MacBook: Clearing Cache and Cookies

Audience: Staff, Students, Parents/Guardians

Purpose: To help MacBook users clear their cache and cookies which will help improve speed, fix website issues, and free up storage space.

Summary:

Notes:

• Clearing your cache and cookies is helpful when you're experiencing browser issues, login problems, or loading errors on websites.

Table of Contents:

Open Safari

1. Click the Safari icon in the Dock or open it from the Applications folder.

Open

Clear Cookies and Website Data

1. This will remove stored logins, session data, and other site-specific information.

   1. In Safari, click Safari in the top-left of your screen.

   2. Choose Settings… (or Preferences… depending on your macOS version).

   3. Go to the Privacy tab.

   4. Click Manage Website Data…

      1. A list of websites that have stored cookies and other data will appear.

   5. Click Remove All to delete all site data, or select individual sites and click Remove.

      1. Confirm by clicking Remove Now when prompted.

Open

Enable the Develop Menu (Required to Clear Cache Only)

1. If the Develop menu isn’t visible in the top menu bar, you’ll need to turn it on:

   1. Go back to Safari > Settings… and select the Advanced tab.

   2. At the bottom, check the box: Show Develop menu in menu bar.

Open

Clear Cache

1. Now that the Develop menu is enabled, click Develop in the top Safari menu.

2. Select Empty Caches from the dropdown list.

   1. This clears temporary website files that may be causing display or loading issues. It does not affect cookies or history.

Open

(Optional) Clear History

1. If you also want to remove your browsing history:

   1. Click History in the top Safari menu.

   2. Select Clear History…

   3. Choose a time range (e.g., the last hour, today, all history).

   4. Click Clear History to confirm.

Open