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How to clear Safari’s cache and cookies on Mac

remove cookies on safari mac

There are a handful of situations when clearing Safari’s cookies or cache–one of the places where Safari stores website data to avoid having to download it afresh each time you access a site–can help improve your browsing experience.

The first is when websites simply stop working when you access them on Safari. Perhaps Facebook stops updating with new posts, for example, or the images on a site don’t appear as they should. If this happens, it’s likely the cache has become corrupted.

Alternatively, if you find that personal info automatically completed on sites isn’t correct, deleting cookies can help. These are small files that sites use to save data about you and what you do on the site.

Even if none of these problems affect you, periodically cleaning browser data can help protect your privacy from snoops who want to discover what you’ve been up to online. In this article, therefore, we explain how to clear Safari’s cache and cookies on Mac.

We also have an article that explains How to clear cache on a Mac.

How to clear Safari cookies and cache for websites

Cleaning cookies and the cache data for individual sites can be done via Safari’s Settings/Preferences.

  • Open Safari
  • Click on Safari in the menu at the top of the screen.
  • Click on Settings or Preferences (depending on the version of macOS you are running).
  • Go to the Privacy tab.
  • Click on Manage Website Data…
  • Choose Remove All or select websites individually to remove.

After the data is loaded you’ll probably see a long list of websites. You can choose to Remove All or just select individual websites you want to remove from this list. If you want to select a number of different sites you can click on one and then press and hold the Command key to select a second, third or fourth and so on. We recommend that you don’t select hundreds this way – it’s better to delete in batches just in case you have to start over.

If you would prefer to select all and then deselect the ones you want to keep you can do so. Use Command + A to select all, then press and hold Command while clicking on any website you are happy to keep in this list. Just click Remove afterwards, not Done, as that will just undo all your hard work.

There’s a search field you can use to track down individual sites.

Bear in mind that deleting cookies might remove autocompleted login usernames and passwords for sites, and will almost certainly log you out of that site if you’ve configured it to automatically log in each time you visit.

How to clear Safari's cache and history on Mac: Privacy

How to clear Safari cache

The hidden Safari Developer menu can be used to clear just the cache, leaving cookies and the browser history in place. This is a very useful diagnostic step to take before removing those two items if a website behaves badly.

If you just want to clear all your cache you can do so by following these steps:

  • Open Safari.
  • Click on Safari in menu bar at top of screen.
  • Click on Settings/Preferences (depending on the version of macOS you are running).
  • Click on the Advanced tab.
  • Check the box beside Show Develop Menu in Menu Bar.
  • Now there will be a new Develop tab in the menu at the top of your screen. Click on this.
  • Click on Empty Caches.

Alternatively click on Option/Alt + Command + E.

Close any open Safari windows and select Empty Caches on the Develop menu. Then click File > New Window to start Safari with a clean cache.

How to clear Safari's cache and history on Mac: Empty caches

How to remove autocomplete data from AutoFill

Safari’s AutoFill tool can fill in username and password details on websites as well as credit card details and other elements like your address and email details.

This can be really useful, but it can also be annoying if the data it fills in is incorrect or out of context. It’s also a problem when AutoFill helpfully enters old or incorrect passwords or emails and addresses.

You can change this data, or delete it by following these steps:

  • Click on Safari.
  • Click on Settings/Preferences.
  • Choose the AutoFill tab.
  • Here you can edit contact information, usernames and passwords, credit cards and other data. Click on Edit beside the category you want access to.
  • You’ll need to enter your password or use Touch ID to gain access.

Delete incorrect data: If you are finding that Safari is autofilling incorrect data about you–your address, for example–click Edit beside Using information from my contacts. This will open up your Contacts app. Your card will be at the top or under My Card. You can add and amend data about you here.

How to clear Safari's cache and history on Mac: Autofill

Delete incorrect passwords and site logins: If you wanted to delete incorrect passwords, for example, you can just click on the Passwords tab. If you know which password you want to remove search for the website or service and then find the older password option (if there is more than one) and select it and then click on the – below the column to remove it. You can then select Delete Password. If that means there is no password saved for that website, you can then recreate the entry for the site by clicking the Add button. You’ll first need to provide the URL of the site (that is, something like https://facebook.com ), and then type the username and password alongside (hit the Tab key to move from field to field).

See: How to autofill passwords, bank cards, names and addresses for more.

How to clear Safari's cache and history on Mac: Site logins

Delete logins and passwords system-wide

Pruning site logins can also be done via the Keychain Access app, which you’ll find in the Utilities folder of the Applications list in Finder, although you should be very careful using this app because it pretty much controls the entire security operation of your Mac! However, by removing errant username and password entries here you’ll stop virtually all of your Mac apps using them, and not just Safari.

Just type the name of the site into the Search field, and look in the list of results for entries of the kind Web Form Password. Right-click the entry and select Delete.

Changing password keychain Mac

If you want to delete your Chrome or Firefox cache, cookies or browsing history read: How to delete your Mac browsing history . For alternative web browsers take a look at: Best web browser for Mac.

How-To Geek

How to clear safari's browsing history and cookies on macos.

To clear your history on Safari, click the "History" button at the top, then select "Clear History.

Quick Links

How to delete your browsing history in safari, how to automatically delete your browsing history on safari, how to clear your cookies on safari, key takeaways.

To clear your history on Safari, click the "History" button at the top, then select "Clear History." You can also set Safari to clear your browsing history automatically by going to Preferences > General, then set "Remove History Items" to the time frame you want.

You may not have anything to hide when we surf the Internet, but you still may want to clear your history every now and then. Here's how you can clear your browsing history in Safari on MacOS.

On Safari, all you do is click the "History" button at the top of the screen then select "Clear History" at the bottom of the list.

Once you do this, you will be given a choice: you can select "the last hour," "today," "today and yesterday," and "all history" from a drop-down menu. Once you've decided, click the "Clear History" button and the history will be clear per your preference.

If you simply want to clear part of your history, you can click "Show History" ("Command + Y").

Click on the site or use the "Command" key to select several sites, then press the "Delete" key. You can also click "Clear History" in the upper right corner to remove everything all at once.

You can also right-click a history entry to delete it.

Related: How to Clear History, Cache, and Cookies in Safari on iPhone or iPad

You can also set Safari to automatically clear your history every so often. When you open up the Safari preference ("Command + ,"), click the "General" tab, and select the "Remove History items" option.

You can decide when or if your history is automatically deleted after one day, one week, two weeks, one month, one year, or you can keep your history indefinitely by selecting the manual option.

To clear cookies in Safari, while you're in Safari's preferences, click on the "Privacy" tab and click "Manage Website Data."

On this page, you will see all the cookies stored on your Mac. You can right-click a specific cookie and select "Delete" to remove it, or you can hold the "Command" button and select several at once.

If you want to remove all of your cookies, click "Remove All" at the bottom of the window.

You will be asked to confirm you want to "remove all data stored by websites on your computer."

Keep in mind that, if you do this, any websites you might have personalized will be removed, and you will be logged out of all websites (though it should be easy to log back in if you've saved your username and password).

Related: How to Block Third-Party Cookies in Every Web Browser

Clearing your history and cookies isn't necessarily sneaky. It's good to be privacy-conscious because there are often times when someone will ask to use your computer for a minute. You may not be looking at anything untoward or scandalous, but then again, you don't necessarily want just anyone knowing what you've been looking at or reading.

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How to Delete Cookies on a Mac Desktop & MacBook

Last Updated: June 26, 2023 Tested

Google Chrome

This article was co-authored by Chiara Corsaro and by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd . Chiara Corsaro is the General Manager and Apple Certified Mac & iOS Technician for macVolks, Inc., an Apple Authorized Service Provider located in the San Francisco Bay Area. macVolks, Inc. was founded in 1990, is accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) with an A+ rating, and is part of the Apple Consultants Network (ACN). The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. This article has been viewed 733,878 times.

This wikiHow article teaches you how to delete your Mac's Safari, Chrome, and Firefox cookies. Cookies are temporary files related to sites that you've visited. Keep in mind that while clearing cookies from your browser may speed it up, doing so will also sign you out of most websites on which you were signed in.

Things You Should Know

  • In Safari, go to "Safari" > "Preferences" > "Privacy" > "Manage Website Data…" and click "Remove All.
  • In Google Chrome, go to "Chrome" > "Clear Browsing Data…", select "Cookies and other site data," then click "Clear browsing data."
  • In Firefox, go to "Firefox" > "History" > "Clear Recent History…", select "Cookies," then click "Clear Now."

Step 1 Click the Safari menu.

  • Click the Safari menu item.
  • Click Preferences...
  • Click the Advanced tab.
  • Check the Show Develop Menu in Menu Bar box.
  • Click the Develop menu item.
  • Click Empty Caches

Chiara Corsaro

Chiara Corsaro

This is a safe way to clear cookies from your Mac. While it's safe to empty your cookies from the Safari app, it is not recommended to go directly into the macOS system library to clear out cookies unless you have experience in doing so. Accidentally deleting the wrong file in your system library can result in functionality issues with the application and/or operating system.

Step 1 Click the Chrome menu.

  • the past hour
  • the past day
  • the past week
  • the past 4 weeks
  • the beginning of time

Step 4 Check the

  • Last Two Hours
  • Last Four Hours

Step 4 Check the

Community Q&A

Liza Gaylord

  • You shouldn't have to clear your Mac's Safari cache regularly, but doing so once in a while will help keep your Mac running quickly. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

remove cookies on safari mac

  • Cookies can be detrimental to your web browsing experience, but they're also what allows you to sign in to sites without re-entering your username or password every single time. Deleting cookies will sign you out of most websites. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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How to Delete Cookies in Safari

When you browse the web on your devices, websites will often leave cookies on your system so that they can remember you and what your preferences are.

safari macos icon banner

However, for the same reason, cookies can pose a privacy risk because of the information they hold about you, which is why you may want to remove them from your computer every so often.

The following steps show you how to delete cookies from Apple's Safari browser on Mac, iPhone , and iPad .

How to Delete Cookies in Safari on iOS

Note that the following steps clear all history, cookies and website data on your device, regardless of when the sites were accessed.

  • Launch the Settings app on your iOS device.
  • Scroll down and select Safari .
  • Scroll down and select Clear History and Website Data .

settings

How to Delete Cookies in Safari on macOS

  • Launch Safari browser on your Mac.

safari

Note that you can opt to block all cookies in future by selecting Block all cookies in Safari's settings ( Settings -> Safari on iOS, and in the Privacy tab of Safari's Preferences on macOS). However, bear in mind that some websites use cookies to improve your browsing experience – by remembering your login details, for example – so think twice before you select this option.

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iGeeksBlog

You may want to clear Safari history, cache, and website data on Mac to prevent others from seeing what you were browsing. Removing these helps make the browser responsive . It also comes handy when Safari lags or takes ages to load webpages. The steps to delete website data of Safari in macOS is easy. Let us see how.

Consequences of clearing Safari History and Website Data

  • Records of visited web pages are deleted.
  • A list of the frequently visited sites is also cleared.
  • It may reduce tracking by websites. (a good thing)
  • You may be logged out of websites.
  • Records of blocked or allowed location access, notification, etc. are also reset. So, if you visit a website, it will again ask your permission for these.
  • The download list is deleted. (Actual downloaded files are not.)
  • If you have several Apple devices that sync via iCloud, the changes will reflect on all.

How to clear Safari history on Mac

You can choose to clear all history in a few clicks. Or choose to delete them date-wise or by specific pages. Let me show you how.

  • Open Safari on Mac.
  • Click on History from the top menu bar

Open Safari, tap on History at top menu bar, select Clear History

  • Dropdown menu will show all history . Click on it if you want to select another option, like the last hour, today, today, and yesterday.

Select All history, tap on Clear history

Now, if you don’t want to clear the entire history but just a few specific pages, here’s what you need to do.

How to delete specific webpage from Safari history on Mac

  • From the top menu bar, click on History .

Tap on History, select Show All History

  • Or, click on the tiny triangle arrow ▶ to expand.

Tap dropdown arrow, right click on particular page, select Delete

How to clear Safari cache and cookies on Mac

To clear cache and cookies of your existing Safari profile, you need to delete all of its Website Data. Here’s how you can do that:

  • Launch the Safari browser .

Choose Safari in menu bar and select Settings

The above-mentioned method will only delete website data for a particular profile in Safari.

If you’re like me and enjoy using multiple profiles on Safari to maintain a separation between your personal and professional activities, then I’d like to notify you about something.

However, if you wish to clear the cookies and cache for all your Safari profiles, then you must employ the following method.

How to clear cache of all Safari profiles on Mac

  • Launch Safari → Click Safari in the menu bar → Select Settings .

Head to Advanced tab and tick the checkbox next to Show features for web developers

How to block all cookies for Safari on Mac

Cookies are tiny data packets that a website saves on your device. It helps the site know that you are revisiting it. (If this is your first visit to iGeeksBlog, you might have seen a banner at the bottom asking for your cookie consent.)

When you clear history and website data, cookies are also deleted. However, here is how you can remove cookies (cache, etc. too) individually and how you can block them from accumulating further.

  • Launch Safari browser → Click Safari in the menu bar → Select Settings .

Click Advance and enable Block all cookies

No, clearing your Safari history will not lead to the removal of your bookmarks or saved passwords.

Yes, clearing cookies will log you out from websites and services where you were previously signed in. This process removes stored login credentials.

Yes, clearing cache, history, and cookies might have a temporary impact on your browsing experience. Websites could a bit slowly.

If you want to remove the Safari cache, history, and cookies on your Mac, just follow the instructions above. Furthermore, I’d highly recommend our complete guides if you’re thinking of changing your default search engine for normal and private windows in Safari.

Did you find this guide helpful? Let me know in the comments!

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How to Clear Private Data, Caches, and Cookies on Mac

Cover your tracks in Safari

remove cookies on safari mac

  • University of Vienna

What to Know

  • Clear history on macOS: Select History in menu > Clear History . Then, clear history for specific time or select All History . 
  • Clear data on macOS: Safari > Preferences > Privacy tab. Manage Website Data > select websites > Remove or Remove All .
  • On iOS:  Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data > Clear History and Data . Clear data: Safari >  Advanced  >  Website .

As you use the internet, it may fill up your device's memory with temporary files; you may also want to hide the sites you've been visiting. This article explains how to remove browsing history, cookies, caches, and other website data from the Safari web browser on macOS, OS X, and iOS devices.

Remove Browsing History, Cookies, and Caches in Safari on macOS

To remove your browsing history , cookies, caches, and other website data from Safari on your Mac and across any synchronized devices:

Select  Safari > Clear History from the menu bar at the top of the Safari screen.

Select the Clear dropdown arrow and choose either the last hour,   today , today and yesterday , or all history .

You are notified that the history is also removed on other devices that are signed in to your iCloud account.

Click Clear History .

You can also clear all history by selecting History > Clear History . You have the same options here: the last hour,   today , today and yesterday , and all history . There is no confirmation, and the deletion is immediate.

From here, you also have options to view all history or to view history by specific days.

Clear Data (But Not History) for Specific Sites in Safari

Clearing data does not remove sites from your browsing history. You may want to clear your history in addition to deleting certain sites' data.

Select  Safari > Preferences .

Select the Privacy tab.

Click  Manage Website Data .

All sites you've visited that store data via cookies, database, or local storage (such as cookies or files) are listed here.

For each site whose data you want to remove, highlight the site in the list and click  Remove . To remove all the sites, click Remove All .

Removing the data of any particular site might log you out of it or change the site's behavior.

Click  Done .

Close the   Privacy  preferences window.

Clear Private Data, Empty Caches, and Remove Cookies in Safari for iOS

To delete all Safari history entries, cookies, and data websites using your iOS mobile device:

Open  Settings .

Go to  Safari .

Tap  Clear History and Website Data .

Tap Clear History and Data  to confirm and delete all the entries.

View Sites and Selectively Delete Data on iOS Devices

To delete Safari history for a specific website on your iOS mobile device:

Open Settings.

Tap  Safari .

Select  Advanced at the bottom of the screen.

Tap  Website Data .

Scroll through the list of entries. Swipe to the left on any entry and tap Delete to remove it. To remove all the entries, tap Remove All Website Data at the bottom of the entry list.

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  • Speed Up Safari With These Tuneup Tips

remove cookies on safari mac

Manage cookies and website data

Websites often store cookies and other data on your Mac. This data may include information that you have provided, such as your name, email address, and preferences. This data helps websites identify you when you return so the site can provide services for you and show information that might be of interest to you.

By default, Safari accepts cookies and website data only from websites you visit. This helps prevent certain advertisers from storing data on your Mac. You can change options in Safari preferences so that Safari always accepts or always blocks cookies and other website data.

Open Safari for me

Important:   Changing your cookie preferences or removing cookies and website data in Safari may change or remove them in other apps, including Dashboard.

Choose Safari > Preferences, click Privacy, then do any of the following:

Change which cookies and website data are accepted: Select a “Cookies and website data” option:

Always block: Safari doesn’t let any websites, third parties, or advertisers store cookies and other data on your Mac. This may prevent some websites from working properly.

Allow from current website only: Safari accepts cookies and website data only from the website you’re currently visiting. Websites often have embedded content from other sources. Safari does not allow these third parties to store or access cookies or other data.

Allow from websites I visit: Safari accepts cookies and website data only from websites you visit. Safari uses your existing cookies to determine whether you have visited a website before. Selecting this option helps prevent websites that have embedded content in other websites you browse from storing cookies and data on your Mac.

Always allow: Safari lets all websites, third parties, and advertisers store cookies and other data on your Mac.

Remove stored cookies and data: Click Remove All Website Data, or click Details, select one or more websites, then click Remove.

Removing the data may reduce tracking, but may also log you out of websites or change website behavior.

See which websites store cookies or data: Click Details.

Ask websites not to track you: Some websites keep track of your browsing activities when they serve you content, which enables them to tailor what they present to you. You can have Safari ask sites and their third party content providers (including advertisers) not to track you.

With this option turned on, each time Safari fetches content from a website, Safari adds a request not to track you, but it’s up to the website to honor this request.

How to clear cache on Mac in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox

Avatar for Michael Potuck

Looking to tidy up the browser on your Mac or fix some issues you’re seeing with websites? Read on for how to clear cache on Mac, as well as history, and cookies in Safari , Chrome, and Firefox.

It’s a straightforward process to clear cache on Mac in Safari as well as third-party browsers like Chrome and Firefox. While the button in the menu bar for Safari is labeled “Clear History,” it also clears cookies and your cache.

For Chrome and Firefox, you get more detailed control of what data you’re deleting.

Whether you’re just wanting to do some regular maintenance or having some issues with browsing that you want to clear up, follow along below…

For how to clear your cache, history, and website data on iPhone and iPad, check out our tutorial here .

Table of contents

Google chrome, how to clear cache on mac.

  • Open Safari
  • In the menu bar (top left of your screen) click History
  • You can also choose Safari > Clear History…
  • Use the drop-down menu to pick what timeframe you want to clear history and cookies from Safari
  • One last time, click  Clear History
  • Keep in mind that means you may be logged out of websites, etc.

Site default logo image

Now look at the bottom of the menu and click “Clear History…”

To fully clear your history, cache, and cookies, click the drop-down and select “all history.”

  • For Google Chrome on Mac, click Chrome in the menu bar (top left corner)
  • Choose “Clear Browsing Data”
  • Pick a time range, or “All time”
  • Choose what data to clear with the checkboxes
  • Click Clear data
  • For Firefox on Mac, click History in the menu bar (top left of your screen)
  • Click Clear Recent History…
  • Change the timeframe to what you’d like
  • Choose what data to remove

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Manage push notifications

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  • Clear Safari cache on Mac
  • Clear Safari cache on iPhone or iPad
  • How to save passwords when clearing your cache

How to clear your Safari browser cache on a Mac, iPhone, or iPad

  • You can clear your cache on Safari in just a few steps on a Mac, iPhone, or iPad.
  • Clearing your cache, as well as history and cookies, can help resolve your device's performance issues.
  • Clearing your cookies will clear your passwords as well, unless you save them with keychain.

A cache is a store of data. When you visit a website on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad, the Safari browser keeps a snapshot of the pages you view.

If you go back to that website, Safari loads the cached page in an instant, instead of taking the time to retrieve the page from the internet again.

But an overloaded cache can take up storage space and cause your device to run inefficiently — and it could use a periodic clearing.

Here's what you need to know to clear your cache on Safari, as well as your cookies and browsing history.

How to clear Safari cache on Mac

You can either clear just your cache or your cache, history, and cookies. 

Clear your cache

1. Click on the Safari tab at the top left of your screen and choose Preferences from the dropdown menu.

2.  Click the Advanced tab of the menu that pops up.

3.  At the end of the tab, select the Show Develop menu in menu bar box and close the Preferences menu.

4. Click the Develop tab from the Safari menu at the top of the page.

5. Click Empty Caches from the dropdown menu.

Clear your cache, history, and cookies

You may also want to clear your browsing history and cookies in addition to emptying your cache. Here's how to do that.

1. Choose the History tab at the top of your screen.

2. At the very bottom of the dropdown menu, choose Clear History.

3.  A box pops up with a choice to clear the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all history. Choose your time frame and click the Clear History button.  

Once you clear the history, it will also clear the cache and cookies associated with that time period.

How to clear Safari cache on iPhone or iPad

To clear your cache and browsing history:

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Tap Safari .

3. Tap Clear History and Website Data .

4. On the screen that pops up, choose Clear History and Data .

To clear your cache but not your browsing history:

3. Tap Advanced .

4. Tap Website Data .

5. Choose Remove All Website Data .

What happens to saved passwords when you clear your cache

When you clear your cache, history, and cookies, you may discover that Safari has logged you out of your favorite websites.

While clearing Safari's cache alone will not delete your passwords, clearing your history and cookies can. That's because when you empty your cookies, you will lose their password data saved in Safari as well. And keep in mind that clearing your history also clears its associated cookies.

Luckily, Apple has a solution to this problem. If you use iCloud, check your iCloud settings on your phone or computer.

Make sure that you've checked the box for Safari. As long as this box is checked, any passwords you save through your browser will stay safe in your keychain .

remove cookies on safari mac

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How can I quickly clear cookies for a specific site using Safari for Mac?

I know I can "Reset Safari". I know I can go to Cookies from Preferences and search for a site's cookies and delete those. But is there a faster/easier way to just clear cookies for one site (preferably one that I'm already navigated to)?

Frank Krueger's user avatar

6 Answers 6

There you go!

Clearing a Specific Cookie on Safari: Safari makes you do a little more mousework to get to the listing of cookies in the system, and you have to specify which you want to remove. To get started, go to the preferences menu, and open the “Security” Options. Partway down the page is a button labeled “Show Cookies.” Click this.

alt text

Once you have clicked the “Show Cookies” button, you will be shown a listing of all of the cookies your browser has stored, along with a handy search box. Type the current domain name into this search to see a listing of cookies set by the current site. From here, you can select and delete the cookies.

alt text

  • 1 Darn I realize you're looking for something simpler probably... –  Ivo Flipse Jul 30, 2009 at 13:14
  • 1 Nothing bad with a complete answer, really. :) –  Isxek Jul 30, 2009 at 13:16
  • 1 Oh Safari doesn't support plugins, that's going to make it hard... –  Ivo Flipse Jul 30, 2009 at 13:16
  • 1 Note, the Remove All button will do the same thing, once you've entered the domain into the search box. –  jtbandes Aug 2, 2009 at 6:42
  • 4 Safari 9 on El Capitan (OS X 10.11) no longer has this feature in the same place or the same way. Now you go to Safari / Preferences / Privacy and under the Remove All Website Data... button there's a small Details... button. When you click on that you can see the list of all domain names for which there are Cache, Cookies, and/or Local Storage saved. When you select that domain you can clear all of that data at once or not. There's no way to see individual cookies from Preferences any more, nor a way to remove only one. But at least you can still do this for a single site. –  user6297 Jan 20, 2016 at 12:21

As @user6297 says in his comment, the above answer no longer works as of El Capitan. You now need to go to Preferences > Privacy > Details as shown in the image. Note that the Details button might take a moment to appear.

enter image description here

Then enter the domain in the Search box, select the item you want to remove, and click Remove .

Simon Woodside's user avatar

use Safari Cookies Tool

joe's user avatar

  • the Safari Cookies tool is apparently dead. –  allanberry Apr 21, 2021 at 15:00

To clear all cookies, you can setup a keyboard shortcut (Option-Cmd-R) to Safari → Reset Safari

Go to the preferences menu, and open the “Security” Options. Part way down the page is a button labeled “Show Cookies.” Click this.

alt text

http://www.ehow.com/how_4839198_cookies-safari-mac-computer-beginners.html

source : http://www.vertster.com/blog/2009/07/4-ways-to-quickly-clear-the-cookies-for-just-one-site-or-domain.html

If someone using OS X or later comes across this post then you know that clearing cookies for a specific site has become much harder now.

Here are the steps as of Dec. 2023:

Image of safari settings privacy window

  • There you can select an individual site and click on Remove on the bottom-left of the window.

Destroy666's user avatar

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged browser safari web cookies ..

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remove cookies on safari mac

Safari 8.0 - 10.0 (Mac) - Clearing Cache and Cookies

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Safari Preferences

  • Clearing Browser Cache and Cookies

Clear the history, cache and cookies from Safari on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch

Find out how to delete your history, cookies and cache in Settings.

Delete the history, cache and cookies

Clear your cookies and the cache, but keep your history

Delete a website from your history, block cookies, use content blockers, delete history, cache and cookies.

Go to Settings > Safari.

Tap Clear History and Website Data.

ios-17-iphone-14-pro-settings-safari-clear-history-and-website-data

Clearing your history, cookies and browsing data from Safari won't change your AutoFill information.

When there’s no history or website data to be cleared, the button to clear it will turn grey. The button might also be grey if you have web content restrictions set up under Content & Privacy Restrictions in Screen Time .

To visit sites without leaving history, turn Private Browsing on .

Go to Settings > Safari > Advanced > Website Data.

Tap Remove All Website Data.

When there’s no website data to be cleared, the button to clear it will turn grey. The button might also be grey if you have web content restrictions set up under Content & Privacy Restrictions in Screen Time .

Open the Safari app.

Bookmarks button

Tap the Edit button, then select the website(s) you want to delete from your history.

Tap the Delete button.

A cookie is a piece of data that a site puts on your device so that site can remember you when you visit again.

To block cookies:

Go to Settings > Safari > Advanced.

Turn on Block All Cookies.

ios-17-iphone-14-pro-settings-safari-block-all-cookies

If you block cookies, some web pages may not work. Here are some examples:

You'll likely not be able to sign in to a site even when using your correct user name and password.

You may see a message that cookies are required or that your browser's cookies are turned off.

Some features on a site may not work.

Content blockers are third-party apps and extensions that let Safari block cookies, images, resources, pop-ups and other content.

To get a content blocker:

Download a content blocking app from the App Store.

Tap Settings > Safari > Extensions.

Tap to turn on a listed content blocker.

You can use more than one content blocker. If you need help, contact the app developer .

Information about products not manufactured by Apple, or independent websites not controlled or tested by Apple, is provided without recommendation or endorsement. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance or use of third-party websites or products. Apple makes no representations regarding third-party website accuracy or reliability. Contact the vendor for additional information.

remove cookies on safari mac

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remove cookies on safari mac

Contact Apple Support

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Steps to clear cookies on MacBook Air

I want to clear the cookies on my MacBook Air PLEASE

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.7

Posted on Apr 26, 2024 12:34 PM

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sberman

Apr 26, 2024 1:23 PM in response to Popi1960

See this from the Safari User Guide.

Clear cookies in Safari on Mac - Apple Support

COMMENTS

  1. Manage cookies and website data in Safari on Mac

    Always allow cookies: Deselect "Block all cookies.". Websites, third parties, and advertisers can store cookies and other data on your Mac. Remove stored cookies and data: Click Manage Website Data, select one or more websites, then click Remove or Remove All. Removing the data may reduce tracking, but may also log you out of websites or ...

  2. How to clear Safari cache and cookies on a Mac

    Cleaning cookies and the cache data for individual sites can be done via Safari's Settings/Preferences. Open Safari. Click on Safari in the menu at the top of the screen. Click on Settings or ...

  3. Clear cookies in Safari on Mac

    In Safari on your Mac, clear cookies and website data for some or all websites. ... Safari User Guide. Welcome; Get started; Browse the web. Go to a website; Bookmark webpages to revisit; See your favorite websites; Use tabs for webpages; ... Manage cookies; Clear your browsing history;

  4. Clear the history, cache, and cookies from Safari on ...

    Delete a website from your history. Open the Safari app. Tap the Show Bookmarks button, then tap the History button. Tap the Edit button, then select the website or websites that you want to delete from your history. Tap the Delete button. Block cookies. A cookie is a piece of data that a site puts on your device so that site can remember you ...

  5. Manage cookies and website data using Safari

    Always allow: Safari lets all websites, third parties, and advertisers store cookies and other data on your Mac. Remove stored cookies and data: Click Manage Website Data, select one or more websites, then click Remove or Remove All. Removing the data may reduce tracking, but may also log you out of websites or change website behavior. See ...

  6. How to Clear Safari's Browsing History and Cookies on macOS

    If you simply want to clear part of your history, you can click "Show History" ("Command + Y"). Click on the site or use the "Command" key to select several sites, then press the "Delete" key. You can also click "Clear History" in the upper right corner to remove everything all at once. You can also right-click a history entry to delete it.

  7. How to Delete Cookies Using the Safari Web Browser: 13 Steps

    5. Tap Remove All Website Data. This is at the bottom of the page. Your cookies and cache will be deleted. [2] If you want to delete your history along with your cookies and cache, return to the Safari settings page. Scroll down and tap Clear History and Website Data, select a timeframe, and then tap Clear History. 6.

  8. How to Clear Cookies on a Mac in Safari, Firefox, and Chrome

    Clear Safari's cache to get rid of persistent cookies. If you still see cookies popping up after deleting your Mac's stored cookies, you can clear Safari's cache, which will remove all of Safari's input information except for settings and bookmarks. To do so: Click the Safari menu item. Click Preferences... Click the Advanced tab.

  9. How to Delete Cookies in Safari

    The following steps show you how to delete cookies from Apple's Safari browser on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. How to Delete Cookies in Safari on iOS. Note that the following steps clear all history ...

  10. How to Delete Cookies and Stored Website Data in Safari

    1. Open the Settings app and tap Safari. 2. Tap Clear History and Website Data. If you're using iOS 7 or earlier, the menu is slightly different: Tap "Clear History" and "Clear Cookies and Data ...

  11. Clear Cookies on Mac: Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge

    To clear cookies, click Manage Website Data. In pop-up window, click Remove All. Alternatively, you can choose specific sites and click Remove. To block and clear all cookies, click the Block all ...

  12. How to clear Safari cache, history, and cookies on Mac

    How to delete specific webpage from Safari history on Mac. Open Safari on Mac. From the top menu bar, click on History. Click on Show All History. You will see Last Visited Today and other dates. Right-click on one and then choose Delete. Or, click on the tiny triangle arrow to expand. Next, right-click on an individual page and choose Delete.

  13. Clear Private Data, Caches and Cookies on Mac

    To remove your browsing history, cookies, caches, and other website data from Safari on your Mac and across any synchronized devices: Select Safari > Clear History from the menu bar at the top of the Safari screen. Select the Clear dropdown arrow and choose either the last hour, today, today and yesterday, or all history .

  14. Manage cookies and website data using Safari

    Always allow: Safari lets all websites, third parties, and advertisers store cookies and other data on your Mac. Remove stored cookies and data: Click Remove All Website Data, or click Details, select one or more websites, then click Remove. Removing the data may reduce tracking, but may also log you out of websites or change website behavior ...

  15. How to clear cache on Mac in Safari, Chrome, and Firefox

    Open Safari. In the menu bar (top left of your screen) click History. At the bottom of the menu, choose Clear History…. You can also choose Safari > Clear History…. Use the drop-down menu to ...

  16. How to Clear Cookies and Cache on a Mac

    To clear cache on Safari on Mac, open History on the top menu bar and select Clear History. In the pop-up menu, use the drop-down to choose how much time you want to clear (Last Hour, Today, Today ...

  17. Clear your browsing history in Safari on Mac

    In the Safari app on your Mac, choose History > Clear History, then click the pop-up menu. Choose how far back you want your browsing history cleared. When you clear your history, Safari removes data it saves as a result of your browsing, including: In Safari on your Mac, remove all records of your browsing history for a period of time you choose.

  18. How to Manage and Remove Browser Cookies on Mac and iOS

    Delete cookies on iOS. And on iOS, you can delete all your Safari browser cookies by going to Settings > Safari, and then tap the option to Clear history and website data. To delete specific cookies, scroll down and tap Advanced, then Website Data. Type in the search field, then swipe to delete an entry.

  19. How to Clear Safari Browser Cache on Mac, iPhone, or iPad

    Clear your cache. 1. Click on the Safari tab at the top left of your screen and choose Preferences from the dropdown menu. Navigate to the Preferences section. Stefan Ionescu/Insider. 2. Click the ...

  20. How can I quickly clear cookies for a specific site using Safari for Mac?

    Clearing a Specific Cookie on Safari: Safari makes you do a little more mousework to get to the listing of cookies in the system, and you have to specify which you want to remove. To get started, go to the preferences menu, and open the "Security" Options. Partway down the page is a button labeled "Show Cookies.". Click this.

  21. Safari 8.0

    Safari 8.0 - 10.0 (Mac) - Clearing Cache and Cookies. Skip navigation. ... This document explains how to clear cache and cookies in Safari 8.0 to 10.0. Click Safari in the upper left hand ... Click Remove Now in the pop up window that appears. See Also. Clearing Browser Cache and Cookies; Keywords: clear os x osx yosemite "el capitan" 10.10 10. ...

  22. How To Clear Cache on Mac: Step-by-Step Guides

    Before you clear the cache on your Mac, we recommend backing up important files. Close all open applications to avoid data loss and interference. Clearing the cache on your Mac is safe and simple. In the following sections, we'll show you how to delete macOS cache and clear browsing data and app cache. Clearing macOS system cache

  23. Clear the history, cache and cookies from Safari on ...

    Open the Safari app. Tap the Show Bookmarks button, then tap the History button. Tap the Edit button, then select the website(s) you want to delete from your history. Tap the Delete button. Block cookies. A cookie is a piece of data that a site puts on your device so that site can remember you when you visit again. To block cookies: Go to ...

  24. Steps to clear cookies on MacBook Air

    Steps to clear cookies on MacBook Air . I want to clear the cookies on my MacBook Air PLEASE . Show more Less. MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.7 Posted on Apr 26, 2024 12:34 PM Me too Me too ... Apple disclaims any and all liability for the acts, omissions and conduct of any third parties in connection with or related to your use of the site. ...