How to Clear Cookies On Your iPhone (and Why You Should)

This is a complete guide on how to clear cookies on iPhone. It covers the most popular mobile browsers, such as Safari, Google Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.

When you delete cookies, you free up space on your iPhone and stop websites from following you around the web. Therefore, you protect your personal information and privacy online.

Let's jump right to it.

What Are Cookies on My iPhone?

Cookies are small encrypted pieces of information that websites store on your iPhone to remember information about you and your visit.

A typical example would be when you visit an online store and add a product to your shopping cart but don't complete the order.

So next time you visit the same website, you'll find your item right where you left it, in the shopping cart. That's the power of cookies.

Should I Clear Cookies on My iPhone?

Besides personalizing your experience and making surfing the web a pleasant adventure, cookies can sometimes become a serious problem. At some point, you may need to delete them from your browser.

Even though they're tiny, they can take up space over time, which may affect your device's performance speed.

Speaking of performance, please read this helpful article for an in-depth guide on how to speed up your iPhone.

Sometimes, cookies get obsolete, which can create vulnerability so hackers can steal your information. You sure don't want any of that.

That's why you need to clear cookies on your iPhone because it can protect your phone from hackers. So enough with the waffling; we've got a lot to cover in this guide. Let’s get started.

How to Clear Cookies in Safari on an iPhone

While cookies may pose a problem in certain circumstances, we don't recommend you block them altogether.

This will lead to bad user experiences. Instead, delete them periodically. Without further ado, let's get started.

Step 1. To clear cookies on your iPhone, open the Settings app, scroll down until you find the Safari app, and tap on it.

Step 2. Under the "Privacy & Security" section of the Safari screen, tap Clear History and Website Data.

A prompt window will show up asking for your confirmation

Step 3. Select the time period for which you want to delete cookies (e.g., last hour, today, today and yesterday, all history). Then, tap Clear History to remove your browsing history, cookies, and other website data from Safari.

This method will delete all cookies stored in Safari and also erase all cache, browsing history, and other data.

Delete Cookies for Specific Sites on Safari

If you only want to delete cookies for certain websites, proceed this way.

Step 1. From the Home screen, open Settings and select Safari.

Step 2. Tap Advanced at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3. On the next screen, select Website Data.

Step 4. You should see a list of all cookies saved on your iPhone for every website you've visited. Tap Remove All Website Data at the end of the screen to delete every single cookie saved on your browser.

Step 5. A prompt will appear on the screen to confirm your decision. Just tap Remove Now. This will prevent websites from tracking what you do on the web.

If you want to delete cookies for a particular website, tap the Edit button on the upper right of the screen, then tap the red minus icon next to the website name.

To delete cookies for a specific website, swipe left on that website's entry.

As mentioned earlier, we don't recommend blocking cookies as some websites require them to function properly.

However, if you still wish to proceed, here's how to block all cookies on an iPhone.

1. Open the Settings app from the Home screen.
2. Scroll down and tap Safari.
3. Tap Advanced.
4. Turn on Block All Cookies by sliding the toggle to the right.
5. Then, tap Block All to confirm your action.

Not everyone is a fan of Safari. If you happen to use other browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Opera to surf the web on your iPhone, here's how to delete cookies stored by them.

How to Clear Cookies in Chrome on Your iPhone

Follow the steps below to clear cookies in Chrome on your iPhone.

1. Launch the Chrome app, then tap the ... menu icon in the lower-right corner.

2. On the next screen, select Settings from the menu tab.

3. Swipe up, then select Privacy. You may not need to swipe if you have an iPhone with a large display.

4. On the next screen, tap Clear Browsing Data to delete all the data Chrome has stored when visiting web sites over time.

5. From the list, choose what you want to delete. To clear only cookies on your iPhone, select "Cookies, Site Data." You can also specify a time range if needed.

6. Choose Clear Browsing Data, then tap Clear Browsing Data again to confirm your decision.

How to Clear Cookies in Firefox on Your iPhone

Follow the instructions below to clear cookies in Firefox on your iPhone.

1. From your home screen, open the Firefox app, then tap the hamburger menu icon in the lower right corner of the screen.

2. Tap Settings right at the bottom.

3. Scroll down and select Data Management.

4. Tap Clear Private Data at the bottom of the page and confirm your decision by tapping OK in the confirmation window.

How to Clear Cookies on Opera on Your iPhone

Now that we've covered Chrome and Firefox let's see how to clear cookies on Opera on your iPhone. The steps are pretty similar.

1. Open the Opera app and tap the vertical three-dots Menu button at the top right corner of the screen.

2. Then, tap on Settings from the drop-down menu.

3. In the Browser section, tap Clear Browser Data.

4. Select Cookies and Site Data from the list. Note that this will sign you out of most sites.

5. Then, tap the Clear button at the top right corner of the screen.

After following the steps, a "Data Cleared" message will appear, confirming that all cookies stored by Opera have been deleted and reset.

Final Thoughts on Clearing Cookies on iPhone

Clearing cookies periodically on your iPhone can protect your online privacy and make your device run faster by freeing up storage space and removing website data that may contain personal information.

Let us know if this helped you clear cookies on your iPhone. If you have any feedback or questions, please don't hesitate to comment below.

FAQs on Clearing Cookies on iPhone

Should I clear cookies on my iPhone?

Although not essential, periodically clearing the cookies on your iPhone can free up storage space and resolve certain browsing problems.

What happens when I delete iPhone cookies?

When you delete your iPhone cookies, it removes all the data from the built-in browser.

Is there a downside to deleting cookies?

Clearing cookies can enhance your internet speed, but it may result in slower access to frequently visited websites.