Clear Cookies Samsung Internet Browser
- Tap the hamburger menu in the top right corner
- Select Settings
- Tap Privacy and Security
- Tap Delete Browsing Data
- Select Cookies and Site Data
- Select Delete and it will remove all cookies from your Samsung Internet Browser
How To Clear Cookies Microsoft Edge Browser
- Tap the three-dot menu (top right-hand corner)
- Go to Settings
- Scroll down to Advanced, then tap Privacy
- Next, tap Clear Browsing Data
- Select the checkbox next to Cookies and Site Data
- Hit Clear and your cookies will be deleted from Microsoft’s Edge browser
Do VPNs Block Cookies?
A VPN will make your web connection completely anonymous, effectively placing a shield around all your activities while you’re online. This is why VPNs are used by people that download content via P2P and torrent sites.
A VPN will not stop cookies from being loaded onto your device. All a VPN does is encrypt your location and IP, so your activity cannot be traced back to your normal, unprotected IP.
So while a VPN will not stop companies from placing cookies on your mobile phone or PC, it will prevent companies from profiling you via cookies. What is profiling via cookies?
Say you go to an online retailer or a blog that is selling something. The site will place a cookie on your browser, one that indicates you might be interested in purchasing a product. The site – as well as other third-parties – can then use that cookie to target you with adverts.
That’s a big of an oversimplification of the process, but you get the drift. Using a VPN stops this from happening, however, so if you hate it when ads follow you around the web, a VPN is definitely worth considering. Me personally, I use ExpressVPN on all my internet-connected devices.
And here is how to clear cookies on iPhone!
