When you act new to you and your body, the brain registers a few markers. These markers will ease you or help you the next time you do the same thing.
Let me give you an example. Suppose you are learning how to walk on a tightrope. The first time you walk, with no experience, it is evident that you’ll fail. Still, your brain will remember your weakness and focuses all your energy on bettering your weaknesses so that the next time you try, you are better at it than the first time, and this is how learning works.
Similarly, when you search anything new on your web browser, it sets or stores certain bookmarks of sorts so that, the next time you search the same keywords or something related to it, the search engine will give you results faster and closer to what you would like to know using those markers.
In tech terms, these are called cookies, cache, or history. However, there are differentiating factors among these three, but the origin or purpose of them being part of your web browser’s setup is the same.
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Why the Need to Clear your Web Browser’s Cache, Cookies, or History?
The brain is a phenomenal organ to exist. You can compare it to an extraordinary machine, not of man-made origin.
The biggest difference between the two, though, is the fact that a man-made invention will always have storage limitations, while the brain has an unlimited capacity. The more things you learn, the more the number of new brain cells form.
So, in the case of your web browser storing data as bookmarks like cookies, cache, or history, it is inevitable that one day, the storage capacity will be too full with no space for any other new markers to be pinned.
Hence, the need to clear your web browser’s cache, cookies, or history. And before you ask that ‘won’t this be unhelpful?’, let me answer you by saying, no, it is not all that bad.
Your IP address, operating system, plug-ins, and other such platforms keep track of all your data input and output. So clearing cache, cookies, and history will not eradicate the entire data. We clear these to lessen the burden on the storage capacity, and that goal is fulfilled.
Besides, reconstructing cache, cookies, and history is pretty easy. So you don’t need to fret much about erasing them.
How to Clear Cache, Cookies, and History On Android
The theory is done and understood—time for some practical implementation of what you learned.
There are a bunch of different options you can choose to clear cookies on android in various formats. And here are the most chosen ones that I’m sure will help you.
So, given below are steps on how to clear cache, cookies, and history on android chrome phone or tablet–
Step1: Open your phone, tablet, or any other Android OS device. It could also be your Laptop or PC.
Step 2: Click on the Google Chrome icon to open the web browser. A new tab automatically opens in a new window.
If your Google Chrome is already open with different tabs, open a new tab by simply pressing on the ‘+’ sign beside your tab. (for PC or Laptop)
If your Google Chrome is already open with different tabs, click on the three dots in the upper right corner of your screen, and a dropbox will open, showing a new tab among its top options. (for Phone or Tablet)
Note: You can also use the same method for PC or Laptop, but it is less common.
Step 3: Click on the three dots in the upper right corner of your screen, just below the cross mark, for the closing window. A drop box will open, displaying ‘History’ among its options; most probably the fourth.
Step 4: Move your cursor on the ‘History’ option, and a sub-drop box appears on the left side of the original dropbox. Click on it.
You’re entire history to date (i.e., if you hadn’t cleared it even once before since you started using your PC/Laptop) appears in a list form with checkboxes on their left margins.
You can either go for individual deletion by checking only the tick boxes of web pages you wish to delete, or multiple deletions are also possible. But, the only history can be deleted individually and not cache and cookies.
Step 5:
INDIVIDUAL
If you are selecting individual options, then once you have ticked the boxes your choice, a tab appears on the top margin displaying the number of selected boxes, a cross mark on the left of it to cancel individual history deletion, and to boxes on the right showing ‘cancel’ and ‘delete’ as two options.
MULTIPLE
If you want to delete the entire browsing history, along with cache, cookies, and other options, then click on ‘Clear browsing data on the left side of the screen. A new tab in the settings option will open.
A tip: When you click on the three dots for the history option to appear, there, instead of clicking ‘history,’ you can directly select ‘settings’ as your option, and when the page appears, you can scroll down, look for the heading ‘privacy and security,’ click on the ‘clear browsing data option and continue with the following steps.
Step 6:
INDIVIDUAL
Click on delete, and a dialogue box appears at the center of the screen asking for a reconfirmation to delete the select web page(s). Click on remove to go ahead with the confirmation.
MULTIPLE
Clicking on ‘clear browsing data’ will open you a dialogue box with numerous options. A bi-division of ‘basic’ and ‘advanced’ appears.
Basic –
Under ‘basic,’ you have ‘time range,’ which gives you the liberty of selecting the time frame you wish to delete. Below are three options: browsing history, cookies, and other site data, and Cached images and files, and besides these three are checkboxes.
Advanced –
Under ‘advanced,’ you have the same ‘time range’ options as basic, but below it, instead of three, there are eight options: browsing history, download history, cookies, and other site data, cached images and files, passwords, and other signed-in data, autofill form data, site settings, and hosted app data, and besides these are eight checkboxes respectively.
Also Read: Best Free Android Apps in 2021
Step 7:
MULTIPLE
Basic –
Tick the boxes of all three for all three deletions. You can also uncheck any of the boxes not to delete them. Once sure, click on ‘clear data’ and a dialogue box will appear declaring that the action has been performed. Click on ‘ok, got it’ to exit the dialogue box.
Advanced –
Tick the boxes of all eight for all eight deletions. You can also uncheck any of the boxes not to delete them. Once sure, click on ‘clear data .’ A dialogue box will appear declaring that the action has been performed. Click on ‘ok, got it’ to exit the dialogue box.
Permanent Solutions For Clearing Cookies on Android
Site Settings
Remember the tip in Step 5? Yes, the direct settings option. Under ‘privacy and security,’ there are two options you can look into to make permanent changes to your browser.
They are –
- Cookies and other site data through which you can customize your cookie storage for certain sites, allow or block them as you wish.
- Site settings, which, when scrolled down, will loop you to the first option of cookies and other site data.
Incognito Mode
This is a special window mode, where history and cookies are blocked, ensuring no more need for clearing cookies and history time and time again. Simply open the window, and you can browse any website you want without worrying about site data storage.
However, incognito mode is not a complete cutoff. The website owners/handlers can keep a record of you visiting their page, and your IP Address also records your site activity.
Shortcuts
Open a new tab – Ctrl+t
Open history – Ctrl+h
Note:
These steps are for Android only and are not the same for other operating systems like iOS. However, Android on different devices will still follow the same procedure.
