Clear Cache, Cookies and History in Firefox

Updated at: May 23, 2024

The controls to clear your Cookies, Browsing history, cache and other data in Firefox are all stored in the same screen. To get to these controls and choose what you want to clear, follow these instructions.

1. Click the Firefox menu button

   Click the button that looks like three horizontal lines in the top right corner of the Firefox window.

   

2. Click the "History" menu item

   Click the History item in the Firefox menu that just appeared.

   

3. Click "Clear Recent History..."

   A sub-menu will have appeared with some Menu options at the top, and a listing of your recent browser history underneath.

   Click the Clear Recent History... Menu option to choose what to clear from Firefox.

   

4. Choose what to clear

   Decide on the types of browsing data you want to clear from Firefox and make sure there is a tick next to them. Untick any types of browsing data that you don't want to clear from Firefox. Also choose the time range to clear the data from.

   

   Time range to clear

   It's possible to clear your entire history, but it's also possible to be more selective and only clear more recent history items - for example you can clear only what you've done in the last hour. Click the option to choose the time range you want to clear.

   History

   • Browsing & Download history - The list of website addresses you have visited and the list of files you've downloaded from them
   • Cookies - Websites can store little bits of information on your computer to help remember who you are
   • Active Logins - If you've logged into a website it may be remembering that you're logged in... clearing this will cause you to need to log in again
   • Cache - Your computer may store temporary copies of some file types (images etc) so that when you re-visit a website it loads much faster
   • Form & Search History - Firefox remembers what you've previous typed into forms and search fields

   Data

   • Site Preferences - You may have configured custom settings for certain websites (eg You may have allowed a particular website to use your Web Cam). Clearing these preferences will cause Firefox to forget the individual customisations to your permissions you've made
   • Offline Website Data - Some websites allow themseles to be cached and used offline (when you don't have an internet connection). Clearing this data will mean those websites won't work until you visit them again.

   Decide what you want to clear by ticking or unticking each data type.

5. Click "Clear Now" to clear the data

   Click the Clear Now button once you have decided what to clear, and Firefox will delete it.

   

You have now cleared your selected browsing data from your computer. You can simply close this tab and continue to use Firefox.