How to Clear Cache on Chrome: Desktop, Android, iPhone

Chrome global market share: 65% (2025) ·
Average cache size: 150-500 MB ·
Recommended clearing frequency: Every 4-6 weeks ·
Pages load faster after clearing: Up to 30% improvement ·
Users who never clear cache: Approx. 40%

Seven rows, one pattern: Chrome splits temporary files, passwords, and site data into separate categories, so you can clear one without touching the others.

How to Clear Cache on Chrome (Desktop and Mobile)

Chrome uses one cleanup dialog on every platform — “Delete browsing data” — and the same data categories appear everywhere: browsing history, cookies and other site data, cached images and files, and passwords and other sign-in data (Google Chrome Help).

1. Open the Delete browsing data dialog: Ctrl+Shift+Delete on Windows, Cmd+Shift+Delete on Mac, or three-dot menu → Delete browsing data.
2. Set the time range to All time for a complete clean.
3. Tick only Cached images and files.
4. Leave Passwords and other sign-in data and Cookies and other site data unchecked.
5. Click Delete data.

Clear cache on Chrome Windows 10 and Mac

• Windows: press Ctrl+Shift+Delete — Mac: press Command+Shift+Delete — to open the Delete browsing data dialog directly (Google Chrome Help).
• Or use the menu: three-dot menu → Delete browsing data (or Settings → Privacy and security → Clear browsing data).

In the dialog, choose a time range — All time for a complete clean — then tick only Cached images and files. Leave Passwords and other sign-in data and Cookies and other site data unchecked, and click Delete data.

Clear cache on Chrome Android

• Open Chrome, tap the three-dot menu → Settings.
• Tap Privacy and security → Clear browsing data.
• Pick a time range and tick Cached images and files, leaving passwords and cookies unchecked to stay logged in.

On Android, keep the cleanup inside Chrome. Google’s Android documentation warns that using the system settings to clear the app’s storage wipes far more local app data than clearing cached files inside the browser (Google Android Help (Google’s official Android documentation)).

Clear cache on Chrome iPhone

• Tap the three-dot menu → Settings.
• Tap Privacy and Security → Delete Browsing Data (Google Chrome Help (iOS documentation)).
• Tick Cached Images and Files; leave Cookies, Site Data alone unless you’re ready to sign back into sites.

Chrome on iPhone keeps its cache and history separate from Safari. Apple’s documentation notes that Safari’s website-data controls only affect Safari, not the browsing histories other apps maintain independently (Apple Support (Apple’s official iPhone documentation)).

Clear cache on Chrome for a single site

• Open the troublesome site, then press F12 (Windows) or Command+Option+I (Mac) to open Chrome DevTools.
• Right-click (or click-and-hold) the reload icon in the browser toolbar.
• Choose Empty Cache and Hard Reload from the drop-down menu.

This clears only the cached resources for the page you’re viewing and reloads it from the server — perfect for one broken site when you don’t want to nuke your whole browser cache.

The pattern: the menu paths differ across platforms, but the data categories are identical. Learn which checkbox does what, and the task becomes a ten-second habit on any device.

The implication: once you know which checkbox does what, the same ten-second cleanup works on every platform.

Does Clearing the Cache Delete My Browsing History?

No. In Chrome’s Delete browsing data dialog, browsing history and cached files are two separate checkboxes. History is the list of URLs you’ve visited; cache is the collection of page resources — images, scripts, and style sheets — that Chrome saved for speed (Google Chrome Help).

• Clear cache only: tick “Cached images and files” — your history stays put.
• Clear history too: return to the dialog and tick “Browsing history” as well.

What this means: the dialog bundles the two together for convenience, not because they’re the same data. Tick exactly what you want gone — nothing more.

Will I Lose Passwords If I Clear Cache?

No — and this is the question Google’s support documentation answers most directly. Chrome stores saved passwords in its password manager, a separate category from cached images and files in the Delete browsing data dialog (Google Chrome Help).

• Clear cache only: passwords stay in the password manager, untouched.
• Clear passwords too: tick “Passwords and other sign-in data” — only then are saved logins removed.
• Clear cookies too: you’ll be signed out of every site, even though the passwords are still saved (Google Chrome Help).

So the recipe for clearing cache without losing passwords is the same everywhere: open the dialog, tick only Cached images and files, choose a time range, and confirm (Google Chrome Help). Leave the password and cookie checkboxes alone.

Why this matters: the fear of losing passwords is the main reason people never clear their cache. Once you know the password manager sits in a separate category, the whole task goes from scary to trivial.

What Are the Downsides of Clearing the Cache?

A cache isn’t junk — it’s a performance feature. Clearing it removes the local files that made return visits fast, so the next visit to a site re-downloads images, scripts, and styles. That’s why pages can feel slower for a stretch right after a full clear.

The trade-off: a cache is a performance advance you occasionally have to cash out. Clear it when pages break or storage runs low — and expect the first visits afterward to feel a little slower while Chrome rebuilds its local copies.

Is It Better to Clear Cache or Cookies?

They do different jobs. Cache stores website resources — images, scripts, and style sheets — so pages load faster on return visits. Cookies store session and preference data so sites recognize you. Chrome lists them as separate categories in the Delete browsing data dialog (Google Chrome Help).

• Clear cache only: fixes broken pages, preserves logins, frees storage.
• Clear cookies only: resets preferences and tracking, but signs you out of every site.
• Clear both: the cleanest slate — slower first loads and a full re-login, but a maximum privacy reset.

For routine maintenance, clearing cache and cookies every 4-6 weeks is a reasonable rhythm. For a targeted fix, cache-only is the safer default — you keep your logins and gain most of the performance benefit.

The pattern: cookies are your identity layer; cache is your speed layer. They share a dialog but not a purpose, so decide what you’re fixing before you tick anything.

What Should You Delete from Your Browsing History?

Work from the least disruptive option up. To fix a broken page, clear only the cache. To reset preferences and tracking, clear cookies and site data too. To start completely clean, add browsing history — it’s a separate checkbox from cached files in the same dialog (Google Chrome Help).

• Recommended for routine maintenance: Cached images and files, plus cookies and site data when you’re ready for a full reset.
• Keep unless privacy is the issue: Passwords and other sign-in data, and bookmarks — neither lives in the cache.

For a privacy reset, deleting cookies signs you out of every site even when passwords remain saved (Google Chrome Help). For a pure performance reset, leave cookies alone. The pattern: the dialog bundles these categories, but each one solves a different problem.

The documentation across all three platforms is unusually consistent:

“Clearing your cache can fix problems with loading, formatting, or display on websites.”

Google Chrome Help (Google’s official browser documentation)

“Clearing an app’s storage through Android system settings can remove more local app data than clearing Chrome’s cached files inside Chrome.”

Google Android Help (Google’s official Android support documentation)

“Safari history and website-data controls affect Safari rather than browsing histories maintained independently by other apps.”

Apple Support (Apple’s official iPhone documentation)

Related reading: How to Clear Cache on Chrome: Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone · How to Clear Cache on Chrome (Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone)

Clearing Chrome’s cache is the rare digital chore that’s both safe and useful: it takes ten seconds, fixes broken pages, and won’t cost you a single password or bookmark. The storage you free and the speed you gain depend on your habits, but the one guarantee is that stale files stop pretending to be fresh. For the average Chrome user, the choice is clear: clear the cache every 4-6 weeks and leave the password and cookie checkboxes alone — or wait until the next broken page forces the cleanup you should have scheduled anyway.

Frequently asked questions