Every time you access a web page through your web browser, the browser stores or 'caches' it. Periodically clearing out your browser's cache will help it to function more efficiently.
What is your browser history?
This is a list of all the pages you've visited on the web. Your browser stores this as it makes it marginally faster to return to pages you've visited previously - for example, autofilling the address in the web bar.
What is a browser cache?
Your web browser caches web sites that you've previously visited, retaining some information about them. As with the browser history function, this should - in theory - make things faster when you return to a web page. But cached information can become corrupt or out of date, so it's a good thing to clear out this data now and then.
How do I delete my browser history and cache?
Here's how to do this for the browser you're using:
Delete browser history from Chrome
Click the settings icon (three vertical dots), top-right of the window. Select History to open a new tab showing your recent browsing history. Click Clear browsing data. Select the Browsing history and Empty the cache options (it's up to you whether to also delete other options such as cookies). Select a time period that you wish to clear - From the beginning of time will remove all history and cache data from your browser. Finally, press Clear Browsing data.
Delete browser history from Internet Explorer
From the Tools menu, click Internet Options. Select the General tab. Under Browsing history click Delete. Next to Temporary internet files, click Delete files (say yes if you're prompted to confirm). Click Close and then OK to exit.
Delete browser history from Edge
Microsoft Edge is the browser built into Windows 10. To clear your browsing history from Edge, click the Hub icon (three horizontal lines) then the History icon (the small clock). Click Clear all history, then select the elements you wish to remove. To confirm, click the Clear button.
Delete browser history from Firefox
From the Tools menu (three horizontal lines, top-right), select History (a clock icon) and then choose Clear Recent History. A new window will open, offering you elements you'd like to remove (including the cache and browsing history) and a time range to apply this to. Select Everything from the time range to delete all your Firefox data.
Delete browser history from Safari
If you're using Safari on an Apple Mac, make sure that you've clicked on the Safari browser to make it the active window. Then, on the menu along the very top of the screen, select History and scroll down to Clear History. This will let you choose whether to clear just your history, or the cache as well, plus a date range to apply the action to.
