How to clear cache and cookies in Chrome on Mac

If you use Google’s Chrome web browser on your Mac, you’ll know that it’s an excellent browser because it’s fast, widely compatible, and integrated with Google’s other web services like Google Docs and Sheets. And, if you log into your Google account while you use it, you can sync bookmarks and history with other devices on which you’re logged in. You’ll also know that Chrome can be very resource hungry and use lots of memory and CPU cycles. It can also stop working properly sometimes. One way to fix those problems is to delete cache and cookie files. We’ll show you how to do that.

What are cookies?

Before we show you how to manage and clear cookies in Chrome, it’s worth explaining what they are and what they do. Cookies are small text files placed on your Mac by websites you visit. They are used to store information about what you do on the website so that when you return another time, the information can be used to give you a more ‘personalized’ experience. For example, cookies store information about your username on a site, the contents of a shopping basket, and any preferences you set while browsing the site.

Cookies can also be used to store information about you in order to show you adverts that reflect your interests. In the past, it was common for these cookies to work across different websites so that, for example, Google could show you adverts on one site based on your activity on another site. Most web browsers, including Chrome, allow you to ‘turn off’ cross-site tracking, though this relies on websites you visit respecting the browser’s request not to track you. Deleting cookies will get rid of that stored information, and so improve your privacy on the web, but it will mean that preferences and the contents of any shopping carts you are using won’t be remembered.

What is cache?

Cache files are also data stored on your Mac by websites. However, in this case, they store assets from web pages, like images. That means that when you next visit the web page, instead of having to download the assets from the web server, Chrome can use the ones stored on your Mac, which makes loading pages much quicker. Cache files can become quite large, and problems with cache files can mean that web pages don’t update properly when you reload them. Clearing the cache will fix these problems but will mean that web pages load more slowly next time you visit.

How to delete cookies on Mac Chrome the easy way

We’ll show the manual method for removing cookies, but first, there’s a much easier way to get rid of cookies in Chrome, as well as Safari and Firefox, and you can also use it to get rid of other browser data like saved autofill values, search history, and browser history. It uses the Privacy module in CleanMyMac X, which is a great tool for managing and improving your privacy when you use your Mac. It can also clear the list of Recent Items in the Finder, get rid of all the saved public Wi-Fi networks your Mac has saved, and manage permissions for apps to access things like your camera and microphone. You can download CleanMyMac X for free here and try it for yourself:

1. Open CleanMyMac X and select Privacy from the sidebar.
2. Click Scan and wait for it to scan your Mac.
3. When it’s finished, click Chrome and then select the box next to Cookies.
4. Hit Remove.

How to clear cookies on Mac Chrome

1. Open Chrome and click on the three dots at the right of the address bar.
2. Choose Settings.
3. Select Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
4. Click Clear browsing data.
5. Select the box next to cookies and other side data.
6. Click Clear data.

How to clear cache on Mac Chrome the easy way

1. In CleanMyMac X, select System Junk and click Scan.
2. When it’s finished, click Review Details.
3. Select User cache files, then Google (you can use the search box to search for Google).
4. Click Clean.

How to clear cache in Chrome on Mac manually

1. In Chrome, click on the three dots next to the address bar and go to Settings.
2. Select Privacy & Security, then Clear browsing data.
3. Select the box next to Cached images and files.
4. Click Clear data.

How to manage cache and cookies preferences in Chrome

You can’t stop Chrome from caching files from websites to improve performance. And, if you did, it would slow down your web browsing significantly, so there would be no reason to do it. All you can do is clear cache files using the steps above if it becomes a problem. You can, however, choose whether to allow cookies and which cookies to allow. In fact, Chrome gives you a great deal of control over cookies.

1. Click on the three dots at the right of the address bar in Chrome.
2. Choose Settings.
3. Select Privacy & Security.
4. Click Cookies and other site data.
5. Go through the options and decide which cookies to block and which to allow.

Chrome is an excellent browser that works very well most of the time. Occasionally, though, it can run into problems and perform very slowly or not load web pages at all. When that happens, clearing cache files can help. In addition to cache files, Chrome stores cookies on your Mac. These are text files that hold information about your activity on a website. You can delete these files if you’re worried about privacy online. Hopefully, after reading this article, you no longer wonder how to clear cache and cookies on Mac Chrome.