Updated at: May 20, 2024
It's not doing to solve every problem with a website, but for certain types of problems, clearing your browser's cookies isn't a bad place to start.
You may have cookie/s that are in a quirky/conflicting state with the website. clearing them is a good way to get a "clean slate" and start from scratch.
Clearing the cookies (and clearing your cache) on a computer is a good way to quickly make sure you're logged out of all the websites you just accessed, so that no one else can sit down and keep using your accounts.
If you just used a shared computer in a Library, School, Workplace, or somewhere like that, you might want to clear cookies before walking away from it.
Normal cookies - the ones set by the website you are actually visiting - are usually considered fairly safe. Because, if you are trusting a website enough to use it, you would normally trust that website enough to also let it set some cookies.
However cookies can be come a privacy/identity issue when they are "Third-Party Cookies". Third Party cookies are usually the ones created by Advertising networks and Social Media companies, and they can definitely be used to track you online.
Occasionally clearing your cookies will erase the identifiers that have been left on your computer and make it a bit harder for those companies to track you.
If you are concerned about this, another option is to simply refuse to allow Third-Party cookies to be set on your computer. We have a guide to controlling your Cookie settings that you can follow.
Clearing cookies will log you out of all the websites that you are currently logged into on that computer or phone. You will have to log in again to use those sites.
Some websites may store your personal site preferences or settings in a cookie on your device. If you clear your cookies for that site, you would lose those preferences and have to reconfigure the site again (perhaps re-choosing the timezone, color preferences, layout, etc). This really depends on the site in question though; I think a lot of websites tend to store your settings on their servers instead of just in a cookie, so clearing your cookies wouldn't affect this.
Some websites may store your Shopping Cart or other kind of progress (eg. maybe a Video Game Level or Questionnaire) in a cookie on your computer. If you clear your cookies, that cart or progress would be lost. In my experience, it seems more websites store that information on their servers instead of on your device these days, which removes this problem. But it's worth noting that there may still be some sites that have this limitation.
Because clearing cookies will "wipe out" your current browsing data, it's normally a good idea to wait until you've finished doing what you're doing with your web browser before clearing cookies.
In other words, if you're shopping for something online and haven't completed the purchase, or you're in the middle of writing a Social Media Post and haven't posted it yet, clearing your cookies will definitely interrupt what you're doing.
So if you can, you should finish what you're doing, close all your tabs, and then clear some or all of your cookies. Doing it that way is the safest way to not lose your progress on a website.
follow the guides to clear your browser data!
Clear instructions to clear your cache, cookies, and history. follow the guides.
Before you consider clearing your browser cache, you should know what it is.
Have you heard the phrase "clear your cache" but aren't sure what it means?
Not sure why you've been asked to clear your cache?
Need to completely reload a page but don't want to clear your entire cache?
Can clearing cookies help with problems or privacy? Here's some info.
Are there any risks to clearing your cache?
When I decide to clear my cache or cookies, what actually happens?